New fund launches to support community activities for young people

The Newcastle Youth Fund will support a diverse range of provision in communities across the city to support 13-19 year olds - up to 25 with special educational needs (SEND).

The Newcastle Youth Fund has been created by young people and organisations that support young people across Newcastle. Young people will be involved in the design and delivery of the activities and will have a key role in decision-making. The new funds will give young people a direct say in the design of services in localities and help to shape the city’s post-Covid recovery and into the future.

The Council will invest £290,000 into the Youth Fund every year and there will be match funding of £150,000 per year for the first two years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. In addition, the Council will invest a further £100,000 a year in the new Rapid Response Fund.

The funding will be split across the city, ensuring Newcastle has activities for young people in areas where there is little or limited provision or where there is a clear need for youth provision.  

The money will be used to support community-based youth organisations working with young people. It will include detached youth work and may include community activities, centre-based youth provision, outdoor provision, accreditation, social action, and volunteering opportunities and other informal educational opportunities.

Youth Panel members will be supported and trained to review all the submissions and determine which services are selected – embedding the opinion of Newcastle’s young people in the services that will benefit them. Young people will be supported by external organisations such as The National Lottery Community Fund and other key Newcastle based organisations, to ensure a fair and transparent process is undertaken.

Applications will need to focus on at least two of the following priorities –

• Support young people’s emotional health and wellbeing
• Support individual and community resilience
• Increase aspirations, promote education, training, and employment
• Reduce risks taking behaviours – exploitation, County Lines, anti-social behaviour, violence, drug and alcohol use and sexual health
• Support for BAME and LGBTQ+ young people
• Reduce social isolation and create opportunities for young people to build friendships and community connections
• Support young people with SEND

Councillor Paula Holland, cabinet member for Education and Skills said,

“The pandemic has impacted every young person in our city, many of them have lost valuable hours in the classroom, missed out on critical time with friends and lost the chance to explore their hobbies and interests.

“We want to overcome this impact, help our city recover and make sure no child in Newcastle is left behind.

“Our new Youth Fund will support voluntary and community organisations to create unique opportunities that spark the imagination of our young people, engage them in educational activities and prevent negative behaviour in their neighbourhoods.

“The voice of our young people will be at the heart of every decision and they will shape the services that are designed for them, it is such a unique way of working and I am excited to see what brilliant services are available in the future.

“Despite the impact of austerity the Council has maintained funding for youth services across the city, we are committed to our children, they are the future of this great city and I want each and everyone of them to achieve their potential and realise their dreams.”

Duncan Nicholson, Regional Head of Funding North East and Cumbria, The National Lottery Community Fund said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to support Newcastle City Council embed the voices and ideas of local young people into its work and services. This is a commitment that very much reflects our own efforts and ambitions, too – and is especially important as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, during which so many of the opportunities for young people will have been affected.”

Applications are now open for any eligible applications and will close at 12 noon on 19 July 2021. All applications will be reviewed by the Young People’s Locality Panels with successful applications being informed by the end of September 2021 and services kicking off on January 02, 2022.

Alongside the Youth Fund will also be a Rapid Response Fund. This pot of money can be used quickly to deliver interventions in communities where youth-related issues are on the rise, including anti-social behaviour.

Using the Rapid Response Fund will be determined by a set framework, rather than formal application process.