The IFS also found that Youth club closures led to GCSE results dropping by a grade and are 14% more likely to be involved in crime.
The 2010 Cameron-Clegg collation saw major funding cuts which saw a third of youth clubs close over the following decade. Prior to the 2010 cuts, 40% of 11-16year olds in London attended youth clubs on a weekly basis.
“It wasn’t the schools, it wasn’t the social worker, it was the youth club”
Youth clubs are free afterschool clubs for young people ages 11-18 and provide a quiet place to study and a safe environment to engage in various activities and organised outings.
Access to trained youth workers support the overall mental wellbeing of young people who often, have a greater understanding of the child’s home and school life than the parents and teachers themselves.
We had a mother come in here because her son had been arrested. And instead of going to school, she came to the youth club… we were the first point of call, it wasn’t the schools, it wasn’t the social worker, it was the youth club.
– Youth Programme Lead Vanessa Duncan, The Avenues Youth Project.
Children are the group with the highest rates of poverty in London
The recent National Youth Strategy announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will see the closure of the £1billion a year National Citizen Service (NCS), an annual skills and employability summer programme for young people in the UK.
The strategy includes an almost £200million investment into youth services, facilities and opportunities to improve outcomes for young people.
Vanessa Duncan works at the gold-accredited youth club Avenues Youth Project, west London. She believes spending cuts are eroding a key offering which is particularly crucial for children from low-income backgrounds.
Vanessa says: “[The youth club] starts to open up their view on the world, that it’s not just the postcode that they grew up in. It shows them that there’s more for them to aspire to and to attain to.”
London’s under 18 population sits above the national average at almost a quarter of the population, in boroughs like Barking and Dagenham, that figure is almost a third.
“Why are our kids saying that they don’t have a life expectancy past 20, 21?Why are 14 year olds planning what their funeral will be like because they have no vision of a future in their 20s because they don’t see anything out there for them.”
Vanessa Duncan
Vanessa also says for many of these young people, youth clubs provide an alternative to being unsupervised at home; loitering with friends, or social media scrolling.
Research by the School for Public Health found that increased social media use among young people leads to lower self-esteem.
84% of 8 to 17-year-olds in the UK use social media which highlights the stark needs for an engaging and enriching off-screen alternative.
Long term funding remains the biggest challenge
For Avenues Youth Project and many others, most funding comes from various Trusts such as the National Lottery Fund, BBC Children in Need and the Tom Ford Trust.
Many social workers are on zero hours contracts and struggle with tight budgets. For many youth clubs, like Vanessa’s former employer, even having a regular venue is not guaranteed.
Vanessa believes the future will be in formally recognising the industry and prioritising youth work in annual budget conversations.
Vanessa said: “I would like youth work to be professionalised in terms of how you would look at a teacher…I feel like youth work is always the first thing to go when you run out of money, and then youth violence kicks in.”
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy insists the new Youth Strategy will put young people at the heart of decision making and offer a modernised approach to rapidly evolving challenges.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineNew study shows social costs of youth club closures to London
Short HeadlineThe social cost of youth club cuts, new report finds
StandfirstAccording to The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), for every £1 saved from closing youth clubs, there are societal costs of nearly £3.
The IFS also found that Youth club closures led to GCSE results dropping by a grade and are 14% more likely to be involved in crime.
The 2010 Cameron-Clegg collation saw major funding cuts which saw a third of youth clubs close over the following decade. Prior to the 2010 cuts, 40% of 11-16year olds in London attended youth clubs on a weekly basis.
“It wasn’t the schools, it wasn’t the social worker, it was the youth club”
Youth clubs are free afterschool clubs for young people ages 11-18 and provide a quiet place to study and a safe environment to engage in various activities and organised outings.
Access to trained youth workers support the overall mental wellbeing of young people who often, have a greater understanding of the child’s home and school life than the parents and teachers themselves.
We had a mother come in here because her son had been arrested. And instead of going to school, she came to the youth club… we were the first point of call, it wasn’t the schools, it wasn’t the social worker, it was the youth club.
– Youth Programme Lead Vanessa Duncan, The Avenues Youth Project.
Children are the group with the highest rates of poverty in London
The recent National Youth Strategy announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will see the closure of the £1billion a year National Citizen Service (NCS), an annual skills and employability summer programme for young people in the UK.
The strategy includes an almost £200million investment into youth services, facilities and opportunities to improve outcomes for young people.
Vanessa Duncan works at the gold-accredited youth club Avenues Youth Project, west London. She believes spending cuts are eroding a key offering which is particularly crucial for children from low-income backgrounds.
Vanessa says: “[The youth club] starts to open up their view on the world, that it’s not just the postcode that they grew up in. It shows them that there’s more for them to aspire to and to attain to.”
London’s under 18 population sits above the national average at almost a quarter of the population, in boroughs like Barking and Dagenham, that figure is almost a third.
“Why are our kids saying that they don’t have a life expectancy past 20, 21?Why are 14 year olds planning what their funeral will be like because they have no vision of a future in their 20s because they don’t see anything out there for them.”
Vanessa Duncan
Vanessa also says for many of these young people, youth clubs provide an alternative to being unsupervised at home; loitering with friends, or social media scrolling.
Research by the School for Public Health found that increased social media use among young people leads to lower self-esteem.
84% of 8 to 17-year-olds in the UK use social media which highlights the stark needs for an engaging and enriching off-screen alternative.
Long term funding remains the biggest challenge
For Avenues Youth Project and many others, most funding comes from various Trusts such as the National Lottery Fund, BBC Children in Need and the Tom Ford Trust.
Many social workers are on zero hours contracts and struggle with tight budgets. For many youth clubs, like Vanessa’s former employer, even having a regular venue is not guaranteed.
Vanessa believes the future will be in formally recognising the industry and prioritising youth work in annual budget conversations.
Vanessa said: “I would like youth work to be professionalised in terms of how you would look at a teacher…I feel like youth work is always the first thing to go when you run out of money, and then youth violence kicks in.”
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy insists the new Youth Strategy will put young people at the heart of decision making and offer a modernised approach to rapidly evolving challenges.
