Youth Development Worker
Jo Baynham is the Youth Development Worker for the seven Area Meetings in Quaker in Yorkshire. He started work in 2022.
Jo’s youthwork predominantly involved 11 to 18 years old’s, however Jo is involved with children and families work too.
- His role is to support Local and Area Meeting within Yorkshire as they engage in youth work through;
- The facilitation of groups and events for Young Quakers and those involved in Quaker youth work
- Support, training and encouragement of volunteers involved in Quakerly youth work
- Support, advice and sign-posting for local and national Quaker holidays, events and conferences as they apply to young people
- Support for individual Young Quakers acting under a concern
- Youth work advocacy to and for the Quakers in Yorkshire
Jo holds a BA in theology, and MA in Youth Ministry. Jo holds professional specialisms in youth safety and statutory compliance in residential and adventurous settings gained from 8 years of managing a youth adventure centre. His Masters Thesis was on the subject of gendered God-talk in Christian organsiational culture.
Jo attends Rawdon Quaker meeting with his 10 y/o daughter, when not on the road and is a keen dinghy sailor and mountain biker.
Requests for support, advice, events and training (as they apply to children’s, youth and family work) are actively encouraged.
Jo’s work is both proactive and reactive. Offering to Quakers in whatever context can be offered as standard or co-created. It is, perhaps, worth outlining three key offerings which we know are important, by the frequency that they are requested!
Confident and Prepared LM and AM training.
Not having children young people in your can become a retrograde cycle. Perhaps you did have young people at one point and then they left as they grew up, then perhaps your meeting got used to not having them around. Has being ready and prepared to welcome children, young people and families to your meeting slipped down the list of priorities for your meeting in the familiar whirlwind of nominations, building maintenance and faith in action?
If children, young people, and families show up to your meeting unannounced how confident and prepared do you feel to welcome them? Sharing our Light, faith and tradition and with children, young people and families is key to who we are as a community now and will form the shape the Quakerism of the future. I don’t know about you, but when I look around I see a young nation crying out in a wilderness for the treasures that Quakerism can give rise too. In this I’m reminded of the parable of the treasure in the field in Matthew. (MSG / YLT). Note the joyfulness of the proposition of the protagonist, “In his joy he goeth”.
Are you confident and prepared to joyfully share the treasures of Quakerism with the rising generation?
Email Jo to request this training.
Supercharger Youth worker training.
Whereas Confident and Prepared is about rediscovering a passion and heart for children youth and families work, Supercharger is about key understandings and skills to do the work. Supercharger has three sections, which can be delivered in person in a day to a cohort sharing work or by thirds with a dispersed group online. The three sections are; 1) Understanding the young person 2) The young person and the Quaker way 3) Practicing youthwork safely and reflectively.
Email Jo to request a group session in person or register your interest to join an online cohort.
Safeguarding Contextualisation Training
You’ve read the 98 pages BYM model safeguarding policy and procedure and you’re still not quiet sure what it means, precisely, in real actionable terms, for your Quaker setting? You need this training, we look at your context, assess the risks and do a safeguarding risk assessment together in a collaborative way. Email Jo to request this training.
Jo Baynham – Youth Development Worker
Quakers in Britain, Yorkshire Centre
188 Woodhouse Lane
LS2 9DX
Jonathonb@quaker.org.uk
02076631173
07529221651
The Youth Strategy for Yorkshire
Join the Yorkshire Youth Work Email List