The latest Youth Sector Census Snapshot Summer 2026 provides one of the most comprehensive pictures of youth provision across England, highlighting both the growing impact of youth work and the pressures facing the sector.
Youth organisations are playing an increasingly important role in supporting young people before challenges reach crisis point, with growing demand for mental health support, trusted adult relationships and employment advice.
Help strengthen the picture of youth work
Youth organisations are playing an increasingly important role in supporting young people before challenges reach crisis point, with growing demand for mental health support, trusted adult relationships and employment advice.
Key findings Summer 2026
Responses from almost 800 organisations across England reveal how youth services are responding to growing demand from young people, while facing increasing financial and workforce pressures of their own.
Supporting young people where it’s needed most
- 65% provide targeted or referred youth services, making it the most common form of provision.
- 58% provide open-access youth work.
- 64% provide information, advice and guidance to young people.
- More than half of responding organisations are based in England’s most deprived communities.
Rising demand for support
- 86% offer targeted mental health and wellbeing support.
- 79% report increased demand for mental health and wellbeing support.
- 59% offer targeted employment, training and skills support.
- 56% report increased demand for employment and skills support.
Financial pressure on youth services
- Nearly three-quarters have seen operating costs rise.
- Only 24% have secured most of next year’s income.
- Only 24% could continue operating beyond 12 months using current reserves.
Building a workforce to meet growing need
- 37% cite staff and volunteer recruitment as a significant challenge.
Download the full report: Census Snapshot Summer 2026
What the findings tell us
The Census highlights the vital role youth organisations play in prevention and early intervention.
Youth workers are often the trusted adults young people turn to for support, helping them build confidence, improve wellbeing, access opportunities and navigate challenges. As demand for mental health support, employment advice and wider youth services continues to grow, youth organisations are helping to reduce pressure on education, health and other public services through community-based support.
At the same time, many organisations face increasing financial and workforce pressures, underlining the need for long-term investment, stronger local partnerships and sustainable support for youth services.
Interactive Census Map
Explore Census data in more detail through our interactive dashboard.
The dashboard allows users to:
- Filter results by region, local authority, organisation type and deprivation level.
- View an interactive map showing participating organisations.
- Explore responses to individual Census questions.
- Identify trends and patterns across different areas and communities.
- Better understand where youth work is taking place and the support being delivered.
The dashboard is designed to support policymakers, commissioners, local authorities, funders and youth organisations with evidence to inform planning, investment and decision-making.
Why this matters
Youth work provides trusted relationships, safe spaces and early support that help young people thrive. The Census demonstrates the growing contribution youth organisations make to mental health, wellbeing, employment and community resilience, while highlighting the challenges that must be addressed to ensure services remain sustainable for the future.
About the National Youth Sector Census
The National Youth Sector Census is the most comprehensive survey of youth services and youth work provision in England. Open year-round, it helps build a robust and up-to-date picture of the organisations, services and support available to young people across the country.
Managed annually by the National Youth Agency (NYA) with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), 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 share insights from the Census through our annual National Youth Sector Census Snapshot Report helping build a stronger evidence base for youth work. All data is handled securely and used to support informed decision-making, policy development and investment across the sector.
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 less than 15 minutes
- Tick box format
- No login required
- No detailed financial information
- Can be saved and returned to later
Cwestiynau Cyffredin
I bwy mae'r cyfrifiad?
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.
Sut gall y cyfrifiad eich helpu chi?
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
Pam mae angen y cyfrifiad arnom ni?
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.
Sut fydd yr NYA ac eraill yn defnyddio'r data hwn?
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.
Sut ydw i'n cwblhau'r cyfrifiad?
Mae'r Cyfrifiad wedi'i leoli ar wefan Youth Work One, platfform ar gyfer adnoddau arfer gorau, hyfforddiant, digwyddiadau a chyfleoedd ariannu ar gyfer y sector ieuenctid.
Bydd angen i chi gofrestru ar Youth Work One cyn cwblhau'r Cyfrifiad.
Ni ddylai'r Cyfrifiad ei hun gymryd mwy na 15-20 munud i'w gwblhau os oes gennych eich holl fanylion wrth law.
- Manylion cyswllt
- Rhif Cofrestru Comisiwn Elusennau (os yn berthnasol)
- Rhif Tŷ'r Cwmnïau (os yn berthnasol)
- Lleoliadau lle mae'r sefydliad yn gweithredu, ynghyd â dyddiau gweithredu ym mhob lleoliad
- Hyd y rhestr aros (mewn misoedd)
- Ffynonellau incwm e.e. rhoddion elusennol, nawdd, cyllid grant gan y llywodraeth genedlaethol ac ati.
- Cyllideb ar gyfer y flwyddyn ariannol hon
- Gwariant ar gyfer y flwyddyn ariannol ddiwethaf
- Hyd yr amser y byddai eich cronfeydd wrth gefn yn caniatáu gweithrediad arferol
- Nifer y gweithwyr llawn amser a rhan amser, a'u lefelau cymhwyster gwaith ieuenctid
- Nifer y gwirfoddolwyr, a'u lefelau cymwysterau gwaith ieuenctid
Oes dyddiad cau?
The Census is open until the end of Mehefin 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.
Adroddiadau cyfrifiad
See our learnings from what you told us in 2025 and previous years:
