Young leaders volunteering in a youth club

What a young leader does in a youth club

As a young leader you work with other young people, giving your time to support the youth work team.

This is an opportunity to develop skills and responsibilities. Young leaders play an important role in the service we offer young people.

Becoming a young leader is a privilege; committing yourself to this role is an important decision to make.

You'll need to carefully consider if you're:

• ready to move into this position of responsibility and trust
• able to fulfil the requirements of the role

We recommend that you're at least 2 years older than the young people you're working with.

Can I be a young leader in a youth club?

To become a youth work young leader, you'll need to:

• be interested in working with young people
• have time to offer
• be non-judgemental
• be aged between 14 and 17; at 18 you become an adult volunteer and complete a Disclosure Barring Scheme (DBS) form

As a young leader it's likely you'll do a variety of jobs, such as:

• providing support for youth work activities
• working as part of the youth work team
• contributing towards planning and evaluating youth work activities

Your responsibilities as a volunteer

Your responsibilities will be to:

• let your line manager know about any medical conditions that might affect the range of work you're able to take part in
• keep to your agreed working pattern, letting your line manager know if you can't attend, or if you're going to be late
• take part in appropriate training opportunities as required by the service

Your youth club line manager's responsibilities

Your line manager's responsibilities will be to:

• provide a clear explanation of your role and what you'll be expected to do
• provide you with an induction programme to help you understand your role
• provide you with an experienced youth worker who you can ask for advice, guidance and support
• provide you with access to training opportunities
• respect your skills and needs
• make sure that as a young leader, you're not classed as a full member of staff and never asked to work in an unsupervised situation

Find out about other volunteering opportunities for young people.