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Title / Establish and maintain rapport with youth
Level / 4 / Credits / 6
Purpose / People credited with this unit standard are able to: distinguish essential features of a young person’s identity; build rapport with a young person; and maintain rapport with a young person.
Classification / Social Services > Youth Work
Available grade / Achieved
Explanatory notes
1 People awarded credit for this unit standard are able to describe the meaning of the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi to youth work. They are able to apply this competence to the context of assessment against this unit standard. For further clarification, please refer to Unit 16844, Describe the meaning and relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in youth work.
2 Glossary:
Characteristics and needs of youth may be physical, spiritual, or mental. Characteristics include: age and stage of development, coping strategies, culture, disabilities, experience and knowledge, gender, health status, personal history, language, sexual orientation, socio-economic situation, risk and resiliency factors. Needs include physical comfort, safety, and privacy.
Code of ethics means an agreed set of foundation or guiding principles established by members of the youth work profession. Codes of ethics may be established by local, regional, or national youth work organisations. Codes of ethics related to youth work include but are not limited to: youth work agency or organisation codes of conduct or ethics, and professional association codes of conduct or ethics.
A code of conduct is a code that governs the youth worker’s standard of practice. A code of conduct sets standards of behaviour or conduct that are acceptable and expected of youth workers within their local community or the youth work community.
Culture includes but is not limited to cultures based upon: age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, cultures within Māori, Pākehā, Pacific Island, and Asian groupings; including identification with a culture through birth, adoption, or genealogy or whakapapa.
Inclusive language means language that is free of sexist, racist, or other biases, avoids stereotypes, and avoids potentially offensive or discriminatory forms of expression.
Practice model may be any model that informs effective youth work practice.
Principles of the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa are: youth's participation; empowerment; self-determination of youth; quality relationships; strengths based approach; shaped by the bigger picture; good information.
A supportive environment is one in which the young person is attended to in terms of her/his physical, spiritual, and mental characteristics and needs.
Youth culture includes but is not limited to any culture a young person identifies with. Sub-culture includes any group of youth who are self-identified as a sub-culture or sub-group and may include but are not limited to: skaties; gothics; hip hop; gangs; boguns; boy/girl racers; computer nerds; academics; gamers; ravers; church groups; sporting and recreational groups; uniform groups.
3 Assessment notes:
This unit standard may be assessed against evidence of demonstrated performance in the workplace, and through the use of simulated workplace situations that closely approximate the performance required in workplace settings. Workplace settings can include field education placements.
People awarded credit for this unit standard demonstrate competence with a young person from their own culture and life experience, and a young person from a different culture and life experience.
People awarded credit for this unit standard are able to outline the theory/model that is informing their practice, and apply this model to their youth work practice.
People awarded credit for this unit standard are able to demonstrate and self-monitor their ability to relate to difference, as evidenced by acknowledgment and respect for difference, acceptance, genuineness, honesty, humility, patience, and warmth. They respond in inclusive and empowering ways that are appropriate to the characteristics and needs of youth. They demonstrate and communicate clarity about their role within all relationships with youth. They know the limits of their role, function, and competence, and when to seek advice or refer on to others. Support for youth is provided within the context of a working relationship that encourages self-determination of a young person, discourages long-term dependency by her/him on the youth worker or youth work agency, demonstrates and maintains the boundaries of the youth worker’s role with the young person, and complies with a code of ethics relevant to youth work.
4 All communications are treated confidentially. The scope and limits of confidentiality are defined through negotiation and informed consent, and criteria established by legislation, ethical practice, and youth work agency guidelines. In the context of this unit standard, sources of criteria established by legislation, ethical practice, and youth work agency guidelines include but are not limited to: Official Information Act 1982, Privacy Act 1993, youth work agency codes of conduct, codes of practice issued by the Privacy Commissioner, youth work codes of ethics, and youth work agency protocols, staff manuals, strategic plans. Relevant additional legislation and the codes of conduct, and youth work agency guidelines will be determined according to the context of assessment.
5 Legislation relevant to this unit standard may include but is not limited to: Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989; Crimes Act 1961; Human Rights Act 1993; Health And Safety in Employment Act 1992; Official Information Act 1982; Privacy Act 1993.
6 Resources:
a Global Education Centre at http://www.globaled.org.nz.
b Martin, Lloyd. 2002. The invisible table: Perspectives on youth and youthwork in New Zealand. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
c Ministry of Youth Affairs. 2002. Youth development strategy Aotearoa – Action for child and youth development. Wellington: Ministry of Youth Affairs. Available online from the Ministry of Youth Development (http://www.myd.govt.nz), along with supporting documents.
d United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of the Child, which may be found online at:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/intlinst.htm
http://www.unicef.org/crc/.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Distinguish essential features of a young person’s identity.
Evidence requirements
1.1 The young person's identity is established in terms of their identification with a culture and sub-culture.
Range evidence is required of one culture and one youth sub-culture.
1.2 Essential features of the young person’s identity are described in terms of their relevance to the primary focus of the working relationship.
Range essential features may include but are not limited to – age; class; ethnicity; gender; historical origins; migration and settlement reasons and patterns; significant cultural values; impact of economic, political, and socio-cultural structures, including ideological, kinship, peer group, and religious structures; impact of power structures of another dominant culture; community and recreational interests; education and training; paid and unpaid work experience; disabilities; sexual orientation.
Evidence is required of five essential features.
1.3 The impact of essential features of the young person's identity are described.
Range impact on – beliefs; life choices; kinship and other social relationships; values; experience of prejudice and discrimination; survival strategies.
Evidence is required of one impact of each of five essential features.
Outcome 2
Build rapport with a young person.
Evidence requirements
2.1 A supportive environment is established according to confirmation with the young person.
2.2 The role, function, and any legal responsibilities of the agency and youth worker are explained to, and confirmed with the young person.
2.3 Kawa and or protocols are established for the relationship according to negotiation with and acceptance by the young person.
2.4 Interpersonal skills that are appropriate to the characteristics and needs of the young person are used to respond to verbal and non-verbal communications.
Range interpersonal skills – attending, clarifying, encouraging, following, questioning, paraphrasing, reflection of feeling and content, summarising, body language.
2.5 Language used with the young person enables rapport building.
Range language may include but is not limited to – inclusive language; includes aspects of the first language of the young person and their family or whānau; key words of youth within their youth culture;
aspects of the first language of the young person and their family or whānau may include but are not limited to – greetings and farewells; key cultural values; names for family structures.
2.6 The ability to relate to difference in the relationship with the young person is demonstrated according to relevant criteria.
Range relevant criteria may include but are not limited to – acknowledgement of and respect for difference; acceptance; awareness of own culture; genuineness; honesty; humility; patience; self-awareness; warmth.
2.7 Rapport is sought with the young person, encouragement and affirmation is given, any criticism and feedback is responded to without defensiveness, and changes required to re-establish rapport are acted upon.
Outcome 3
Maintain rapport with a young person.
Evidence requirements
3.1 The youth worker's behaviour with and responses to the young person are in accordance with relevant criteria.
Range relevant criteria may include but are not limited to – value base required of youth workers; code of ethics; the youth worker's role, function, and boundaries; kawa or protocol for the relationship; use of inclusive language; principles of the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa.
3.2 Rapport is continually sought with the young person, any criticism and feedback is responded to without defensiveness, and changes required to maintain rapport are acted upon.
3.3 The youth worker is clear about the limits of their competence and demonstrates appropriate advice seeking or referral to others if the limits of competence are reached.
3.4 The youth worker's role, function, and boundaries are clearly demonstrated and communicated throughout the relationship with the young person.
3.5 The decision to end the working relationship is made according to relevant criteria.
Range relevant criteria may include but are not limited to – the purpose of the relationship has been attained, the relationship between the young person and youth worker is not constructive or is no longer functional, young person's goal(s) has/have been met, the young person chooses to end the relationship.
This unit standard is expiring. Assessment against the standard must take place by the last date for assessment set out below.
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process / Version / Date / Last Date for Assessment /Registration / 1 / 30 August 1999 / 31 December 2016
Revision / 2 / 20 March 2003 / 31 December 2016
Review / 3 / 26 November 2007 / 31 December 2016
Review / 4 / 19 March 2015 / 31 December 2018
Rollover / 5 / 17 September 2015 / 31 December 2018
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference / 0222
This CMR can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR). The CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Community Support Services ITO LimitedSSB Code 101814 / Ó New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2015 / / New Zealand Qualifications Aut