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Introduction

Group of young adults outdoors using smartphones looking up

Group of young adults outdoors using smartphones looking up

Welcome to Preston's Youth Strategy 2025-2035

This strategy has been developed in conjunction with the Preston Youth Forum which is a network of youth service providers from the voluntary, community, faith, social enterprise and public sector from across the city. These services have worked hard to understand the issues facing young people, aged 8 to 25 in Preston and how youth related services across the city can work together to provide better support to help young people live to their full potential.

Purpose of the Strategy

Why do Preston's young people need this strategy?

Research shows that the period of adolescence is as big, if not bigger, developmental leap than that between 0-2 years.

Adolescence is a period where the human brain 'rewires' itself by learning to take risks, develop meaningful relationships and discover self-awareness.

What happens to young people during this 'rewiring' is crucial to the formation of the adult. If society does not help young people and their carers through this process it will store up problems for the future (Jensen and Nutt 2015).

This investment in the future is well worth it and it is a driver for this strategy.

The strategy will

  • State a commitment from organisations to have an ambitious and innovative approach to improving the lives of young people from Preston
  • State a commitment from partners to collaborate through the youth forum and other related partnerships for the benefit of young people
  • Be a structured way to help guide collective and individual efforts when delivering services with young people
  • Empower young people to have a voice across the city and feel like they can affect change
  • Develop a shared and ongoing understanding of the needs of young people in Preston
  • Keep services accountable to young people
  • State a commitment from partners to take risks and allow for failure (young people make mistakes and so do adults - we can learn together)
  • Allow for the celebration of young people and the positive role they play within communities in Preston.

Vision

Young people want Preston to be a place they can be proud of and want to stay.

They want Preston to be a city where young people have a voice, can be safe and healthy, have access to more opportunities and have well trained, adults supporting them.

They want the city to be friendly, clean and affordable with more accessible, inclusive activities and places for them to use.

Objectives

Youth Participation and Influence

  • A youth friendly city recognising the value ofyoung people
  • A city-wide Youth Voices/Young Leader's model
  • Development of existing organisational youthpanels
  • Reward and Recognition

Partnership and Collaboration

  • Maximising available resources for the good ofyoung people through
    • A governance structure
    • A delivery framework
    • Infrastructure development
    • Workforce Development

Working in Partnership to Deliver

  • Community Safety Partnership
  • Health and Wellbeing Partnership / Integrated Care Partnership
  • Youth Forum
  • Lancashire Employment and Skills Framework

Delivering on issues that matter to young people

Work with young people and help them discover their agency, be involved in problem solving and build and practice the skills they need to navigate life

Workforce development through subject matter training and awareness of services for young people.

Outcomes

  • Be Safe
  • Be Healthy and Resilient
  • Be Enabled and Empowered
  • Be Ready for the Future

Links with Key Strategies

  1. Lancashire Violence Reduction Network - Lancashire Youth Violence Strategy 2022
  2. Lancashire 2050 - A strategic framework for Lancashire
  3. Lancashire Skills & Economic Board - The Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework 2024 - 2029
  4. Preston Community Safety Partnership - Preston Combined Partnership and Serious Violence Plan
  5. Lancashire & South Cumbria Integrated Care Partnership Strategy - Integrated Care Strategy 2023-2028
  6. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals - Mental Health Strategy: Children, Young people and Adults 2021-2024
  7. Lancs and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board - Children in Care and Care Leavers Health Strategy
  8. Lancashire and South Cumbria Joint Forward - Plan for 2023 onwards
  9. Lancashire Public Health Strategy - Public Health Strategy 2024-2030
  10. Lancashire County Council - Lancashire Children & Young People's Plan 2024-2028

  11. National Youth Agency - Enabling Great Youth Work to Happen

NB: The duration of the aforementioned strategies differ and the content of the Preston's Youth Strategy will be reviewed to ensure that alignment remains current.

Delivery Partnership Landscape in Preston

A brief description and any associated web links for each of the delivery structures can be seen in the Glossary.

Our City at a Glance

  • There are 37,585 residents aged between 8 - 25 years of age
  • From 2020 to 2030 the number of 16, 17 and 18 year olds is expected to rise by 22.37%
  • Life expectancy in Preston is 75.7 for males and 80.7 for females which are both below the national average
  • 17.9% of children under the age of 16 live in poverty
  • 2,607 is the number of young people aged 18- 25 not in employment
  • 89.3% of school leavers in Preston go onto further education which is above the Lancashire average
  • 614 apprenticeship starts in 2022/23 in Preston which is higher than the national average
  • 4% of people aged 16 - 17 are classed as NEET which is above the national average of 3.6%
  • 41% of young people ages 5 - 16 are physically active for less than 30 minutes a day which is 11% under the national average
  • 40% of year 6 pupils are classed as overweight, above the national average of 36.6%
  • There are 243 care leavers in Preston
  • 47.6 is the average attainment score in 2023/24 for key stage 4 pupils which is above the national rate of 46.4.

*All data sets accurate at time of completion.

Preston Youth Survey at a Glance

The views of young people and those of the professionals that support them underpin this strategy.

In May 2023, two roundtable events were held with professionals to collect their views. Over the summer months, we worked with a group of young people to develop a series of questions relevant to young people across the city. Using these questions, we carried out the Preston Youth Survey with people aged between 8-25 from November 2023 until March 2024 and 1400 young people responded with their views.

Those that took part

  • 72.2% White
  • 14.3%Asian or Asian British
  • 7.2% Mixed or Multiple Ethnicities
  • 3.8% Black or Black British
  • 3.4% Other Ethnic Group

Young people said the top 3 problems were

  • Vaping
  • Drugs and Alcohol
  • Violence, Safety and Anti Social Behanvior

What would young people change about Preston to make it better for their peers

  • Make things cheaper or free for young people
  • Make the city cleaner, better upkeep of buildings and roads
  • Cheaper transport
  • 56% said they need more help accessing careers advice
  • 43% think there are not enough employment, careers or further education opportunities
  • 53% say there is not enough information and support for mental health
  • 63% don't know where to go for mental health support
  • 38% think there are not enough opportunities to engage in physical activities.

In addition to the Youth Survey, we used results from:

Results of these can be viewed in the appendix, along with more results from the Preston's Youth Survey.