Southwark Council is investing over £1 million in youth services through the Positive Futures for Young People Fund (PFYPF). The investment aims to bolster existing programmes and create new opportunities for young people across the borough.

The Positive Futures for Young People Fund (PFYPF) is Southwark's flagship youth services commissioning programme. Established in 2021 under the Youth New Deal, it consolidates several funding streams into a single grants programme to support local voluntary and community sector organisations in delivering positive activities for young people.

The Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission met on 6 October 2025, to discuss the youth services and the PFYPF. Councillor Portia Mwangangye, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks and Young People, Toni Ainge, Director of Leisure, and Eva Gomez, Head of Culture, presented a report outlining the key areas of Southwark's youth service and detailing the PFYPF for 2024-2026.

The total investment in the PFYPF is £1.04 million for 2024-2026, supplemented by a dedicated allocation of £41,250 earmarked specifically to establish a new LGBTQ+ youth provision, awarded to Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons' Trust. This service will provide youth clubs, support groups, and summer activities specifically for LGBTQ+ young people across Southwark.

The commissioning cycle for 2024–26 was designed to include young people's voices in decision-making. Applications were invited across various lots or themes (ensuring a spread of universal provision and targeted support), and the evaluation involved a multi-stage process: initial eligibility checks, panel scoring of proposals, and applicant presentations.

The grant assessment panel – the Positive Futures Programme Board – included young people alongside council officers. These youth panel members were trained to objectively review bids and helped decide which projects best met young people's needs and the fund's criteria. The involvement of young commissioners ensured that funding recommendations reflected the preferences and insights of the young people themselves, fulfilling the Council's pledge to put the Youth Parliament in the driving seat for funding decisions. Nineteen organisations were awarded grants for 2024–2026, with individual grant awards ranging from £20,000 up to £30,000 per year depending on the project scope.

Across all these commissioned programmes, providers are required to monitor and report on attendance, outcomes and feedback. This allows the council's Youth and Play Service to track the impact. The previous cycle (2022–24) of the Positive Futures Fund demonstrated significant reach and benefit: in 2022–23, commissioned providers collectively delivered 3,868 youth work sessions, with over 15,600 attendances by around 4,000 unique young people accessing the activities. The 2024–26 projects are expected to continue building on this success, delivering outcomes such as improved life skills, increased physical and mental wellbeing, reduced isolation, and higher engagement in education, employment or training for participants. Quarterly monitoring is in place, and youth commissioners will also be involved in reviewing the progress of these grants.

Key areas of Southwark's youth service that will benefit from this investment include:

  • Youth Centres: Southwark Council directly runs three youth centres: the Damilola Taylor Centre, Brandon Youth Centre and New Venture Youth Centre. The council also commissions the Blue Youth Centre via a grant agreement, and delivers a weekly youth project from the Belair Recreation Rooms in Dulwich.
  • Adventure Playgrounds: The council runs three adventure playgrounds: Mint Street Adventure Playground, Peckham Rye Adventure Playground and Ellen Brown Adventure Playground. Two other adventure play sites, Bethwin Road Adventure Playground and Dog Kennel Hill Adventure Playground, are managed by Trusts, with the council as landlord.
  • One Hub: OneHub Southwark is the council's digital platform for young people.
  • Southwark Youth Parliament (SYP): The SYP is the borough's elected youth forum. Priorities identified for the Youth Parliament 2023 to 2025 are mental health, tackling child poverty, youth violence, climate change and careers and employability.
  • Small Grants for Young People: Funding Our Future is a small-grants programme that empowers individual young people to pursue their personal development goals.