Quality Review

A regrettable aspect of our society in Scotland today is the presence of risk and dangers which perhaps were not so prevalent in the past. However, the awareness of these risks and effective methods to safeguard children and young people from them is an expected feature of best practice organisations in Scotland today.

The new 'Protection of Children Scotland Act' is an example of legislation welcomed in principle by YMCA Scotland to better protect significantly change practice and procedures and to introduce new policies which are often difficult for volunteers to accept. In order to ensure compliance with the growing burden of legislation and to ensure quality of all YMCA provision in Scotland the Working Towards Excellence initiative places YMCA in a leading role in monitoring best practice as an organisation.

YMCA Scotland can claim to lead the field in the development and implementation of quality standards within charitable and voluntary sectors. A set of ten principles of best practice YMCA work was developed in late nineties and it is called "Working Towards Excellence". Now some 7 years in operation the set of standards establish what is expected of every local YMCA association in Scotland in terms of policies and procedures, good governance, the educational process of youth work and ethos and inclusion issues.

Using a model of self assessment supported by a committed resource within YMCA Scotland's staff team each YMCA is required to undergo the process every five years resulting in an award to each association granted the Working Towards Excellence standards. It doesn't demand perfection but a commitment to identifying how to improve and an active investment in working to achieve any conditions agreed during the process.

A unique feature of the YMCA Scotland standards process is that it is facilitated by a group of highly experienced and respected men and women involved in the youth work field. This group includes those external to the YMCA movement bringing a level of objectivity to each assessment and a richness to the depth and methodology of this system. The current group includes former HMIs, qualified youth workers, teachers and most recently the consideration of the inclusion of young people as assessors.

Details of the process are available to your YMCA from the Rutland Street office. YMCA Scotland is currently working with external bodies in Scotland to assess the replicability of the YMCA standards process for wider use by other organistions.

To view the Quality Review Good Practice checklist please click here

Date Last Modified: 6th May 2008

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