Initiate, build and maintain relationships with young people

Purposeful relationships with young people are at the heart of good youth work.

It is important to know how to initiate such relationships and also the ways in which they can be maintained in order for young people to learn and develop.

This standard is about initiating, building and maintaining personal relationships with young people.

This standard is suitable for all youth work practitioners.

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1. establish contact with young people using suitable locations
2. initiate and hold conversations with young people at an appropriate time and place
3. provide young people with information about your role and responsibilities and how you may work together
4. agree with young people their role and responsibilities
5. respond to any questions or issues raised by young people when they are developing proposals and plans
6. maintain appropriate ethical, legal and contractual requirements in all dealings with young people
7. meet the values and principles underpinning youth work in relation to the requirements of this standard

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1. legal, organisational and codes of practice relevant to working with young people, and their impact for communicating with young people
2. locations in the community where young people meet
3. the importance of building trust and rapport with young people, and methods for achieving this for a range of young people
4. different styles and forms of communication that may be appropriate for communicating with young people, including electronic channels
5. the importance of non-verbal communication, such as body language, and how others use and interpret body language in different ways
6. possible barriers to communication, their causes, and ways to overcome them
7. the importance of clarifying what your expectations are
8. the potential risks to your personal safety, and ways of addressing these
9. requirements regarding confidentiality, and the importance of meeting these
10. the boundaries of your personal competence and responsibility, when to involve others, and how to obtain advice and support
11. the values and principles underpinning youth work in relation to the requirements of this standard

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1

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2022

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Current

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Original

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CLD Standards Council

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LSI YW01

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Youth Workers

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3221

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Youth; young people; initiate; build; maintain; relationships; rapport; communicate; respect; value; support; encourage

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