About MYA

Welcome to this unique website. MYA worked with CoCreate Design to design a website which was accessible to children and young people, parents, professionals who refer young people to MYA and to funders and commissioners in order to showcase the work that we deliver.

We hope you will see that CoCreate Design have developed an interactive website that is full of life and engaging to the reader. Its aim is to provide up to date information on the latest news and projects we manage. We wanted young people to be at the heart of the website and so worked with them around content and style. We also wanted the website to be a vehicle to illustrate the talents of young people such as providing a jukebox of 12 young peoples’ work which has been produced by the MYA project ‘Noise’. This will enable the user to play and preview various music tracks. To enhance their track, artists also have the ability to add a 'MySpace' style profile advertising their music and profiling the artist as a form of publicity.

This will be updated regularly and we will also be producing information about the young people who have written and recorded these songs in our recording studios. These are young people who have not really explored their talent before coming to Noise, but they worked with the two musicians who are also youth workers, exploring issues within their lives and creating songs.

We will also be showing video clips from films that they make, in addition to asking young people to provide their own artwork to be used as a background within the site.
We hope you feel a sense of pride in the work that the young people we work with can achieve.

Since 1890 Merseyside Youth Association Ltd has provided a range of diverse, inclusive and quality services for young people. We strive to positively engage young people, to meet their needs and enable them to reach their full potential. MYA is committed to inclusive, anti oppressive practice, which puts young people at the centre. MYA organises a range of generic and specialist support services for young people aged 7-25 who live in Merseyside. The work MYA offers is divided into 6 extended support teams: Social Inclusion/Alternative Education, Arts, Youth Work, Support Services, Sports, and Health.

There have been a number of MYA Chief Executives over the years but the one who was at the forefront of the Association’s move from its’ premises in Sheil Road to the current location at Abney Buildings was Roy Evans. Roy was taken on as Chief Executive in 1985 and continued this role until 1999, just before MYA’s move to its new location.

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Creating Positive and lasting change in the lives of Merseyside's Young People.

Merseyside Youth Association is underpinned by a set of values and principles, which are shared within the organisation. Therefore MYA strives to be:

* Young person centred - a place where young people are valued and respected
* Inclusive and accessible
* Responsive and supportive
* Friendly and non judgemental
* Developmental, challenging and rewarding

MYA aims to promote equality and diversity is all aspects of its work.

MYA views itself as an equal opportunity employer. MYA endeavours to ensure that within the framework of the law no employee, job applicant or candidate for promotion receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of colour, ethnic or national origin, sex, race, nationality, religion, religious belief, disability, family commitments, age, gender (including gender reassignment), sexual orientation, perceived sexual orientation, marital status or actual or suspected infection with HIV/AIDS.

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At the core of MYA there are 6 Equality Principles in order to promote Social Justice, whereby we believe a socially just society is about every young person being recognized as citizens, enjoying the chances and opportunities to make the most of their lives and use of their talents to the full.

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MYA is committed to improving the lives of children and young people and we certainly make a difference to their lives. We recognize that we cannot do this alone and so have many diverse partners who we work with. We do this in several ways

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MYA has a robust Workforce Development Strategy and Action Plan which defines and promotes a culture of learning and development. We conduct a training needs analysis and ensure that training opportunities support the staff to carry out their job more effectively and essentially that any training will be transferred back into the work place. A calendar of training is provided to all staff.

Examples of our commitment to Workforce Development Include >>

MYA has developed a comprehensive Participation strategy, this sets out the context of Participation and showcase best practice examples of how MYA engage with young people in meaningful participation such as: Staff recruitment, Curriculum development, influencing projects.

MYA is known for delivering Quality Work to children and young people throughout Merseyside. We evidence this through our own internal procedures and also welcome external verification of Quality Assurance. To date we have been awarded Outstanding by Ofsted in Febraury 2008. We were awarded the Invertors in People Award in 2002, and this has been renewed in 2005 and 2008, We have received the Investors iN children Award and our last achievement was the National Youth Agency Quality Mark.

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MYA is both financially viable and a successful organisation which is demonstrated by our relationship with an extensive range of funders both statutory and voluntary, such as Liverpool City Council, Sefton Metropolitan BC, Liverpool Primary Care Trust, BBC Children in Need, Sport England, Big Lottery Fund etc. Some of our partnerships have existed for over 30 years. Throughout this web site you will see our diverse range of funders and partners. We have a robust financial management policy which has been developed through our staff, external accountant, Board of Directors, and External Accoutants who audit our accounts and procedures. We also work towards Best Value Principles and Sustainble Development.

Merseyside Youth Association Ltd (MYA) has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved in MYA from harm. All children have a right to protection, and the needs of disabled children and others who may be particularly vulnerable must be taken into account. MYA will ensure the safety and protection of all children involved in MYA through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines adopted by MYA.

A child is defined as a person under the age of 18 (The Children Act 1989).

MYA is committed to providing for the health, safety and welfare of all employees and to maintaining standards at least equal to the best practice.

MYA will observe the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and all relevant regulations and codes of practice made under it from time to time. MYA will take into account any recommendations made by the Health and Safety Executive with regard to health and safety issues and where appropriate will liaise with the Health and Safety Executive on particular health and safety issues which are of particular relevance to the Charity.