• Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission and Vision
    • The Youth Workin’ It Team
      • Shae Pepper, Managing Director
      • Stephen Pepper, Operations Director
    • Recommendations for the Youth Workin’ It Team
  • Youth Work Resources
    • How To Plan A Youth Retreat Book
    • 52 Scavenger Hunt Ideas
  • Contact Us

Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

  • Youth Group Games
  • Session Plans
  • Fundraisers
  • Youth Retreats
  • Life Skills
  • Interview Skills
  • Scavenger Hunts
  • Would You Rather Questions
  • Program Administration
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Youth Participation
  • Group Agreement

Top 5 Youth Work Q & A Posts

April 3, 2012 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Top 5 youth work Q & A postsEvery Tuesday, we answer questions that are often asked by youth workers. In case you’ve missed any of them, here are our Top 5 Youth Work Q & A posts so far this year:

1) Creating vs Buying Youth Work Curriculum – In this post, we explore whether it’s better to create or buy youth work curriculum, or whether both have their place.

2) Group Facilitation Skills – This has a list of three techniques you can use when facilitating group discussions to ensure that all youth participate.

3) Encouraging Diversity In Youth Work – Here are four ways that you can make your youth work programs more diverse.

4) Setting up a Facebook or Twitter Account Step-By-Step – If you’re not already on Facebook and/or Twitter, this post gives step-by-step instructions on how to set up accounts, including screenshots for every step of the process.

5) Adult To Youth Ratios – On this post, we explored what adult to youth ratio your youth work programs should have.

Don’t miss out on future Youth Work Q & A posts (or any of our other posts) by connecting with us in the following ways:

  1. Signing up to receive our posts via email
  2. Following us on Twitter
  3. Liking us on Facebook
  4. Signing up to our RSS feed

 

Adult To Youth Ratios – Youth Work Q & A

January 24, 2012 By Shae Pepper 2 Comments

Adult to youth ratios
Image courtesy of RickLantona.com

Q: What should be the adult to youth ratios used in youth work programs?

A: The best advice I have is to check the child protection policy of your organization. Youth work organizations will often have a minimum amount of workers expected to be present with youth, expressed in the form of an adult to youth ratio.

Most of the ratios provided by other agencies refer to younger children. This is because younger children are particularly vulnerable and require more care and attention to their needs.

In the UK, the NSPCC recommends Ages 9 – 12: 1 adult to 8 children and  Ages 13 – 18: 1 adult to 10 children. These are merely guidelines, however they are definitely what I recommend and have used as best practice in all of my youth work experiences.

10:1 is the maximum adult to youth ratio that I will work with when older youth are involved. There are a few reasons for this:

  • Safety – If youth are playing games and doing activities, there is always a greater risk for harm than just sitting and listening to a speaker. Having someone else there will allow for control of the group and first aid to be administered in an emergency.
  • Child protection issues – You need to protect yourself and your youth. By having extra adults around, you’re providing less opportunities for allegations to be made or abuse to occur.
  • Building relationships – You can’t possibly build relationships with 20 teenagers on any kind of level that matters, if all you’re able to do is crowd control. By having more adults, you’re allowing time for more interaction with all the youth present.

Another issue to consider when deciding on adult to youth ratios is whether your youth group is mixed gender. While one leader may be appropriate for up to 10 youth of the same gender, young men and women have different needs. Therefore, whenever the group is mixed I recommend having two adults (one male and one female) for the program.

Unfortunately, for both the UK and US the information provided (with the exception of the NSPCC) relates to daycare and small children. If you’re working with children younger than 10 in the US, check out the state licensing standards for your state.

Remember – what’s most important is the safety of the youth in your care and yourself. Take the appropriate steps regarding adult to youth ratios to make sure everyone is protected.

Question: What adult to youth ratios do you use when working with young people? Let us know in the comments below.

You can also connect with us by:

  1. Signing up to receive our posts via email
  2. Following us on Twitter
  3. Liking us on Facebook
  4. Signing up to our RSS feed

 

501 Would You Rather Questions

501 Would You Rather Questions

52 Scavenger Hunt Ideas

52 Scavenger Hunt Ideas cover

How To Plan A Youth Retreat

How To Plan A Youth Retreat cover

Categories

Best Of Youth Workin' It
Book Reviews
Guest Post
Spotlight on Youth
Types Of Youth Work
Would You Rather Questions
Youth & Society
Youth Group Activities
Youth Group Fundraiser
Youth Group Games
Youth Retreat
Youth Work Program Administration
Youth Work Q & A
Youth Work Session Plan Ideas
Youth Worker Stuff
Youth Workin' It Stuff

Tags

Administration Balloons Boundaries Budget Christmas Communication Facebook Food Food Games Global Issues Global Youth Work Goal Setting Group Development Group Games Guest Posts Interview Skills Life Skills Parents Planning Policies and Procedures Relationships Relay Games For Teenagers Scavenger Hunt Ideas School Self-Esteem SMART Social Media Strategic Planning Team Building Twitter Up Front Games Volunteering Volunteers Water Games For Youth Would You Rather Youth Behavior Youth Cartel Youth Group Bonding Youth Participation Youth Retreat Center Youth Retreat Themes Youth Scavenger Hunt Youth Work Definition Youth Work Resources Youth Work Training

Search Youth Workin’ It

All Content © Copyright 2011-2025, Stephen & Shae Pepper, youthworkinit.com