Children, young people and charities
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From youth clubs and in-school schemes, to access programmes and support services, charities and their funders play a vital role in improving educational, social and emotional outcomes for children and young people.
This work is varied and often intersects with complex social issues like poverty and abuse.
For years we’ve explored how these efforts can be even more impactful. Explore our guidance and insights.
Featured resources and commentary on children and young people
Youth Investment Fund Learning and Impact Programme
Working with providers, funders, commissioners, policymakers and young people to improve the impact of services and youth work as part of a learning partnership for the Youth Investment Fund.
My best life 2
My Best Life is an open and collaborative project seeking digital solutions to the challenges young people face.
Introducing a joint evaluation programme for the youth sector
NPC and the Centre for Youth Impact are leading the learning and impact strand of a £40m DCMS and the Big Lottery Fund programme that is funding around 86 open-access youth providers. This blog outlines five ways we are confronting the challenges of evaluation in open-access settings.
Funding a good start: Philanthropy and the early years sector in the UK
Funders can help reduce inequalities in life outcomes by supporting charities intervening in this early period of a child’s life. Here we outline the various ways in which philanthropists could make an impact in this area.
School report: How can charities work best in the school system?
This discussion paper explores the role of charities and philanthropists in England's education system. We identify areas where charities can improve educational, emotional and social outcomes for children and young people and draw together the benefits and challenges that all those who work in the schools system need to address in order for the system to work more effectively.
Education: A forgotten issue?
Our data analysis has found that education charities lag far behind health charities in terms of voluntary income. Both these issues are key in our society. So what's going on?
Evidence and data collection for education start-ups
This guide is for people setting up new projects in the education sector. It offers step-by-step advice on what evidence and data to collect, and how to collect it. It is based on NPC’s experience of supporting around 40 organisations through the Young Foundation’s Young Academy education incubator programme.
Freeing-up education analysis: Using government data to help improve educational outcomes for young people
Opening up government data to help improve educational outcomes for young people—making the case for the development of an Education Impact Data Lab (EIDL) to measure impact, based on the precedent of the Justice Data Lab.
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How to engage young people in arts and culture
The artistic landscape is shifting. Across the country, budgetary pressures and the demands of career-focussed choices mean we may be facing a generation of young people who have never experienced art at school or anywhere else. Philanthropists have an opportunity to change this.
Transforming young people’s experience of Shakespeare
In this guest blog, Jacqui O’Hanlon from the Royal Shakespeare Company shares how to use place, partnerships and youth leadership to engage young people in arts and culture.
My best life 2
My Best Life is an open and collaborative project seeking digital solutions to the challenges young people face.
Bold partnerships drive youth engagement in arts and culture
In this guest blog, Sarah Lanchin, policy adviser for children and young people at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, explores their approach to involving young people in the projects they fund.
What role can the social sector play in tackling youth crime?
What is the social sector doing to reduce and prevent youth crime?
My best life
Introducing our new open and collaborative initiative to develop digital solutions to the challenges young people face.
Keeping children safe online
We’ve been working with Nominet and ParentZone to investigate the online safety landscape for young people so charities and funders can proactively drive best practice.
Keeping children safe online – Why funders must step up
Children today have grown up with technology all around them. But treating children like adults is a dangerous road to take. We believe charities and funders are well placed to be a leading voice in online safety.
Can technology make us less lonely?
Almost a third of groups we looked at are prioritising technology to overcome loneliness among young people. Here's how...
Should you fund a charities’ mental health app?
New NPC research highlights the massive potential of apps, developed by charities, to help young people with their mental health. But a crowded market, risk and cost are just some of the issues charities face doing this. So how should funders support them?
Youth Investment Fund: Learning and insight paper one
This paper describes the shared evaluation framework that has been developed across the 90 YIF-funded organisations. It is aimed at anyone working within, supporting or providing funding and resources for informal and non-formal learning provision for young people in the UK.
Get in touch
Got a question, comment, or want to work with us on youth and education? Get in touch with Charlotte Lamb NPC’s Children and Young People Lead.
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