Lewisham Council has redesigned its youth services following the insourcing of commissioned youth provision, previously delivered by Youth First, on 1 April 2025. The changes, aligning with the council's new Strategic Youth Offer, are expected to be fully implemented by November 2025.
The Children and Young People Select Committee met on Thursday 6 November 2025, to discuss the implementation of the council's new Strategic Youth Offer and five-year Youth Strategy (2025-2030). The strategy aims to position the council as a strategic youth lead, with greater responsibility for youth provision development within the borough.
Historically, the borough's youth offer has faced challenges such as fragmented service delivery and limited youth engagement. The new Strategic Youth Offer is a co-produced framework designed to empower young people by providing diverse opportunities, clear pathways to employment, and support for wellbeing, education and life skills.
Youth Alliance
A key component of the redesigned youth services is the development of the Youth Alliance, which brings together the council, voluntary, community, and faith sectors to streamline communication, share resources and monitor the impact of youth services.
Youth Offer Activity
Since April 1, 2025, the Youth Service has maintained the number of open access sessions delivered through its Youth Centre sites and has broadened reach by working with HAF Programme providers to establish new partnerships with community organisations. Following service redesign, the HAF Programme will be fully integrated into the Youth Service, resulting in better coordination and improved access to sessions across all sites.
Youth Voice, Action and Participation (YVAP)
Following service redesign, the Council is developing a unified model for youth participation, known as Youth Voice, Action and Participation (YVAP). This model consolidates the Young Mayor's Programme, Youth Participation Groups, and Youth Voice initiatives into a single, integrated team with an expanded remit. The YVAP model is designed to strengthen youth democracy, amplify the voices of young people in decision-making, and foster a culture of active citizenship across Lewisham.
Extension of Youth Services to Age 21
Youth services will now extend from age 19 to age 21, with continued support for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) up to age 25. This change will help bridge the gap between youth and adult services, ensuring continuity of care and support, provide a developmentally appropriate space for young people who may not be ready to transition at 18 or 19, and offer enhanced transitional support for those with neurodiverse conditions, trauma histories, or disrupted education and care experiences.
Jobs, Skills and Progression
During phase one, the Youth Service will introduce Level 3 apprenticeships as part of its workforce development plan, with a focus on enhanced training, apprenticeship pathways, and career progression opportunities. This initiative is designed to establish clear routes for young service users and local residents to become qualified youth workers, thereby strengthening the pipeline of future youth professionals.
Adventure Playgrounds
Following redesign of the Youth Service and consultation with stakeholders, the Council remains committed to supporting an Adventure Playgrounds (APG) offer that strengthens its core provision by increasing both the number of open days and the variety of play sessions available. Rather than operating across all previous sites, the Council will now focus on enhancing its direct provision at a reduced number of locations, with the specific sites to be determined.
Maximising use of Youth Centres
In September 2025, Riverside Youth Club reopened following two community open days held in May 2025. Since its reopening, Riverside has delivered 41 sessions, with a cumulative attendance of 2,730 young people and 469 registrations. The initial programme of delivery has focused on providing a diverse range of youth work, including sports, arts, wellbeing, and employability sessions.
Service Headline Data Activity
According to a report presented at the meeting, between April and September 2025, 1,821 young people accessed Lewisham Youth Centres, with a total footfall of 23,639 across the Lewisham Youth Service. There were 766 open access sessions. Participants were 61% male, 37% female, 0.60% non-binary, 0.27% unknown, and 0.22% prefer not to say.
The ongoing development of the Youth Service case management system has now fully incorporated the new integrated delivery model, ensuring alignment with Family Hubs and establishing a standardised approach following insource. From November 2025, the next phase will focus on agreeing an outcome methodology and developing a performance and evaluation framework alongside the Business Intelligence Team to measure service impact and drive continuous improvement.