So far this year (to the end of June), Creative Youth Network has worked with 3062 young people. Despite lockdown we are still continuing to reach those who are most vulnerable – our most important job  - and we know that over 70% of the young people we support are accessing free school meals, have a disability, are in or leaving care or have other barriers to their progress. 

That is what we are here for. And every quarter we measure our success in stats. The stories behind the stats are all available – you can read them in our blogs and social media posts – stories of changed lives and opportunities taken by the amazing young people in our region. 

But, it is important too that we rely not just on anecdotes, but that these stories can be backed up with numbers.  We like to make sure we are having an impact on as many lives as we can.

So, whilst the 3062 young people is a good number, it is not as high as our pre pandemic reach. This is largely because we have had to close our youth clubs and can only meet young people one to one or in small groups. This shows the power of youth clubs in reaching out to many more young people – we would have expected to have reached nearly 5000 by the half year point. 

We know too that our youth clubs allow us to meet with young people more often and for a longer period. Our attendance rate is 72% of our target (that’s the number of times an individual accesses our services). We aim for an average of 12 weeks but open access clubs allow us to keep in touch with young people for, in some cases, years. We want to walk the long journey with them but the pandemic has restricted that.

Trusting relationships are at the heart of our impact

However, despite the restrictions of the pandemic we know young people trust our staff. Each quarter we pick a random sample of young people who are interviewed independently by a university or consultant. I am pleased to say that over 95% feel their relationship with a staff member is good or excellent.  These relationships are at the heart of our support for young people – helping us to understand the issues they face and get them the support and help they need.

We know too this has an impact on young people. We have measured over 7000 improvements in young peoples confidence, knowledge and skills, understanding of their rights and choices, improved family and peer relationships and many others. These are the qualities and skills young people need to build their resilience and we are well ahead of our target here.

We know too their stories and views have reached over 93,000 people in the region. From events to social media posts we aim to amplify young peoples experiences to help us all make better decisions and understand their needs.

Finally, we know we have supported nearly 1800 young people to get work, get into college or stay in school. An impact we know will make their lives better and help them to reach their potential.

The pandemic has thrown everything up into the air and whilst it has stopped us reaching as many young people, we know we are reaching those who need us most and our work is having a real impact on their lives.