YOUNG CHANGEMAKERS

Young Changemakers: Building Future Britain

Project vision

Young Changemakers is a transformative programme for 16–24-year-olds in Wakefield and beyond, designed for those facing the greatest barriers to a positive future: care-experienced young people, young people with special educational needs and disabilities, those affected by the youth justice system, and those disengaging from mainstream education.

It will give young people what too many currently lack: **someone who cares, places to go and things to do, and a genuine chance to be seen and heard.**

Through trusted relationships, creative learning, enterprise development and community action, young people will discover their purpose, develop the skills to act on it and lead solutions to the issues affecting their communities.

Young Changemakers does not see young people as problems to be managed. It sees them as future leaders, creators, entrepreneurs and community builders.

Why this matters

England is home to around 10.6 million young people aged 10–24. Many are navigating a difficult transition into adulthood without the support, spaces or opportunities they need. The scale of need is significant:

- Around 1.9 million children and young people aged 0–25 in England were identified as having special educational needs in January 2024.
- Around 84,000 children in England were in care in 2024.
- Around one in five 13–17-year-olds in England and Wales has no trusted adult outside their family.
- A third of 10–19-year-olds say they feel alone or lonely at least some of the time.
- Boys aged 10–15 are more than twice as likely as girls to have no trusted adult in their lives.
- The number of full-time youth workers in England has fallen by a third since 2012.
- Spending on youth facilities fell by 73% between 2010/11 and 2022/23.
- Nearly half of young people spend most of their spare time in their bedroom, while fewer than half agree that there are enough clubs and activities in their area.
- Almost half of young people in England feel their voice does not matter in national decisions, and one in three does not know how to influence local decisions.

The effect is not simply boredom or disengagement. Without belonging, trusted support and meaningful opportunity, young people can become isolated from education, employment, community life and hope itself.

For young people aged 16–24, this is a crucial moment. They are deciding what comes next: college, university, work, training, enterprise, independence and adulthood. Young Changemakers will fill the void for those who do not see a clear route forward.

Our response: three things every young person needs

1. Someone who cares

Every participant will be known, listened to and supported by consistent youth workers, mentors and peers. The programme will offer a trusted, non-judgemental environment where young people can build confidence, manage setbacks and develop positive relationships.

This is especially important for care-experienced young people, those with SEND, young people affected by justice involvement, and those who may have lost trust in mainstream systems.

Support will include:

- One-to-one mentoring and pastoral support.
- Small, consistent peer groups that create belonging.
- Positive role models with relatable lived experience.
- Support to access wellbeing, mental-health, housing, education and employment services where needed.
- Celebrating progress, not just qualifications or outcomes.

2. Places to go and things to do

Young Changemakers will create safe, welcoming and inspiring spaces where young people can meet, learn, make, move and lead. It will provide a meaningful alternative to isolation, inactivity and harmful influences.

Young people will take part in:

- Creative workshops, media, music, design and digital projects.
- Sport, physical activity, outdoor learning and wellbeing opportunities.
- Social activities and trips that build friendships, confidence and positive memories.
- Access to safe local spaces, green spaces and community venues.
- Practical projects that improve neighbourhoods and create pride of place.

This directly responds to young people’s expressed desire for more recreational and leisure activities, accessible public spaces, sport and exercise, and affordable ways to participate in community life.

3. Being seen and heard

Young people will not merely attend the programme; they will shape and lead it. Their lived experience will be treated as knowledge. Their ideas will be taken seriously, developed into action and connected to people who can help make change happen.

Participants will:

- Identify the challenges facing their lives and local communities.
- Co-design projects and campaigns around the issues they care about.
- Learn how local decisions are made and how to influence them.
- Meet employers, councillors, community leaders, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.
- Present their ideas at youth-led showcases and public events.
- Receive recognition, seed funding and practical support to turn good ideas into real initiatives.

The Young Changemakers journey

Belong

Young people enter a safe, inclusive community built around trust, respect and shared experience. They are supported to overcome barriers relating to wellbeing, education, housing, justice involvement or unemployment.

Discover

Through mentoring, creative activities and reflective learning, each young person explores their strengths, interests, identity and ambitions. They begin to identify a purpose and a future they can believe in.

Create

Participants develop practical skills in communication, teamwork, digital tools, creative production, financial confidence, problem-solving, leadership, project planning and enterprise.

They work together to identify a real local challenge and design a solution.

Lead

Young people bring their ideas to life. These may become social-action projects, campaigns, community initiatives, creative ventures, enterprises, businesses, organisations or movements.

Progress

Every participant leaves with a personalised next-step plan and access to progression routes, including college, university, training, apprenticeships, work experience, paid opportunities, employment, enterprise support and volunteering.

Meeting the needs of different ages

Young Changemakers is centred on 16–24-year-olds, but recognises that young people’s needs change over time.

For those aged 16–18, the programme will support confidence, belonging, positive peer networks, enjoyable activities and engagement with education or training.

For those aged 19–24, it will place greater emphasis on secure work, financial confidence, enterprise, leadership, independent living and creating sustainable economic opportunity.

In every case, the approach is tailored rather than one-size-fits-all, with additional support for young people facing SEND, care experience, justice-system involvement or other disadvantage.

Project aims

Young Changemakers will:

- Reduce the risk of youth offending and reoffending by creating positive identity, belonging and constructive opportunities.
- Improve physical and mental health through trusted relationships, sport, wellbeing activity and access to support.
- Develop creative, digital, enterprise and future-facing skills.
- Increase access to economic opportunity through employability, training, work experience, paid placements and enterprise development.
- Empower young people to become visible leaders, active citizens and local problem-solvers.
- Help young people create opportunities where conventional routes have failed them.
- Build a stronger, fairer Future Britain by ensuring that young people who are too often excluded can help shape the future.

Expected impact

Young Changemakers will enable young people to:

- Feel valued, connected and hopeful about their future.
- Have at least one trusted adult and a stronger support network.
- Improve confidence, resilience, wellbeing and emotional regulation.
- Re-engage with education, training, employment or purposeful activity.
- Gain practical skills and a credible portfolio of achievements.
- Move away from harmful behaviour and justice-system involvement.
- Access safe activities, positive relationships and opportunities outside the home.
- Lead initiatives that improve their communities.
- Develop viable enterprises, campaigns, projects or organisations.
- Become role models and mentors for other young people.

Our promise

Young Changemakers will not ask young people to fit into a system that has not worked for them. It will work alongside them to build something better.

It will help young people move from isolation to belonging; from uncertainty to purpose; from exclusion to influence; and from waiting for opportunity to creating it.

Young Changemakers: giving young people the relationships, spaces, voice and opportunity to build their own future—and help build Future Britain.