February 2010
Youthworks launches the West Midlands Cybersurvey report.
Cyberbullying is the first form of bullying most parents and
teachers could not have experienced when they were young
.
A large sample: 3348 children and young people have taken part in this in-depth
survey undertaken in four local authorities. Media Release and Full Reports

Further data is being collected in Essex in Spring 2010.
This survey is open to any local authority, please contact us for further details.

What do young people tell us?
Is it increasing? What forms does it take? How does it make victims feel?
Are there differences in the experiences of girls and boys?
And how effective is the e-safety education they receive?
These are some of the questions we explore.

September 2009 Youthworks is invited to recruit young people for
The University of Oxford in a progamme of work for the Office of 11 Million (The Children's Commissioner) to consult young people on the admission of the media to Family Courts.

September 2009 Youthworks is proud to be involved with a new DVD
from the DCSF, 'Make Them Go Away' wihch explores bullying of young people
with special needs or a disability. Created by combining experiences young people
have described, it depicts a young man being bullied by a ringleader and a group.
His parents notice his depression, lack of appetite and reluctance to go out, even to
his beloved football match. Anxious to be accepted by the group he is finally led
into an action which brings the police into the story and eventually one of the
bystanders comes forward.
The plot illustrates how bullying in school can spill out into the community if not tackled.
Suitable for KS2 and KS3

Running time 5.13 mins

View the film at www.takeoneproductions.co.uk Take One Productions Ltd are the creators of this DVD

The pack contains a short film and several chapters which can be used for classroom or group activities. it comes with a resource booklet written by Adrienne Katz of Youthworks, containing lesson plans and links to the curriculum.

Each chapter has interviews with various young people who describe their experiences of being bullied due to a disability.. Different special needs are shown and there is an interview with a paralympic gold medallist and the captain of Arsenal football club who support this film.

Teachers talk about their practice and the film is useful for training in bullying prevention.

The film resource is free to schools. To order please telephone 0845 60 222 60 Quote ref 00672-2009DVD-EN

April 2009 'Safe From Bullying' - Youthworks and 4Children develop new guidance with input from 4906 children and young people.

We know that bullying can happen anywhere – not just in schools or at certain times of the day. In response, the Department for Children, Schools and Families launched Safe from Bullying in April 2009, a suite of guidance setting out how different local services can work together to prevent and respond to bullying.

Safe from Bullying includes guidance for Local Authorities and other strategic leaders as well as specific documents for practitioners working in: Further Education (FE) colleges, Play and Leisure provision, Youth Activities, Children’s Homes, Extended Services in and around schools, and on Journeys around the community. The guidance documents are supported by a set of Training Resources.

For more information, and to order free hardcopies or to download a copy, please visit the Every Child Matters website: http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00363

Research shows that those who are bullied a lot in school, are also likely to be bullied out of school. Some groups of children were identified as very vulnerable and suffer bullying in and out of school and in a range of complex forms. Bullying reduction can contribute to community cohesion and crime reduction as well as having an effect on the wellbeing of young people. 'We hope that this work will trigger support for those who suffer these intense campaigns of victimisation both in school and out.' said Adrienne Katz, Director of Youthworks who worked with Sue Finch of 4Children to develop this guidance.

To read or download the report Safe To Play click the pdf image   

Archived news:

October 2008 Bullying in the community. Youthworks in parthership with 4Children has been commissioned to develop new guidance on bullying in the community. A series of consultations will be undertaken with children and young people and an advisory group formed from all relevant agencies. Documents will be drafted for consultation.

June 2008 Consulting young people over the summer.
Young people will be consulted on life in their neighbourhood in the Dudley Play Pathfinder programme. What are their fears about safety? What might prevent them using parks and playgrounds? Who thinks there is nothing for my age group to do at the park? These and other questions raised by young people will be used to gain a detailed picture of how young people use the amenities and why those who do not use them stay away,

May 2008 Bullied because of a disability? New supplementary guidance launched to tackle bullying involving children and young people with special needs and disabilities.
Safe to Learn is a suite of materials from DCSF offering guidance to schools on embedding anti bullying strategies into the life of the school. There are supplementary documents on special issues such as Cyberbullying, Racism and Homophobic Bullying.

A new supplementary guidance on SEN and Disability will be launched on May 15th by Ed Balls, Secretary of State.‘Working on this guidance has revealed starkly how urgent it is that we address this issue’ said Adrienne Katz, a co-author with the Council for Disabled Children.

May 2008 New Play Pathfinder
Adrienne Katz of Youthworks is working with Dudley MBC, selected as one of the first 'Play Pathfinder' authorities. Young people will be giving their views and sharing their concerns so that we can make the most of this opportunity to change the recreational experiences of children and young people in the borough.

May 2008 New research programme begins.
What do we know about interventions to tackle bullying of and by children with special needs and disabilities? There is ample evidence that these children can suffer bullying, isolation and rejection. But what works to change this and do different interventions work with certain groups of children?
Adrienne Katz of Youthworks is supervising a programme of research undertaken by colleague Emma Mcmanus of Young Voice to explore this. Several schools are involved in a year long programme that enables children and young people, teachers and parents to participate. The research is funded by CfBT.

April 2008 A new consultancy launched to make children's voices heard.

Adrienne Katz, founder and former Chief Executive of the charity Young Voice, has launched a new innovative consultancy. Youthworks will operate in the field of children's rights and safeguarding. We offer a service to consult children and young people, evaluate services and undertake research. We can developt, design, write and edit materials for and by young people. We produce training materials for practioners and professionals.

Adrienne Katz of Youthworks has served as the regional Adviser of the Anti Bullying Alliance in the West Midlands since the formation of the ABA. She will continue in this role, working with 14 local autorities to improve the wellbeing of children and young people.