Ethical Conduct in

Youth Work
a statement of values and
principles from
The National Youth Agency
Reprinted December 2004

Eastgate House, 1923 Humberstone Road,

Leicester LE5 3GJ.
Tel: 0116 242 7350. Fax: 0116 242 7444.
E-mail: nya@nya.org.uk Website: www.nya.org.uk

Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

Background
During Autumn 1999 The National Youth Agency circulated a discussion document,
Ethics in Youth Work1.This contained a draft statement of principles of ethical conduct
for youth work, and sought responses from the eld via a questionnaire and two
consultative seminars. The statement has now been revised and can be found in section
5 of this document. It takes into account comments made in the questionnaire returns
and the seminars. Whilst there was a variety of opinions about the exact wording of
the statement, there was a general consensus of opinion that a statement should be
developed and adopted, and that this should remain at the level of general principles,
rather than giving detailed guidance on the conduct of practitioners (Banks,2000)2.
While there have been some calls for a longer, more detailed and rule-based code
of conduct, this would be difcult to apply to all types of youth workers working in
different settings and agencies. It might also be so prescriptive as to curtail the professional
freedom and responsibility of the youth worker. Whilst the statement of principles
presented here leaves some concepts unexplored (we may well ask, what do we
mean by justice, when is an interest legitimate?), its aim is primarily to develop ethical
awareness and to encourage reection as the basis for ethical conduct rather than to tell
youth workers exactly how to act in particular cases. More detailed documents on certain
issues (such as what levels of risk are appropriate, how to handle conicts of interest), and
guidelines on particular aspects of professional practice (such as condentiality, handling
suspected cases of abuse) could be provided to supplement the statement of principles.
These would come better from individual employers or organisations to t particular
local circumstances or age groups. And/or some bodies may wish to produce a shorter
version of this text.
The statement of principles is in section 5 of this document. Sections 1 to 4 offer
some background comments on the nature and purpose of youth work, the
importance of ethics in youth work, the purpose of the statement of principles and
a short summary of the principles.

1
2

The National Youth Agency (October 1999) Ethics in Youth Work, Leicester,
The NYA.
Banks, S. (2000) Report to The National Youth Agency on Ethics in Youth Work,
Durham, Community and Youth Work Studies Unit, University of Durham.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

1 The nature and purpose of youth work

1.1. The purpose of youth work is to facilitate and support young peoples growth
through dependence to interdependence, by encouraging their personal and
social development and enabling them to have a voice, inuence and place in
their communities and society.
1.2. Youth work is informed by a set of beliefs which include a commitment to equal
opportunity, to young people as partners in learning and decision-making and to
helping young people to develop their own sets of values. We recognise youth
work by these qualities (based on Davies 19963):
it offers its services in places where young people can choose to participate;
it encourages young people to be critical in their responses to their own
experience and to the world around them;
it works with young people to help them make informed choices about their
personal responsibilities within their communities;
it works alongside school and college-based education to encourage young
people to achieve and full their potential; and
it works with other agencies to encourage society to be responsive to young
peoples needs.

Davies, B. (1996) At your service? Young People Now, August, pp26 to 27.
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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

2 The importance of ethics in youth work

2.1. Ethics is generally regarded as being about the norms of behaviour people follow
regarding what is good or bad, right or wrong. Usually ethical issues are about
matters of human (and animal) wellbeing or welfare.
2.2. Ethics in the context of professional practice is about:
developing the ability of practitioners to see the ethical dimensions of
problems, to reect on issues, to take difcult decisions and to be able to
justify these decisions; and
acting with integrity according to ones responsibilities and duties (this may
entail behaving in accordance with professional principles, guidelines or
agency rules).
2.3. The behaviour of everyone involved in youth work and youth services political
and managerial leaders, managers, trustees, employees, volunteers and
participants must be of a standard that makes it the basis of:
the effective delivery of services;
modelling appropriate behaviour to young people;
trust between workers and young people;
trust between organisations and services and parents and young people;
a willingness of various parties to commit resources; and
a belief in the capacity of youth work to help young people themselves learn
to make moral decisions and take effective action.
2.4. This requires all involved to be capable of appropriate thinking about ethics
in practical situations.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

3 Purpose of the statement of principles

3.1. The statement in section 5 outlines the basic principles underpinning the work
with the aim of guiding the conduct of youth workers and managers and to serve
as a focus for debate and discussion about ethical issues in practice. It is not a
rulebook prescribing exactly what youth workers should do in every situation.
This would be impossible to achieve, due to the variety of practice settings,
age groups and types of work. Rather the statement is intended to be used
as a starting point for outlining the broad principles of ethical conduct; raising
awareness of the multiple responsibilities of youth workers (paid and voluntary)
and their managers and the potential for conict or at least tension between
these responsibilities; and for encouraging and stimulating ethical reection and
debate.
3.2. The rst part of the statement covers ethical principles which include the way
that youth workers should treat the young people they work with (for example,
with respect for their rights to make choices, without discrimination) and the
kinds of values that youth workers are working towards (such as a just society).
The second part of the statement covers professional principles which relate
more particularly to how the youth worker should act in the role of a practitioner
with certain types of responsibility and accountability.The practice principles listed
under each general principle are more specic, suggesting how youth workers
would apply the broader ethical and professional principles. They are not
exhaustive.
3.3. Note: the term youth worker in this statement is intended to include
those who work in youth work directly with young people and people who
manage those working directly with young people.The phrase professional
is to denote acceptance of a particular role within the profession of
youthwork, not necessarily the employment status of the individual who
may well, for example, be a volunteer.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

4 Summary of the statement of principles of ethical

conduct for youth work

Ethical principles
Youth workers have a commitment to:
1. Treat young people with respect, valuing each individual and avoiding
negative discrimination.
2. Respect and promote young peoples rights to make their own
decisions and choices, unless the welfare or legitimate interests of themselves
or others are seriously threatened.
3. Promote and ensure the welfare and safety of young people, while
permitting them to learn through undertaking challenging educational activities.
4. Contribute towards the promotion of social justice for young people and
in society generally, through encouraging respect for difference and diversity and
challenging discrimination.

Professional principles
Youth workers have a commitment to:
5. Recognise the boundaries between personal and professional life and
be aware of the need to balance a caring and supportive relationship with young
people with appropriate professional distance.
6. Recognise the need to be accountable to young people, their parents or
guardians, colleagues, funders, wider society and others with a relevant interest in
the work, and that these accountabilities may be in conict.
7. Develop and maintain the required skills and competence to do the
job.
8. Work for conditions in employing agencies where these principles are
discussed, evaluated and upheld.
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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

5 Statement of principles of ethical conduct

for youth work
5.1.

Ethical principles. Youth workers have a commitment to:

5.1.1. Treat young people with respect

Practice principles would include:
valuing each young person and acting in a way that does not exploit
or negatively discriminate against certain young people on irrelevant
grounds such as race, religion, gender, ability or sexual orientation;
and
explaining the nature and limits of condentiality and recognising that
condential information clearly entrusted for one purpose should not
be used for another purpose without the agreement of the young
person except where there is clear evidence of danger to the
young person, worker, other persons or the community.

5.1.2. Respect and promote young peoples rights to make their

own decisions and choices
Practice principles would include:
raising young peoples awareness of the range of decisions and
choices open to them and offering opportunities for discussion and
debate on the implications of particular choices;
offering learning opportunities for young people to develop their
capacities and condence in making decisions and choices through
participation in decision-making bodies and working in partnership
with youth workers in planning activities; and
respecting young peoples own choices and views, unless the
welfare or legitimate interests of themselves or other people are
seriously threatened.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

5.1.3. Promote and ensure the welfare and safety of young
people
Practice principles would include:
taking responsibility for assessing risk and managing the safety of
work and activities involving young people;
ensuring their own competence, and that of employees and
volunteers for whom they are responsible, to undertake areas of
work and activities;
warning the appropriate authority, and taking action, if there are
thought to be risks or dangers attached to the work;
drawing to the attention of their employer and, if this proves
ineffective, bringing to the attention of those in power or, nally, the
general public, ways in which activities or policies of employers may
be seriously harmful to the interests and safety of young people; and
being aware of the need to strike a balance between avoiding
unnecessary risk and permitting and encouraging young people to
partake in challenging educational activities.

5.1.4. Contribute towards the promotion of social justice for young

people and in society generally
Practice principles would include:
promoting just and fair behaviour, and challenging discriminatory
actions and attitudes on the part of young people, colleagues and
others;
encouraging young people to respect and value difference and
diversity, particularly in the context of a multi-cultural society;
drawing attention to unjust policies and practices and actively seeking
to change them;
promoting the participation of all young people, and particularly
those who have traditionally been discriminated against, in youth
work, in public structures and in society generally; and
encouraging young people and others to work together collectively
on issues of common concern.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

5.2.

Professional principles. Youth workers have a commitment to:

5.2.1. Recognise the boundaries between personal and

professional life
Practice principles would include:
recognising the tensions between developing supportive and
caring relationships with young people and the need to maintain an
appropriate professional distance;
taking care not to develop close personal, particularly sexual,
relationships with the young people they are working with as
this may be against the law, exploitative or result in preferential
treatment. If such a relationship does develop, the youth worker
concerned should report this to the line manager to decide on
appropriate action;
not engaging in work-related activities for personal gain, or accepting
gifts or favours from young people or local people that may
compromise the professional integrity of the work; and
taking care that behaviour outside work does not undermine the
condence of young people and the public in youth work.

5.2.2. Recognise the need to be accountable to young people, their

parents or guardians, employers, funders, wider society and
other people with a relevant interest in the work
Practice principles would include:
recognising that accountabilities to different groups may conict
and taking responsibility for seeking appropriate advice and making
decisions in cases of conict;
being open and honest in all dealings with young people, enabling
them to access information to make choices and decisions in their
lives generally and in relation to participation in youth work activities;
ensuring that actions as a youth worker are in accordance with the
law;
ensuring that resources under youth workers control are distributed
fairly, according to criteria for which youth workers are accountable,
and that work undertaken is as effective as possible;
reporting to the appropriate authority any suspicions relating to a
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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

young person being at risk of serious harm or danger, particularly of
sexual or physical abuse; and
actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and
professionals from other agencies.

5.2.3. Develop and maintain the skills and competence required to

do the job
Practice principles would include:
only undertaking work or taking on responsibilities for which workers
have the necessary skills, knowledge and support;
seeking feedback from service users and colleagues on the quality of
their work and constantly updating skills and knowledge; and
recognising when new skills and knowledge are required and seeking
relevant education and training.

5.2.4. Foster and engage in ethical debate in youth work

Practice principles would include:
developing awareness of youth workers own personal values and
how these relate to the ethical principles of youth work as stated in
section 5.1;
re-examining these principles, engaging in reection and discussion
with colleagues and contributing to the learning of the organisation
where they work;
developing awareness of the potential for conict between personal
and professional values, as well as between the interests and rights
of different individuals and between the ethical principles in this
statement; and
recognising the importance of continuing reection and debate and
seeing this statement of ethical principles as a working document
which should be constantly under discussion.

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Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

5.2.5. Work for conditions in employing agencies where these
principles are discussed, evaluated and upheld
Practice principles would include:
ensuring that colleagues, employers and young people are aware of
the statement of principles;
being prepared to discuss difcult ethical issues in the light of these
principles and contributing towards interpreting and elaborating on
the practice principles; and
being prepared to challenge colleagues or employing agencies
whose actions or policies are contrary to the principles in this
statement.

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The National Youth Agency Statement of Principles

Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

Ethical Conduct in Youth Work

a statement of values and principles from
The National Youth Agency
Youth workers are employed increasingly in a range of different settings and it is
important that they can operate condently within a clear set of ethical principles. This
text provides exactly that. It is based on wide consultation and consideration within the
youth work eld, including The National Youth Agencys Executive Board the most
representative body for youth work in all its forms. We now have a clear, consensual and
strongly supported statement of youth works values and principles which will serve the
profession well.
Tom Wylie, Chief Executive, The National Youth Agency

2.00
First published by The National Youth Agency, Summer 2000.
Reprinted December 2004.

This document is also available for free

download on The NYA website at:
www.nya.org.uk

Eastgate House, 1923 Humberstone Road, Leicester LE5 3GJ.

Tel: 0116 242 7350. Fax: 0116 242 7444.
E-mail: nya@nya.org.uk Website: www.nya.org.uk