Day in the Life of our Youth Worker, Kelly

28 January 2021

We caught up with our brilliant youth worker, Kelly, to find out more about her role.

What’s a typical working day for you?
A typical working day for me involves me getting in the car and driving to whichever school I am at that day. I work in five different schools, which makes each day a little different and I love getting to know all the different staff teams and their young people. When in school, my day focuses around meeting with individual young people for 1:1 mentoring. Much of the work that I do is about supporting young people to recognise and understand the aspects of their day to day lives that they find challenging, and to work with them when to achieve positive outcomes. At the moment this now looks a little different as my sessions have moved either online or via phone call but the service provided remains the same.

After school, I travel to the starting point of my detached sessions, which I deliver three evenings per week. This involves meeting young people in their local areas in the places where they are most comfortable. We are out in all weathers and so I always have an umbrella and spare jacket in the car, just in case!

What do you find most challenging about being a youth worker?
I find the most challenging part of being a youth worker is that a lot of people don’t really understand the role or the way that I work with young people, especially as it is so hard to show the true impact and outcomes that come from building positive and supportive relationships.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Oh that’s easy! It’s the young people! Every single day I am reminded of how much of a privilege it is to be able to walk alongside young people as they navigate the transitions of life, and be someone that they trust. The individual personalities of the young people mean that it’s never the same day twice and I’m constantly learning from them.

What is your background?
I got involved in youth work over ten years ago and have been a qualified youth worker for almost seven years now. In 2020, I also completed my Master’s degree in SEN, Disability & Inclusive Education. My working background has connections to outdoor education, special education and working with those with additional needs. I spent a number of years in the West Midlands where I studied and practised youth work, including delivering youth centre-based programmes in areas of high deprivation. I love travel and have also worked and volunteered all over the world from a young age; including providing children’s activities on cruises and working at summer camps in America.

Wow! This is all amazing stuff, and we’re thrilled to have Kelly, with her bags of experience, enthusiasm and empathy, in the Berkshire Youth team.