The National Youth Agency is the Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) for youth work in England.
We promote high quality youth work in a range of settings to improve the health and outcomes of young people and strengthen local communities.
As part of our commitment to rebuilding the youth work sector we provide a range of resources, guidance and access to learning opportunities to support Local Authorities to deliver optimum youth work provision.
Find out more about the work we are doing to rebuild the youth work sector, grow the workforce and demonstrate the impact youth work at www.nya.org.uk
Enabling Great Youth Work to Happen (766.35 KiB)
Our strategy for youth work in every place and space - 2024-2029 As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency exists to champion the value of youth work for young people, for local communities and for society. We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work.
National Youth Work Curriculum (3.11 MiB)
We created the National Youth Work Curriculum to develop a greater understanding of the educational framework upon which high quality youth work is based. The Curriculum is an important reference tool for youth workers, decision makers, policy makers, commissioners, and last but not least, young people. It aims to guide individual and collective journeys and describe how relationships between youth workers and young people provide opportunities for learning. Above all, the Curriculum responds to the diversity of young people’s needs, interests and concerns of young people.
How to fulfil your Statutory Duty - under Section 507B of the Education Act (3.03 MiB)
Under Section 507b of the Education Act (1996), all young people aged 13 to 19 years (and up to 25 years for those with special educational needs and disability (SEND) have the right to access youth work activities which are for the improvement of their wellbeing and promote their personal and social development. In Autumn 2023, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published refreshed statutory guidance outlining the lengths expected of tier 1 local authorities in England to ensure young people’s rights and needs are met. The NYA has developed this toolkit to support council officials, elected members, funders and partners in responding to the S507B statutory guidance to local authorities issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Find out how NYA can support your local youth offer on our webpage: https://nya.org.uk/bespoke-consultancy/
Kicking off Youth Work Week 2025: Building Brighter Futures
With thanks to Lorraine Lambert, The King's Trust and all the young people who have shared their incredible stories.
Find out more about Youth Work Week here: https://nya.org.uk/yww25/
In early 2024, we recruited a team of young people to act as Digital Directors, a key part of our mission to support the development of Digital Youth Work nationally. This programme empowered young people to shape digital youth work in their local areas by exploring what young people want and need from digital services.
Find out more about the programme and Digital Youth Work: https://nya.org.uk/digital-youth-work/
The Digital Standards Launch Event took place on 31 March 2025. Huge thanks to Tata Consultancy Services for hosting the event.
Find out more about Digital youth work here: https://nya.org.uk/digital-youth-work/
Our new five-year strategy, Enabling Great Youth Work to Happen, Our strategy for youth work in every place and space, sets out our bold ambitions to build the capacity and sustainability of the youth work sector.
Read the full strategy: https://www.nya.org.uk/our-strategy