I am just beginning to do some thinking around the idea of Gap Year Students and put these down so that I can present my ideas to my respective employers. Having had one V. BAD experience in the past (a long story, wait for the book!) of trying to take on a year out I want to make sure if I do it again I do it right. Does anyone out there have any great pearls of wisdom to share, anything from the basics of what it has cost to have students to ? I dont know other stuff. Your thought, comments, web links would all be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
We started training a group of gap year students this year we run one day a week training and then they work in their parishes the other four days. We have a couple of parishes who run their own training but they become quite isolated and have a vary blinkered idea of youth work. So what i think Im saying is training is massively important and within a group and exterior to the parish. Maybe youhtblog could do some!
CYM students are often looking for placements.
Get in touch with Sam Richards at Oxford, she’s sent me a pack ALL about it recently.
They’re quite pricey though (well not compared to a youthworker I suppose!) £5000 plus accomodation or thereabouts
Though I don’t think any gap year students will want to come and work with a guy with only half a head!!! Or is it one of those kiddy puzzles where you have to draw the other half of the face??? ;oP
Oh dearest Sarah, who obviously has no understating of art, the picture is symbolic of the fact that most of the time I am only half with it! Therefore I am somewhat like only having half a head! (few I think I bluffed my way out of that one alright.) I have spoken to the guy from Bristol (forgotten his name, and it was only at Matrix, sorry) the other problem is that they tend to want placements for three years and I think to start off with we are not ready for that. Cheers for the thought though.
Obviously YFC is a top organisation, but this year is going to be difficult for us to recruit due to tuition fees at uni kicking in properly.
Have you thought of recruiting a young person locally and then sending them for training with an org like YFC or Oasis? I think you can buy in bits of the Oasis scheme and know we work with churches that way in YFC.