Infusion - Information for Leaders
Click on the headings below to take you to the relevant section:
- What are the aims of Infusion?
- Who is Infusion written for?
- How much time will the course take up for the Trainees?
- What materials and resources are provided for Trainees?
- What will Trainees learn on the course?
- How do Trainees complete the Units and Challenges?
- Can a group of Trainees work on the course together?
- What happens if a Trainee cannot complete the course?
- What happens if a Trainee moves away from their group part way through the course?
- What does the role of Supervisor involve?
- How do Trainees start the course?
- Do Trainees need to have a CRB check?
- Summary of the Infusion Units and Challenges.
What are the aims of Infusion?
Infusion is designed to teach teenagers some of the basic foundations that are useful to know when first starting to help as a Christian youth and children's leader.
The course also provides the Trainees with practical experience of working with children or young people younger than themselves and helps them develop skills and attitudes that will be useful in this role.
Who is Infusion written for?
The course is designed for young people who are ready and willing to start learning some of the basic skills of youth and children's leadership. The following criteria may be helpful:
- We recommend the young people should be aged between 13 and 19 when they start the course. (Experience has shown that it is best if they are at least 15 when they start, unless they are particularly mature and their Supervisor is confident they can cope with the demands of the course.)
- They do not need any previous experience of helping with Christian children's or youth work but they must have a genuine interest in, and willingness to be trained for this role.
- They should be willing to commit themselves to learning more about the Christian faith and how to help children and young people discover this faith for themselves.
- They should be willing to set aside the time needed to complete the Units and Challenges and work through the other resources in the course, which may require them to sacrifice something else less important to free up the time.
- They will need a children's or youth group at which they can help alongside experienced leaders. Working within the 8 to 13 age group would be ideal for Trainees, but whatever age group they help with we recommend that the oldest member is at least two academic years younger than they are. Each Trainee will need an experienced leader to act as their Supervisor – see the later section ‘What does the role of Supervisor involve?' for more details of this role.
Please note:
- It is important that the whole leadership team of the children's or youth group at which the Trainee will be helping are fully supportive of them in this role.
- Leaders will have to use their judgment carefully when considering whether younger teenagers aged 13 or 14 should start the course. It is probably best to encourage them to start only if they show sufficient maturity.
- Whilst there is no assumption that teenagers will be committed Christians when they start Infusion – we only require that they are prepared to learn more about the Christian faith themselves and help children or young people to learn more about it too – some leaders may prefer that only Trainees who have shown a Christian commitment should start.
- Trainees who are likely to be moving away before finishing the course may have to arrange to finish the course within a new Christian youth or children's group, with a different Supervisor. This is wholly permissible and should not deter anyone from starting.
How much time will the course take up for the Trainees?
Most teenagers can complete the course in about one academic year, working between one and two hours per week on average. This time includes:
- Attending the group at which they will be helping, and attending planning meetings, etc. organised by the team.
- Completing the material in the Units and Challenges and preparing any associated materials.
- Working through the follow-up material on this website.
Please note:
- Trainees can start at any time during the academic year.
- It is appreciated that many Trainees who embark on the course will be studying for examinations at school or college. Whilst the course demands some work from them – it would not be worth doing if this were not so – it should never be allowed to affect their studies. Supervisors should regularly check to see that the course is not interfering with a Trainee's academic studies.
What materials and resources are provided for Trainees?
The Infusion Trainees are provided with the following resources:
- The Trainee's Units and Challenges section of this website contains the training material at the heart of the course. This material uses a mixture of observation, practical exercises and research, which require interaction with the leaders and young people in a children's or youth group setting. The Units and Challenges are in PDF format which can be printed free of charge from the website and they are also available for purchase in a full-colour A4 booklet – see the Trainee's Units and Challenges section for details.
- To help broaden the knowledge of Trainees, the Trainee's Follow-up Material section of this website contains a range of useful extension material to go with the Units and Challenges. Some of this material is in PDF format and can be printed off for future reference.
- Following on from Infusion, Urban Saints provides opportunities for anyone aged 14 or over* to take part in a range of short-term service projects in the UK and overseas. All of the projects have a children's or youth work element to help broaden and develop the skills learned during the Infusion course. The Other Service Opportunities section of this website contains information about the latest projects and links to other useful websites. (*The minimum age varies and is higher on some projects.)
What will Trainees learn on the course?
The Trainee's Units, Challenges and follow up material cover the following general topics:
- Working safely with children
- Understanding children and how they develop
- How to manage children individually and in groups
- Sharing the Christian faith with children
- Running activities with children
- Working in a team
Infusion will help Trainees to develop the folowing skills:
- Observation
- Communication
- Organisation
- Planning and preparation
- Decision making and delegation
- Teamwork
Please note:
- We know that being a Christian youth or children's leader is a life-long learning experience. The Infusion course has been carefully written to provide a broad foundation on which teenagers can build in the years ahead. The course cannot, of course, include everything we would like them to learn and so Supervisors are encouraged to add extension material of their own if they wish in order to extend the usefulness of the course for their Trainees.
- Some leaders may feel that they would like more emphasis on how to teach the Christian faith in the Units. Please remember that this course is just an introduction to leadership and therefore gives a ‘taster' of the many different skills and roles leaders take on, including teaching about Christianity. The Trainees will gain considerable benefit from watching the different ways that leadership teams approach teaching the Christian faith and this is one area where teams are encouraged to provide support themselves for Trainees, as they feel able.
How do Trainees complete the Units and Challenges?
Trainees will be helping experienced leaders at a children's or youth group as they progress through the course. (The oldest members of the group at which they help should be at least two academic years younger than they are otherwise they might find the role of helper very difficult.) The Units and Challenges should be completed in order, each one being worked through on a different occasion they are present at the group as a helper. We recommend that they plan to complete a new Unit at the group every two to three weeks or so and in the intervening weeks try to follow up and put into practice what they learned in the previous Units. The Challenges require more extended work and will therefore probably overlap with some of the Units.
Please note:
- Although Trainees have the Units and Challenges to complete, in all other respects they should be allowed to take on the role of helper at the group as fully as possible, bearing in mind their age, experience and the time they have available.
- When a Trainee has completed the course, or finished a minimum number of Units and Challenges, then they may apply for an Infusion Certificate which summarises what they have achieved. The section Order Your Infusion Certificate on this website explains the process and contains a downloadable Certificate Application Form.
Can a group of Trainees work on the course together?
It is envisaged that in some cases a group of Trainees will want to start the course together. This is perfectly acceptable but will create at least one potential problem for the Supervisor:
- For many of the Units the Trainees are asked to gather information from the young people or leaders at the group with which they are helping. Obviously if there is a group of Trainees all trying to gather this information at the same time then the young people may soon tire at having to answer the same questions – it is hoped the leaders may be a bit more patient! One way around this problem would be for the Trainees to work together, or to take it in turns to do the research and share their results with each other. Supervisors may also be able to arrange for Trainees to visit other children's or youth groups to gather their information, or the Trainees could carry out some of the research in a school, for example.
What happens if a Trainee cannot complete the course?
Inevitably some Trainees will find that circumstances change and for one reason or another they cannot complete the course. As long as they have completed at least Units 1 to 6 and Challenge 1 then Trainees may apply for an Infusion Certificate and the Units completed will be endorsed on the Certificate.
What happens if a Trainee moves away from their group part way through the course?
If a Trainee moves part way through the course then they have two options:
- They may continue with Infusion at a different youth group provided they can find an experienced leader to supervise them for the remainder of the course.
- If they cannot continue with the course and have completed at least Units 1 to 6 and Challenge 1 then they may apply for an Infusion Certificate in the usual way.
What does the role of Supervisor involve?
- Many youth leaders would say that the biggest problem they face in running their youth group is a lack of leaders and helpers. Infusion is designed to help start the training of many hundreds of new young leaders within the next few years. The best place for them to learn their skills is in an established youth or children's group under the guidance of experienced leaders. Infusion provides all the ideas and materials for Trainees – the Supervisor's main role is to act as a mentor and provide the oversight and encouragement.
- In their role as a children's or youth group helper, the Trainees will hopefully join a team that already meets regularly, plans programmes, prays together and supports each other. As the Trainee starts to take on responsibility, Supervisors may well have to spend a little time with them individually, but no more than you would expect if a new and inexperienced leader had joined the team. It is hoped that after a month or two Trainees will actually start to ease the workload on the other leaders by taking on some of the responsibilities themselves. This, of course, will depend on the quality of the Trainees who enrol, their age and maturity and the encouragement they get, but the course is designed to help them take on real responsibility.
- Trainees will need to be given a briefing outlining the child protection policy that is followed by the youth or children's group in which they will be helping. It is best if the Supervisor gives this briefing before the Trainee attends the group for the first time. The Trainee should be provided with a copy of the policy – they will ask for a copy at the end of Unit 1 if they have not already been given one!
- Whenever a Trainee completes a Unit or Challenge the Supervisor will need to sign in the box provided on the second page of each Unit/Challenge to verify that the Trainee has been completed the Unit/Challenge satisfactorily.
- Supervisors should be available to offer help and encouragement to Trainees not just in the area of youth and children's leadership, but also in such areas as their own faith development, dealing with issues of time management, etc.
How do Trainees start the course?
These are the things that each Trainee is asked to do in order to start the course:
- Read through the Information for Teenagers section on this website to see what the course entails.
- Look through the material in the Trainee's Units and Challenges section of this website to see what they will be expected to do.
- Satisfy themselves that they have the time to complete the course in the year ahead.
- Check that an experienced leader at that their youth/children's group is willing to act as their Supervisor.
- Explain the course – and the time commitment they are making – to their parents.
- Arrange with their Supervisor at which children's/youth group section they will be helping.
- Confirm with their Supervisor a date when they will start helping at the group above.
- Plan out in detail which Units they will complete during the coming term or so.
- Plan out roughly when they aim to complete the remainder of the Units/Challenges.
- Register with Urban Saints by email. (We encourage all Trainees to register with Urban Saints so that we can let them know about additional resources that may be of help during the course.)
Do Trainees need to have a CRB check?
Urban Saints policy is that CRB checks need only carried out on those aged 16 or over who regularly help in a group. It is assumed that under 16s, and those over 16 who are temporary helpers and have not had a CRB check, will never be left alone with young people and will always be supervised by a leader who has an up-to-date CRB Disclosure. Within Infusion our recommendation is that Trainees aged 16 or over should be CRB checked following the normal procedures operated in the group. (For Energize Plus groups this means appointing them as Group Helpers using the correct form and procedures given in the Know How Guide, which will automatically trigger the CRB process.)
Summary of the Units and Challenges – this is the order in which they should be completed.
Unit 1 - Safety Matters
AIM: To learn how to create a safe environment for young people.
Trainees learn a simple risk-assessment procedure and then use it before a group meeting. A list of ‘good practice' procedures is then checked against what happens at the group. Trainees consult their Supervisor regarding the child protection policy followed in the group.
Unit 2 - Creating Friendship and Security
AIM: To learn how to create a caring, friendly environment in which young people feel secure.
Young people are asked what they like about the group to which they belong. Leaders are observed to look for ways of helping young people feel secure at the group. Trainees reflect on how they can be more effective themselves in this area.
Unit 3 - Being an Effective Leader
AIM: To discover the qualities in a leader that help create good relationships with young people.
Young people in the group are asked what qualities make good and bad leaders. Trainees spend time in structured conversation with two group members and then reflect on the barriers leaders can create that hinder relationship building.
Unit 4 - Being an Effective Team
AIM: To discover two facts that are usually true for successful teams.
Trainees learn the importance or working towards a viable aim and ask leaders for the aim at their group. They then learn the importance of everyone in a team working together in an atmosphere of mutual support, and research the different jobs done by the leaders.
Challenge 1 - Taking on Responsibility
AIM: To give the Trainee their first ‘taste' of real responsibility.
Trainees take on one of the jobs identified in Unit 4 for at least one month. They also have to find a way of making the job more effective or improving on it in some way. Trainees keep a log of their actions.
Unit 5 - Managing Groups of Young People
AIM: To learn some techniques for managing groups of young people effectively.
A list of ‘good practice' procedures for managing young people is checked against what happens at the group. Trainees ask leaders for their best ‘tips' on managing groups and then reflect on what they have learned from the Unit.
Unit 6 - Running Games and Activities
AIM: To learn how to plan and run games and activities safely and effectively.
Trainees plan and run a game or activity at their group, using checklists and a list of tips to help them. A leader gives feedback on their performance at the end.
Challenge 2 - Organising a Social Event
AIM: To give Trainees another opportunity to take on real responsibility.
Trainees help to plan a social event with their group using a checklist to help them. A leader ‘shadows' them and gives feedback at the end. Trainees can help run the event too if they wish.
Unit 7 - Encouraging Co-operation
AIM: To discover how to create an atmosphere of co-operation with young people.
Trainees learn three components of a good discipline strategy and the difference between negative and positive discipline. Leaders are asked for the rules that are given to the group. Trainees reflect on how to reward co-operative behaviour with praise and encouragement.
Unit 8 - Development of Young People
AIM: To learn about some of the changes that take place as children develop from Primary to Secondary age.
Trainees observe young people in the group and check what they see against a list of standard developmental changes. They then apply what they have learned to try and solve two problems that youth or children's leaders may encounter.
Unit 9 - Faith and Young People
AIM: To learn about faith development in young people.
Trainees reflect on their own ‘faith journey'. Then they carry out a questionnaire at their group to show the different levels of faith development of the young people. Finally, they reflect on what can be learned from the questionnaire.
Unit 10 - Teaching the Christian Faith
AIM: To take responsibility for planning and delivering part of a teaching session at their group.
Trainees help to plan and deliver at least 50% of a formal teaching session at their group using a checklist to help them. A leader ‘shadows' them and gives feedback at the end.
Challenge 3 - Helping a Group to Grow
AIM: To produce a ‘resource' that will attract new leaders or young people to the group.
Trainees choose between producing a resource that will recruit new group members or leaders. They have to research what the needs of the group are and then plan and produce the resource. Checklists and hints are provided to assist at all stages.
Unit 11 - Dealing with Issues
AIM: To discover how young people in the group are affected by ‘life issues' they have to face.
Young people in the group are asked for their responses to a variety of questions about aspects of their lives. Trainees then reflect on how well the formal teaching at the group deals with common life issues affecting young people. Finally, they have to help in a teaching session by explaining how their faith helped them to cope with a life issue that has affected them.
Unit 12 - Listening to Young People
AIM: To learn some techniques useful when ‘listening' to young people.
Trainees observe leaders to discover what leaders do and say that enable conversations to develop with young people. Then they learn five points to aid ‘listening‘ before putting these into practice whilst being observed by a leader. The leader gives feedback at the end.
Unit 13 - Putting it All Together
AIM: To learn about delegation and being a team leader.
Trainees learn four things about being a team leader and then have to take responsibility for a whole group meeting, ‘shadowed' by an experienced leader. A checklist and hints are provided to help the Trainee. An optional task of changing something at the meeting to improve on it is also provided.
Unit 14 - End of Course Evaluation
Trainees work through a series of questions with their Supervisor, and on their own, in order to reflect on what they have gained from following the course.