The Education Workforce Council (EWC), in partnership with Education Training Standards (ETS) Wales, has been re-commissioned by Welsh Government to deliver and develop the nationally recognised Quality Mark for Youth Work (QMYW) in Wales until March 2025.
The QMYW is a national award which supports and recognises improving standards in the provision and performance of organisations that deliver youth work services. In order to receive the accreditation, youth work organisations must self-assess against a set of quality standards, and pass an external assessment.
Since being first awarded the contract in 2020, the EWC has:
- completed 60 assessments
- trained 297 youth workers/youth support workers
- trained a pool of 46 assessors
Andrew Borsden, EWC’s Development Officer for the QMYW said “Developing the Quality Mark over the past four years has truly been a pleasure. During this time, the EWC has had the privilege of witnessing outstanding examples of youth work, and it's immensely rewarding to formally acknowledge these achievements through such a prestigious award”.
As the awarding body, the EWC will continue to work with both the 37 current QMYW holders, and new organisations, to continue to develop and grow the award process.
Hayden Llewellyn, EWC Chief Executive said “The Quality Mark contract has been a challenging but exciting project for the Education Workforce Council (EWC) to be involved with.
“As the independent, professional regulator for the education workforce in Wales, it’s great to be able to showcase and recognise those organisations who are demonstrating high standards of conduct and practice.
“We look forward to working with partners to ensure that the youth work sector continues to thrive and make a positive impact on the lives of young people throughout the country”.
Steve Drowely, Chair of ETS said “We are delighted that the contract for the Quality Mark for Youth in Wales has been once again awarded to the EWC.
“We at ETS have worked happily in partnership with our colleagues at the EWC over the last three years. We’ve seen the welcome growth of the Quality Mark, including both maintained and voluntary sector youth organisations, and its positive effect on promoting high standards for the benefit of the young people of Wales.
“We look forward to working closely with EWC over the next phase of the Quality Mark to ensure youth work of the highest standard is enjoyed by young people throughout Wales.”
You can find out more about the QMYW on the EWC website.