Take 15 minutes by 31 May to make your youth work visible and shape future investment
National Youth Sector Census 2026
The National Youth Sector Census 2026 is the most comprehensive survey of youth services and youth work provision in England.
Delivered annually by the National Youth Agency (NYA) on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and supported by the Home Office, the Census creates a consistent national and local picture of:
- Where youth services are delivering support
- Which communities and local authority areas are being reached
- How youth work is funded
- Where there are gaps in local youth provision
This data plays a vital role in shaping local authority planning, commissioning decisions, and national programmes including the National Youth Strategy and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships.
We’ll share everything we learn in our annual National Youth Sector Census Snapshot Report. All data is handled securely and used to support evidence-based decision making.
Completing the Census ensures your organisation and services are included and discoverable.
Why complete the National Youth Sector Census?
Whether you have taken part before, or it is your first time, if your organisation supports young people, your voice and data matter.
Local and national decision‑making depends on high‑quality, up‑to‑date data about youth provision in England.
By completing the Census, your organisation helps to:
- Build an accurate picture of youth services in your local area
- Support local authorities and commissioners to invest where need is greatest
- Reduce duplication by creating a shared national dataset
- Ensure youth work is visible in policy, prevention and early‑intervention planning
If youth services are not visible in the data, they risk being overlooked in future funding and commissioning decisions.
- Complete in 15 minutes
- Tick box format
- No login required
- No detailed financial information
- Can be saved and returned to later
We are asking people to complete their Census return by the end of May 2026 to be included in this year’s Snapshot report.
FAQs
Who is the census for?
If you’re delivering support to young people, places where they can have fun, with the support of a youth worker and volunteers who advise, guide and create opportunities for young people then you should be included.
It’s open to:
- Youth clubs
- Youth workers in schools, hospitals and other settings
- Uniformed groups
- Other professionals who support young people using youth work principles
- Youth support workers and volunteers, especially in small charities and grassroots organisations
- Youth work managers who may not deliver youth work themselves but run the charity or service
- Commissioning managers in Council services who commission their youth service out to the VCS sector
- Violence Reduction Units and organisations supporting young people at risk of being drawn into crime, antisocial behaviour, or violence against women and girls even if that is not the explicit mission statement of your service. This includes any and all youth services including, statutory, volunteer based and group activities
It looks at things like budgets, types of activities provided, expenditure, the make-up of staff teams and ratios of paid staff to volunteers. It also focuses on the issues and topics youth workers are regularly dealing with right now.
Whoever your work is funded by, whether its Local Authorities, charities or the voluntary sector, we want to hear your views.
The National Youth Agency has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport to deliver the Census and analyse the data.
How can the census help you?
Completing the Census should only take around 15 minutes, but will bring numerous benefits.
Taking part helps you, and others, to:
- Be more visible to commissioners and partners
- See what else is being offered in your area so you can identify partnership opportunities
- Make stronger funding applications – it’s a powerful tool to demonstrate a local need for provision in your area
- Identify best practice and innovation elsewhere that you can learn from – or showcase your own
Why do we need the census?
The NYA has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to deliver the Census as the data collected provides the picture of youth work in England to inform policy making and funding decisions.
The data collected shows where youth work is taking place and the type of services offered, as well as highlighting discrepancies in funding and areas of local need.
With a National Youth Strategy, and new programmes such as Young Futures Hubs now being delivered, the government’s renewed focus on youth work is clear. It is essential to have robust data and insights on the sector to support the development and delivery of these plans.
The census data is also helpful for commissioners of youth work, allied professionals and youth workers themselves who may want to map provision in their local area, identify gaps and also partnership opportunities.
How will the NYA and others use this data?
The Census data supports the NYA’s work to advocate for more funding to build back the youth work sector after more than a decade of spending cuts.
Alongside our Workforce Survey and other research, the Census is also helping the NYA to shape the plans for changes to the qualification framework for youth work, so that we can build the skills and capacity of the workforce in the time needed.
There are many other ways that the data could be used, such as:
- Policy makers can see where there is youth provision and expertise to support pilot initiatives and testbeds for new programmes
- Funding bodies could view the data to see what kind of support youth clubs are offering and identify where their funding could help these providers extend their reach and impact
- School leaders could use the data to see where local youth work provision is nearby which could provide support to improve pupil wellbeing and attendance
- Scoping of local youth provision as part of the Serious Violence Programme, including Young Futures Panels Pilots, VRUs and SVD.
How do I complete the census?
The Census is located on the Youth Work One website, a platform for best practice resources, training, events and funding opportunities for the youth sector.
You’ll need to register on Youth Work One before completing the Census.
The Census itself should take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete if you have all your details to hand.
- Contact details
- Charity Commission Register Number (if applicable)
- Companies House Number (if applicable)
- Locations where the organisation operates, along with days of operation in each location
- Waiting list length (in months)
- Sources of income e.g. charitable donations, sponsorship, national government grant funding etc.
- Budget for this financial year
- Expenditure for last financial year
- Length of time your reserves would allow normal operation for
- Number of full time and part time employees, and their youth work qualification levels
- Number of volunteers, and their youth work qualification levels
Is there a deadline?
The Census is open until the end of May 2026.
The data will be shared with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and also the Home Office to support the implementation of the Young Futures Prevention Partnerships part of the Young Futures Hubs programme.
A snapshot report will be published in Autumn.
Highfield Community Association
Learn about how Highfield Community Association is building trusted relationships within the community.
Census reports
See our learnings from what you told us in 2025 and previous years:
The National Youth Sector Census 2025 Summer Snapshot Report
The National Youth Sector Census remains the most comprehensive annual overview of youth work in England. The 2025 Census draws on responses from over 1,000 organisations, revealing a sector under significant pressure but delivering vital support to young people nationwide.
National Youth Sector Census Snapshot, Summer 2024
The 2024 Snapshot report shows that there’s increasing demand for mental health support set against precarious finances of voluntary sector youth work providers.
National Youth Sector Census – Snapshot Report 2023
This report provides an analysis of the data received from 920 youth work organisations between March 2022 and April 2023, providing a snapshot of the Sector.
National Youth Sector Census: Report #2, Delivering Youth Work in England
Summary evidence of qualitative research from local authorities, youth and community organisations, young people, and analysis of secondary data.
Initial Summary of Findings from the National Youth Sector Census
An initial summary of the data that has been collected from over 25,000 organisations or sub-units of organisations from all parts of the sector and the country.
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