OnSide in 2025: Growing our reach and impact

Earlier this month I set out what I think it takes to be the best place to be a child as guest editor for the Children’s Commissioner – “a world where children feel confident to be themselves, dream big, and pursue their passions”. In this blog, I wanted to share how we as a charity are contributing to that vision over the next 12 months.

This year will see the expansion of the OnSide Network into the South-West, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. We’re finishing building new Youth Zones in Salford, Barnsley, Grimsby and Preston this year, with Crewe and Bristol following in 2026. This growth will see the number of young people we reach double from 50,000 to close to 100,000 in the next two years. Strong partnerships with local providers will be central to the success of these new Youth Zones. By combining our expertise in developing youth centres with the community’s deep understanding of local needs, we can create a unique offer for young people. If you’re a local provider in an area where we’re developing a new Youth Zone, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re proud of this expansion but we must continue to do more. The stark reality is that only 15% of young people access youth clubs, despite their well-documented positive impact, as our recent Network Impact Report shows. One of our key strategic priorities is to further strengthen the evidence base for youth work outcomes to demonstrate why youth work is a must-have, not a nice to have. I’m excited by the research King’s College London is carrying out this year to explore how attending our Youth Zones supports education outcomes, like attendance which is still in crisis with up to 300,000 children in England missing out on education.

Another exciting development is the launch of our Youth Advisory Board (YAB), ensuring young people are even more embedded in our decision-making. The YAB’s first residential will take place in February, and I’m looking forward to hearing their views and insights.

This year I have the privilege of chairing the Back Youth Alliance, a strategic coalition of 11 youth organisations who collectively reach 1 in 4 young people in England. Our immediate focus is to contribute to the Government’s recently announced National Youth Strategy, a positive step for the country, while we continue to push for a greater cross-governmental focus on young people.

At the heart of brilliant youth work is brilliant people. The pressures facing the sector’s workforce due to the loss of youth workers in recent years have been significant. This year we’re responding at OnSide by offering a five-year development plan for youth workers. We will also support the efforts of our partners, including NYA’s consultation on proposed changes to the youth work qualification framework, and UK Youth’s development of the new Youth First programme to attract talent into the sector.

This year is momentous for us as a charity and the young people we support. I feel fortunate to have a dedicated and passionate team at OnSide and across the Network who make these ambitions possible. I’m also grateful to our incredible supporters, donors, and partners whose contributions enable us to transform the lives of young people. I look forward to all we’ll achieve together in 2025.