National Youth Strategy: Key Takeaways for Manchester-based Youth VCSE Organisations

Recently, the government released a major policy document: the National Youth Strategy called Youth Matters. This outlines how the government's plans on how to support young people across England through policy and targeted projects. It’s worth noting that this strategy is for young people aged 10+ and does cover play.

The National Youth Strategy was co-produced with 14,000 young people aged 10-21 (and up to 25 for those with additional needs), including young Mancunians who participated in Manchester’s ‘Deliver You’ consultation. The key takeaway from the strategy is that the government recognises the importance of youth work and youth spaces for young people’s physical, social and mental health and plans to invest £500 million+ in young people’s futures.

Below, we’ve summarised the key announcements most relevant to the youth sector in Manchester.

The Government is planning to:

• Promote collaborative and place-based approaches to working with young people and youth organisations.

• Provide wrap-around support both in-and-out of classrooms including creating more safe spaces for young people and improving e-safety.

• Champion young people’s health and wellbeing, including initiatives Young Futures Hub which will offer an accessible entry points for mental health, employment and general support.

• Improve access to a trusted adults for 500,000 young people across England.

• Develop the youth sector workforce by investing in training and funding for those working with young people including volunteers and paid staff.

They are planning to do this by investing:

• £15 million to recruit and train youth workers including volunteer youth workers.

• £15 million for attendance mentoring programmes.

• £5 million to strengthen local youth partnerships and promote greater collaboration

• £350 million in ‘Better Youth Spaces’ programme to build or refurbish up to 250 youth facilities and provide needed equipment for 2,5000 organisations, building on the existing Better Youth Spaces and Youth Investment Fund.

• £60 million ‘Richer Young Lives Fund’ which will offer funding for youth work and activities in focussed on the most underserved areas (they have not yet released the list of areas)

• £70 million to create 50 ‘Young Futures Hubs’ offering accessible employment, mental health and general support by trained adults. Manchester City Council have been selected as one of eight early adopters of these – there are live opportunities to co-design this with Youth Focus North West on 20th Jan book in via these links: Session 1 / Session 2!

• £400 million on new and updated grassroots community sports facilities which promote young people’s health and wellbeing.

What this means for you and your young people in Manchester:

The government’s ambitious plans put youth work and young people front and centre. This investment promises big changes to the local youth ecosystem, and at Young Manchester, we’re excited to see them unfold.

This is not a return to a local authority-run youth service but does move significant decision-making power back to local authorities, with delivery continuing to be led by the VCSE sector.

• Coordinated Local Youth Offers: Local Authorities, including Manchester City Council, will lead on local youth offers. The strategy makes clear that it is the council’s responsibility to ensure Local VCSE organisations have opportunities to influence priorities and shape delivery of local offers.

• Stronger Emphasis on Co-Design & Youth Voice: Policy places increased emphasis on involving young people in decision-making at place-based, local, and national levels. Local councils must ensure VCSE organisations will play a critical role in enabling young people to shape policy, practice and funding.

• Improved Collaboration: The strategy calls for more collaborative and partnership-based collaborations to ensure a consistent, wrap-around and joined up support offers for young people.

• Enhanced Workforce Development: There is a focus on strengthening the youth sector workforce through improved training pathways and clearer standards. This creates paid opportunities for organisations working with young people to upskill staff and access recognised qualifications, including JNC.

• Expansion of Targeted Support: The policy highlights a need for more tailored support for certain communities; this includes specific support for certain non-geographic communities (i.e. Girls and Women) and geographic communities that are underserved.

At Young Manchester, we’re excited by this strategy. It offers a chance to co-create a better future for young people, though significant action is needed to address the £1.2+ billion gap for youth services created by austerity. This is a promising first step, and we’re eager to see its local impact.

You can read the strategy here: Link

If you want to hear more, sign up to DCMS’s webinar on Tuesday 16th December Click this link to attend!

Do you have any thoughts and/or feelings about this strategy?

Share them with us, contact:

• Hasaan Amin, Research & Impact Officer, E: H.amin@youngmanchester.org

• Emma Sims, Associate Director, E: E.sims@youngmanchester.org