Tomorrow’s Nation Today: Commissioning Change, Creating Opportunity
Place, Partnership, Progress: Annual Youth Work Conference key takeaways
Over 100 youth work leaders, commissioners, policymakers, funders as well as youth voice representatives came together at the Annual Youth Work Conference entitled: Tomorrow’s Nation Today: Commissioning Change, Creating Opportunity, on 27 Ebrill.
Hosted by the Youth Endowment Fund in partnership with the National Youth Agency, for the second year running, the event provided the space for decision-makers to explore what the National Youth Strategy needs to deliver locally to help achieve better outcomes for young people through youth work.
Throughout the day one message kept surfacing, people make places: trusted relationships are not a ‘nice to have’ – but rather, the bedrock of safety, belonging and opportunity.
For Jon Yates, Chief Executive, Youth Endowment Fund, the urgency is clear:
”“Growing up today is harder than ever - especially when it comes to feeling safe. Every child deserves to explore the world without fear. That’s why youth work, trusted adults, and evidence of what works matter.”
Jon YatesChief Executive, Youth Endowment Fund
A panel discussion facilitated by NYA’s Youth Assessors for Local Youth Transformation programme pilots, Charlotte and Sapphire, and involving representatives from the charity and local authority youth sectors, underlined the importance of taking a pro-social approach (rather than a deficit lens), flexible funding to remove barriers such as transport, and the need for consistent data collection to evidence impact to commissioners.
Sharing the government’s commitment via a recorded message, Stephanie Peacock, MP, Minister for Youth assured delegates:
”"The National Youth Strategy isn’t a strategy about young people; it’s a strategy shaped by them. Through the biggest conversation government has held with young people in over a decade, we listened to what matters and it is those ideas that drive the Strategy. All young people deserve to have their voice heard, regardless of where they grew up, their background, and their class. The Strategy is an embodiment of this belief.
The Strategy is ambitious and we know that Government can’t achieve its goals alone. That is why we are committed to working with the sector, from youth workers and coaches to mentors and community leaders, to deliver for the young people of this country. The strategy has launched, but the real work starts now."
Stephanie Peacock MPMinister for Youth
Leigh Middleton, OBE, CEO, National Youth Agency, highlighted how the National Youth Strategy can unlock progress when it is shaped and delivered with young people:
”“The National Youth Strategy is not all about money, it’s about creating opportunities for the sector with young people. It’s about local decision making and putting young people at the heart of that programme.”
He also urged the system to move at pace, adding: “Now four months on from the launch of the strategy I urge ministers to get on with it and make the changes needed and I urge you, commissioners, to think about how you protect your youth services. And finally, practitioners, ensure your commissioners have youth work in the top ten of their priorities.”
Leigh Middleton, OBECEO, National Youth Agency
Natasha Irons, MP, Member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, and Chair of the APPG on Youth Affairs, stressed exactly why youth work matters and the need for a strengthened statutory framework aligned to her Bill to effectively safeguard youth services. She said:
”“A stronger statutory duty on youth provision is needed, with clear benchmarks on staffing, investment, quality, youth voice and accessibility -ending the postcode lottery that leaves young people isolated. Opportunities and access to support for young people shouldn’t depend on where they live.”
Natasha Irons MPMember of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, and Chair of the APPG on Youth Affairs,
Lib Peck, Director, London Violence Reduction Unit (Mayor of London), looked ahead to the long-term conditions youth work needs to thrive:
”“Looking forward to 2030 we do have a National Youth Strategy and young people were consulted. There are plenty of stories, as well as data, to evidence the impact of youth work…” She called for ambition across the sector: “We need to be confident that youth work is vital. It needs to be well respected, relevant and demonstrate innovative practice. We want young people valued, rather than be demonised by society. For them to be seen as the present, not the future.”
Lib PeckDirector, London Violence Reduction Unit (Mayor of London)
Breakout sessions focused on how services can respond to what young people say they need – and how the sector can back that insight with consistent evidence that speaks to decision makers.
The importance of youth voice in shaping commissioning was also highlighted by Chris Murray, CEO, Young People’s Foundations Trust who recalled:
”“When I was a chief executive in Brent, we worked with the local authority there to agree the definition of social value. Young people were involved from start to finish - young people in local areas are good at telling you what a project is worth.”
Chris MurrayCEO, Young People's Foundations Trust
Together, the contributions set out a clear agenda: invest in relationships, embed youth voice, and support place-based partnerships to turn strategy into lived change. With the sector increasingly collaborating, the challenge now is to match momentum with action – so that every young person has access to safe spaces, consistent support and genuine influence.
In her blog about the conference Charlotte, a youth assessor for the NYA wrote:
Read the full blog here”"Young people’s lives are increasingly being shaped by digital spaces, shifting communities, and evolving pressure on mental health and wellbeing. In response, youth work must remain flexible, responsive and rooted in its core foundations.
CharlotteLocal Youth Transformation Assessor
At the same time, there is a continual requirement for mutual learning. Young people bring invaluable insight from their lived experiences, while those working within services bring knowledge of systems and structures. The collaboration between these perspectives produces real potential for meaningful change."
