Operating Guidelines

Introductory Note to the Operating Guidelines

"Helping young people to discover and deliver their full potential"

Code of Practice

1. The Year Out Group's Code of Practice, which incorporates the Member's Charter, provides the basis for the standard of service expected of the Group's member organisations. New members are required to demonstrate their ability to adhere to the Code and existing members are required annually to demonstrate that they continue to adhere to it. But the Code of Practice is, of necessity, a broadly based document, as it is required to apply to the very wide range of programmes provided by the Group's members. These programmes fall into four main categories:

• Courses and cultural exchanges.
• Expeditions.
• Volunteering and Structured work placements.

2. In order to provide more detailed guidance for member organisations, Year Out Group has developed or adopted a set of operational guidelines that are appropriate to the activities of that sector.

Operational Guidelines

3. Courses and Cultural Exchanges, Volunteering and Structured Work Placements. Year Out Group has developed the operational guidelines for these three sectors. Each standard has four main sections:

• Planning the Placement. Placements need to be planned in advance in order to meet, as closely as possible, the objectives of both the volunteer and the host organisation.
• Monitoring the Placement. Each placement should be monitored whilst in progress. Problems should be solved as they arise and emergencies met should they occur.
• Measure Satisfaction/Refine the Process. Procedures should be in place to measure the satisfaction gained from the placement by both the client and the host and to take corrective action as appropriate.
• Year Out Group members must be able to demonstrate how these standards are met.

5. There is a large variety of programmes in each of these four sectors. It has therefore been necessary to build in some flexibility to the Operational Guidelines that are set out on the following pages. The Code of Practice and the Operational Guidelines show that all member organisations of Year Out Group recognise their responsibility toward all participants in their programmes. The Year Out Group has set down a high level of operating guidelines. Every member of the Year Out Group subscribes to these guidelines for their programmes and is constantly seeking to ensure that they are maintained. Nonetheless some minimum levels of service are implied.

6. The Operating Guidelines are set out on the following pages.