National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) - Homeless Agency

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Acknowledgements The National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) is the result of significant work and investment by a number of individuals and groups. The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) would like to thank the NQSF Working Group and Task Group for their work in developing this framework from start to finish. In addition, sincere thanks are due to all those who participated in the pilot of the NQSF, including the youth work organisations and projects, the staff, volunteers and young people who participate in these services, and the VEC Youth Officers who were instrumental in introducing the NQSF. A full list of all the people and organisations involved in the creation and testing of this NQSF is given in the Appendix of this document. vi
Part 1: Introducing the National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) Background The youth work sector works with young people outside, yet alongside, the formal education sector. Both the Youth Work Act 2001 and the National Youth Work Development Plan 2003-2007 have provided youth work with clearer definition and direction. Section 3 of the Youth Work Act 2001 defines youth work as: ‘a planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young persons through their voluntary participation, and which is complementary to their formal, academic or vocational education and training; and provided primarily by voluntary youth work services’. This definition highlights four important dimensions of youth work: ■■ planned; ■■ educational; ■■ based on voluntary participation; ■■ provided primarily by voluntary youth work services. 1Part 1 The continued development and sustainability of youth work requires that these dimensions be identified, demonstrated and developed. The National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) aims to ensure that youth work organisations provide quality services to young people. It also provides an opportunity to articulate their practice through the development of a common language within a structured framework. The NQSF is intended to be both practical and developmental, in that it will enable youth work organisations to assess service provision and to identify areas for development. As engagement in the NQSF is a continuous process, it is not expected that all organisations will be able to immediately and fully achieve all the standards as set out in this document. Neither is it the intention that the NQSF would require uniformity of provision. Rather, it aims to ensure that youth work providers continue to offer a rich and varied service, and commit to a process of continuous development through engagement in the NQSF. The NQSF is primarily a support and development tool for youth work organisations. Self-assessment is fundamental to the process. In addition, there is also an external assessment function, which serves to validate the self-assessment process and which is performed by VEC (Youth/Liaison) Officers for local youth work services or by the NQSF Standards Officer for national youth work organisations.
Page 1: National Quality Standards Framewor
Page 4 and 5: Copyright © Minister for Health an
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Page 12 and 13: ■ ■ Solution-focused - that the
Page 14 and 15: Figure 1: Overview of National Qual
Page 16 and 17: Figure 2: Timeline for implementati
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Page 20 and 21: Scale of attainment The process inv
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