Alan was, among many other things, a CWVYS Vice-President for several years and spoke passionately at CWVYS’s 70th anniversary celebrations at the Senedd in 2017. We will cherish our working with him over the years, his commitment to improving the lives of young people in our communities was admirable.
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a weekly grant of £40, designed to support 16 to 18-year-olds from eligible households with further education costs, such as transport or meals. EMA was ended in England in 2011, and is retained at a lower rate of £30 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Currently over 16,000 students receive EMA but starting from the new academic year in September an estimated 3,500 more learners will benefit from the uplift.
The threshold for households with one dependent child is currently £20,817 and this will increase to £23,400, meaning families with a household income of £23,400 or less will be eligible to receive EMA.
The threshold for households with two or more dependents is currently £23,077 and this will increase to £25,974, meaning families with a household income of £25,974 or less will be eligible to receive EMA.
Minister Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said:
“Wales already delivers the most generous Education Maintenance Allowance in the UK, helping post-16 learners to continue studying academic or vocational courses, and this change means we will now be supporting thousands more learners.
We are very proud of our record in maintaining and increasing the Education Maintenance Allowance. We are clear that our Draft Budget is a budget for a brighter future and the uplift to EMA eligibility is one of the ways we are delivering this. The announcement means thousands more learners will now benefit from further financial support to continue or start their further education journey.
Who are we?
Eye connect project is a new programme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. The Royal Society of Blind Children (RSBC) are working across Wales in partnership with the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS), The Welsh Council of the Blind, North Wales Society for the Blind, Vision Support and Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales.
Aiming higher for children and young people:
This project responds to the independent recommendations presented to Welsh Government on the Youth Work Strategy for Wales.
In particular:
You can find the full report: ‘Time to deliver for young people in Wales – Achieving a sustainable delivery model for youth work services in Wales’ linked below.
You can find out more about the opportunities RSBC provides for blind or partially sighted Children and young people in England and Wales here; https://www.rsbc.org.uk/how-can-we-help/for-children-young-people/
Please see below a message from CWVYS Members Plan International UK
We are looking to collaborate with an organisation(s) which empowers young people to take a leading role in solutions to issues that affect their lives. We are looking to fund an organisation that is passionate about smashing the taboo and stigma of periods, so that girls and young people can be confident when it comes to their periods.
Organisations can apply for either £5000 or £10,000 to deliver the Period Peers Programme which aims to recruit 14-24 years olds to become Period Proud Peers. The Period Proud Peers will coordinate menstrual health related activities which build young people’s knowledge and confidence in managing their periods, reduce the stigma and encourage young people to seek help should they need it. Period Proud Peers will have a handbook with example activities and information to support them in their role, which has been co-created with Period Peers in our pilot programme.
Please see this ToR document for more information.
If you have any questions, please contact Lizzy Brothers at periodpeers@plan-uk.org
Gavin Gibbs from Estyn will be holding an online ’Walk Through Estyn Youth Work Inspections’ session on 30 January 2025, between 10.30-11.30am via Teams.
This is an opportunity to hear directly from Estyn, information on ‘How We Inspect’ and ‘What We Inspect’ plus the inspection process itself for the voluntary youth work sector – and also for you to ask questions about this work.
If you are interested in attending, please let catrin@cwvys.org.uk know by e-mail and by no later than 27 January.
You will subsequently receive more information plus the joining details.
CWVYS currently have a vacancy for a Bilingual (Welsh and English) Communications Officer (part-time, Maternity Cover for 1 year)
Hours of work: 24 per week
Length of contract: 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026
Salary: £28,624 pro rata (£18,567 actual)
Accountability: to CWVYS Chief Executive
Place of work: Home-based
We are looking for a bilingual (Welsh and English languages), creative and skilled person who will support the communications needs of the voluntary youth work services sector in Wales.
Applicants are invited to register initial interest in this position by e-mailing paul@cwvys.org.uk A copy of the job description/person specification and application form will then be e-mailed in return.
When completing the application form, candidates will be expected to prove how their experience and skills match the requirements of the role as outlined in the job description and person specification.
Closing time/date for receipt of applications is 10.00am on February 10th 2025.
Applicants selected for interview will be informed of the relevant process in due course.
Thank you for your interest.
Dear CWVYS members and those from the wider Youth Sector in Wales, the below is a message from the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) regarding preparations for next year’s European Youth Information Day (EYID).
Dear Members, Affiliated, and Cooperating Organisations,
I am excited to share the Concept Note for the European Youth Information Day (EYID) Campaign 2025, which will run from 1 April to 18 April.
Under the slogan Youth Info #OwnTheAI, we aim to delve into the role of youth information services in the age of Artificial Intelligence. This EYID campaign is our most policy-oriented to date, designed to support you in advocating for the crucial human-centred guidance youth information workers provide.
Materials will be sent out on 24 February 2025, allowing enough time for translation and preparation. As always, we invite you to start thinking about activities and initiatives that can support the campaign and strengthen its local impact.
We hope for your active participation in this initiative and look forward to your support as we move forward with its development.
For more information contact secretariat@eryica.org
In Partnership with CWVYS, in the new year Adult Learning Wales will be offering the opportunity to participate in a non-accredited online training around the roles and responsibilities of trustees in youth work settings in Wales.
15th of January 2025 – Roles and Responsibilities of a Trustee
12th of February 2025 – Safeguarding in a Youth Work Setting
19th of March 2025 – Young People’s Participation
They will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams, running between 6pm and 7.30pm.
Info also here; Trustee Training Hyfforddiant Ymddiriedolwyr CWVYS ALW
To join please email youthwork@adultlearning.wales
We are a youth organisation that works with vulnerable young people who are violent/have violent outbursts or at risk of exhibiting violent behaviours, carrying knives or using weapons, being exploited, using misogynistic language or are violent towards parents/carers.
Please see attached information regarding Cerridwen along with an overview of the rest of our services and a referral form for Cardiff/Vale of Glamorgan;
Cardiff MAC Referral Form V7.2
MAC Overview of services 2024 Final 16-7-24
Parents can also make self referrals on behalf of their children.
We would really appreciate if you could take the time to read or respond as our main goal is supporting vulnerable children as soon as possible to reduce the risk of escalating behaviours and reduce violence across Wales.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact info@mediaacademycymru.wales.
It is because of our relationships with yourselves that we have been able to grow and evolve the REFLECT project, working with over 3000 young people a year within South Wales.
We work with young people who display risk taking or challenging behaviour and are keen to move forward with our early intervention work with the young people in which you engage.
Through interventions such as workshops, Fire Fighter for a Day, Street Fire Fighter, the use of VR and even engagement through sport, we are able to complement your existing work with these young people and add something different in regards to engagement.
As we begin to plan our 2025 interventions, we would like to make sure you get ahead of what we already envisage to be a busy new year in working with young people.
Please click on link https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/youth-education/youth-interventions/reflect-project/ for a little preview of what we can offer in regards to youth intervention as well as the criteria outlined in the Partnership Pack; REFLECT – Youth Intervention
Contact
REFLECT@southwales-fire.gov.uk
Cardiff Womens Aid are interested in networking with other local services to help drive and lead change around gender-based violence. Poppy Camp who is our colleague and manager of the children and young persons team in Cardiff is wanting to build connections to ensure that these projects include some of the following:
If any of the above interest or you feel it is already within your current remit of work, could you please reach out to Poppy (Poppy Camp – poppy.camp@cardiffwomensaid.org.uk). I think this would be an amazing opportunity to really create some amazing work that is needed for the most vulnerable children and young people in our areas.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
We hope to hear from you soon,
Hello all
I hope you are all well. Whilst the summer now feels like a distant memory, I hope you all found some time to relax and refresh over the past few months.
I wanted to provide you with a brief update from the Youth Work Strategy Implementation Board on progress to date on one of the recommendations from the Interim Youth Work Board’s final report that the Welsh Government should establish a national body for youth work services in Wales.
As a Board we see this recommendation as being very important, and closely linked to many of the other recommendations made by the Interim Board. However, we also understand that full exploration of the potential role, remit and functions of a national body needs to be undertaken, along with establishing the costs, challenges and benefits of setting up a body of this kind.
The Board have now discussed this recommendation in some detail, working closely with the Welsh Government. Some of you will have also been involved in some initial and high-level discussions with Welsh Government officials as they gather evidence to help Ministers make informed and evidence-based decisions on next steps. I understand that the discussions have been open and honest, but also very thought provoking, especially around how a national body could help strengthen youth work provision as well as support those who deliver those services. Thank you to those who have participated in these initial conversations with Welsh Government officials.
Further work will continue to explore key issues in more detail, including how a national body would work with other structures and organisations already in place, as well as identifying areas which need further support. No decision has yet been made around the establishment of a national body, but engagement will continue with the sector as this work proceeds and we as a Board would encourage everyone across the sector to feed into discussions led by the Welsh Government.
Additionally, hopefully most of you have now seen the consultation on a proposed new statutory framework for youth work. You may have questions around how these two strands of work will link if necessary, and I would like to assure you the proposed new statutory framework is flexible enough to enable it to work with a national body, should one be established. I would urge you all to read and respond to the consultation by the deadline of 10 January 2025.
As always, I wish to pass on my thanks and appreciation to you all as the sector continues to work hard and contribute to sustaining youth work now and for future generations of young people in Wales.
Sharon Lovell,
Chair: Youth Work Strategy Implementation Board