Must know for youth services

Councils have a statutory duty to “secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people” and to make sure young people have a say in the local offer (Section 507B, Education Act 1996). This is often referred to as the ’youth services duty’. The statutory guidance was updated in September 2023, outlining the requirements for local authorities in the delivery of the duty. 

Youth services provide essential support to young people, providing them with a safe place, trusted relationships, stopping them from being drawn into negative situations and reducing demand for acute services further down the line. Youth work can also have an economic value through improving educational, employment and mental health. They can also support other council and partner services, such as youth offending services and education. Youth workers are well linked in with their local areas, are responsive to the needs of young people locally, often know young people very well and can support work in key priority areas such as mental health, exploitation and improving school attendance. 

Local government faces a huge challenge in providing youth services. Due to reductions in funding from central government and an increase in demand for child protection services, councils have had to divert increasingly scarce resources away from services that deliver early help and prevention such as youth services, and into services for children at immediate risk of harm.

Councils are best placed to set out the vision and direction for youth provision in their area. They may not be in a position to deliver or commission all youth provision directly, however their ability to oversee and coordinate is invaluable when working with stakeholders. Local authorities may directly organise, provide or fund services, but may also coordinate or assist provision and funding of services by voluntary, community, educational or private providers and practitioners. 

The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) is the lead government department for youth services. 

While there is no government strategy or over-arching policy dedicated to young people, the Government announced a National Youth Guarantee in 2022 that set out a pledge that by 2025, every young person in England would have access to regular out-of-school activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This would be delivered through the Youth Investment Fund (YIF) which provides funding predominantly for rebuilding or developing youth facilities in particular areas, a reformed National Citizen Service, investment into the Duke of Edinburgh award in schools and reducing waiting lists for uniformed groups and funding #iwill.

Alongside and in support of the Youth Guarantee there are a series of programmes and funding opportunities for youth work and youth services, including: 

• The #iwill fund which provides social action opportunities to young people
• The million hours fund to support young people in areas where they may be at risk of anti-social behaviour 
• Adventures away from home fund
• Funding for local and regional partnership organisations 
• Building Futures Programme 
• Summer Jobs Programme, with the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). 

Other government departments also have a role in supporting young people. For example, the anti-social behaviour (ASB) action plan, is developed in partnership between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office. The action plan is supported by the million-hours fund which is targeted at particular postcodes and youth services are seen as one route to reducing ASB. 

The Ministry of Justice provided funding through the Turnaround Programme for preventative services which many councils and youth offending teams used to invest in youth work programmes. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) has a series of resources on youth services. This includes a vision for youth services which sets out our long-term vision for youth services and provision, research into developing an effective youth offer, and framework of outcomes for young people. 

Councils have a statutory duty to provide a local youth offer for qualifying young people (young people as those aged between 13 and 19 and those aged 20-24 who have a learning difficulty or disability) laid out in Section 507B of the Education Act 1996 (‘Section 507B’). In line with the guidance published on 28 September 2023, councils are required to ensure that their local youth offer is responsive to the needs of young people. The updated statutory guidance for local authorities intends to provide greater clarity on what is required and specifies the need for high-quality and effective practice provided by trained youth workers.

The duty is qualified by the term ‘reasonably practicable’. This means that the determination of whether the local authority is acting reasonably in its actions will depend on the specific circumstances of the local authority and the particular requirements for access to such activities and facilities. Local authorities should determine what is reasonably practicable based on their resources, capabilities and priorities, as well as those of other organisations that offer services to young people in the area.

• In judging what is reasonably practicable, lack of funding alone should not be considered sufficient justification not to secure services. Local authorities can take steps to secure sufficient access to provision by acting as a local coordinator or by assisting provision by local organisations and can charge for provision.
• If there are no accessible open access services available in the area, then qualifying young people could argue that their local authority is not providing a sufficient offer to them under the act.

The statutory duty:

• Covers 13 - 19 year olds (or up to 24 for those with special educational needs)
• Authorities must secure sufficient services for qualifying young people in their area. 
  • However, this can take the form of different models that suit the local area.
  • Local authorities may directly organise, provide or fund services, but may also coordinate or assist provision and funding of services by voluntary, community, educational or private providers and practitioners. They should engage and coordinate with relevant actors, drawing on their support and challenge to encourage continuous improvement in local provision. 
  • Local authorities should be looking at the provision of all available spaces in their area, not just spaces they own, to secure access to safe, supportive and welcoming environments for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.
• Authorities may directly provide services, assist others in the provision of services, make arrangements for facilitating access to services or anything else that may be appropriate. Authorities may also consider if actions should be taken by the authority or another party, and they may charge for anything provided under this duty.
• Authorities must consult with and take into account young people’s views in the area.
  • In order to determine what a sufficient offer is, local authorities should assess the needs of young people in their area as well as the current provision in their area to identify the gaps.
• Authorities must publicise information about available services and keep this up to date.
  • It is up to the local authority to decide how this is published and publicised. 

The National Youth Agency has put together a toolkit to support councils to consider the statutory guidance. 

There is a broad spectrum of what makes up youth services, the youth offer and youth work. Each element has an important role to play in the local offer for young people. 

Youth work is a distinct educational process to support young people’s personal, social, emotional and educational development. It begins with the development of a unique, challenging and developmental relationship with young people, which is utilised to:  

• explore their values, beliefs, ideas and issues 
• enable them to develop their voice, influence and place in society 
• facilitate learning practical and life skills that will help them to realise their full potential.

Youth services are an umbrella term for services that provide a sense of belonging, a safe place and the opportunity for young people to enjoy being young. This can include practical facilities such as a youth centre, activities in the community such as in the local park or using mobile facilities such as a bus. Youth work can be one part of youth services. 

One of the core elements of youth work is the importance of relational practice with the young people who are being supported, and the focus on youth voice. Young people value having someone who is understanding, non-judgemental and outside of school and family relationships.

Youth services and youth work are delivered by a range of different stakeholders, this can include the voluntary, faith and the community sector. Youth services can also be commissioned by different organisations such as Police and Crime Commissioners, schools or the NHS, or developed organically by the voluntary, community and faith sector. 

Youth voice 

Youth work can help young people develop and use their voice. Youth services are also a way to engage with communities that can sometimes not have as easy access to, or be less likely to engage with, services, such as those from Black and ethnic minority communities, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities or who are LGBTQ+. 

Young people’s voices are central to the provision offered to them and should influence the local offer. They can choose to attend a variety of services on a voluntary basis, building a sense of autonomy and trust in practitioners that encourages engagement with further work where needed.

Youth services are one way to engage with young people and ensure that the youth voice is being considered across all areas of the council, not just services specifically for young people. This can include youth councils, SEND youth forums, children in care and care leavers groups. The LGA has collated a range of case studies on how young people’s voices can influence policy development.  

Universal provision

Universal provision offers young people longer term contextual support, catching concerns early and offering the opportunity to deescalate problems before they grow. It provides young people with somewhere safe to go to, trusted workers to talk to, and engaging things to do. 

Universal youth provision can cover arts, culture, recreation and sports and can include uniformed groups such as Scouts and Guides and centres such as 'Onside'. However, some young people may not have easy access to these services as they may not be accessible or available locally, not be affordable to attend or not be available at the right times. Youth services can support the extra curricular and enrichment agenda in secondary schools. 

The statutory guidance highlights that there needs to be the right mix of open access services and targeted services, as providing a mix of both is crucial to meet the needs of all young people in the area. 

Early intervention and prevention

Many councils have considered how youth services can be part of the early help, prevention and early intervention offer to help young people thrive and reduce pressure on statutory services further down the line. This can include locating youth workers in family hubs, working alongside the NHS and the police. There can also be a role for youth workers in schools which can provide essential support to young people and reduce the risk of exclusion and disruptive behaviour. 

Detached youth workers engage with young people where they are – this is often in the community such as in streets, in parks, in shopping centres or in local hangouts such as fast food outlets. This changes the power dynamics and focuses on the relationships that youth workers can build with young people. Youth services can be a route to tackling important local issues such as anti-social behaviour, gang activity and knife crime. 

The Government’s response to the independent review into children’s social care highlighted the need to re-focus the system towards family help, building the system around early help. This means local youth services could play an essential part of a strengthened early help system given their close relationships with families, tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting engagement in school. 

Youth services play a key role in the arts and culture agenda, including community and heritage work. They work alongside leisure services, and health services and public health to support work on vaping, alcohol, substance misuse, tackling obesity and encouraging young people to be active.

Youth services can also support the equality agenda, supporting young LGBTQ+ people, people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and those with disabilities. Youth services can also support programmes aimed at tackling violence against women and girls, tackling sexual assault and abuse and providing informal education in these areas. Youth workers can also be present in health settings to provide key interventions and develop relationships when young people need them most. 

Identifying funding from other parts of the council such as public health, or wider partnership such as police or NHS, to support youth work and youth services may be helpful.

The statutory guidance states that: “In securing the offer, local authorities should recognise the contribution of youth work practice and should aim to employ or to encourage employment of individuals with youth work skills and qualifications for all youth services”. 

Some people working with young people may be mentors, volunteers, apprentices, youth support workers and professional youth workers. Others may have training and experience in other areas of supporting children and young people, such as social work. There are several different routes into youth services and becoming a qualified youth worker.

All training courses are approved and accredited by the National Youth Agency and endorsed by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) which sets the national framework used to grade and pay youth work jobs and negotiates pay and agrees terms and conditions for staff. 

Councils are encouraged to ensure staff are registered through the NYA Register of youth workers.

The NYA safeguarding hub is an online resource providing guidance, support, advice and access to training resources in relation to safeguarding and risk management for organisations and individuals working with young people.

Local authorities could consider using their apprenticeship levy to support people to become youth workers. 

National youth programmes

There is a wide range of youth programmes that operate across the country, including the National Citizen Service (NCS). The NCS provides activities for young people either locally or at residential facilities. This can include identifying volunteering opportunities in the local community or an online platform. The NCS is exploring how they can work with councils to ensure that their offer is relevant to local young people. The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a What Works Centre, funded by the Home Office, exploring what works to stop children and young people from becoming involved in violence. It provides a framework of interventions that have a strong evidence base behind them. Other programmes include the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, Prince’s Trust, uniformed youth organisations such as the Scouts and Girlguiding, and the #iwill youth social action campaign. 

• The Local Government Association has a range of research and good practice case studies available to support local areas when considering the delivery of their youth services. 
• The National Youth Agency has information regarding the statutory duty, safeguarding and workforce development. They have also been commissioned by DCMS to undertake peer reviews for youth services. 
• There is a network for youth service leads and lead members to come together and learn from other areas.
• Each English Region has a Regional Youth Work Unit to help with the creation and cultivation of local services for young people. 
• Local youth partnerships are one model of support that can provide a space for a collective vision and considered actions for local providers and young people. 
• A range of charities and youth representative groups can also be accessed to support local authorities to work with young people and deliver high quality services.  
• The National Centre for Family Hubs provides guidance on supporting youth services to be part of family hubs. 
• George Williams College YMCA provides a range of tools to understand and evidence the impact of youth services. 

• Do you have an up-to-date assessment of the services young people in your area want and need? Are these services being delivered?
• How are you engaging young people, including in the design and delivery of services?
• How are you fulfilling the statutory duty?
• Youth services play a key role in wider council agendas, including arts and culture, leisure services, equalities, health and public health and community and heritage. Have you worked with other stakeholders, councillors and portfolio holders in these areas to ensure there is a holistic and joined up offer for young people?
• Youth services can be supported across different tiers of councils, have you considered how to engage with districts, boroughs or parishes in your area to ensure a coordinated offer? 
• How are you assessing the local need and local service delivery, taking into account the range of stakeholders to involve?
• An accurate needs assessment, taking into account the voice and views of young people, is integral to developing the local offer, how is this happening?
• How are you using data to shape policy and delivery?
• How well are partners working together to deliver good outcomes for young people?
• Are partners feeding into your understanding of local provision and published youth offer? How are you working in partnership with local stakeholders and providers?