Involving Young People: Youth accreditation

For young people, accreditation can provide a sense of achievement and increased self-esteem, especially for those who have had negative experiences of formal education. It can give them the motivation to engage with new activities, increase credibility with employers and provide progression to apprenticeship, further education and employment.

The benefits to your libraries of offering volunteer accreditation include a structure for developing meaningful positive activities, quality assurance and the possibility of accessing new partnerships and funding streams.

Use the Accreditation Handbook (PDF) to think about why you might accredit, the types of accreditation that would best suit young people and your service, who to work with and how to get started.

Through our work on HeadSpace and Fulfilling their Potential, we have negotiated an agreement with the four main accrediting bodies so that library volunteering activities are recognised as contributing to their awards.

Depending on the accreditation award you would like to offer young, download details about a particular award:

  • Duke of Edinburgh (PDF)
  • Youth Challenge and Youth Achievement Awards (PDF)
  • Getting Connected (PDF)
  • ASDAN (PDF)

Use the direct url addresses you have been given to download the resources that support any other Participate modules you have purchased or get in touch with Claire Styles to purchase more Participate modules.

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