Youth Strategy
Youth Partnership Needs Assessment
The Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) Youth Partnership commissioned Youth Focus North West to conduct a comprehensive Needs Assessment to inform the future direction of youth services across the borough. This assessment responds to statutory guidance requiring local authorities to ensure young people have access to youth work services and activities that meet their needs. The borough, covering a diverse geography of urban and rural communities, is home to over 365,000 residents, with 17.2% aged 0-15 and a growing population of young people facing complex challenges.
The assessment engaged over 500 individuals through surveys, focus groups, and consultations, including young people, parents, carers, and youth sector professionals. Young people expressed a strong desire for safe, welcoming spaces where they feel heard, supported, and connected. Relationships with trusted adults, particularly youth workers, were identified as vital, offering emotional support and guidance. Participation in youth clubs, sports, arts, and informal social activities was common, though access varied significantly by location, age, and background.
Mental health emerged as a dominant theme, with many young people reporting anxiety, depression, and a lack of timely support. Career advice, financial literacy, and life skills were also highlighted as unmet needs. Barriers to engagement included transport limitations, affordability, lack of awareness, and insufficient inclusive provision for SEND and neurodiverse young people. Parents and carers echoed these concerns, citing gaps in local services and the need for more tailored, accessible activities.
The youth sector itself faces challenges around funding, workforce capacity, and infrastructure. Many organisations operate on short-term funding and struggle with recruitment and retention of qualified youth workers. Despite this, the sector demonstrates resilience and commitment, with strong voluntary contributions and a desire for more collaborative, joined-up working.
Young people articulated a clear vision for the future: more diverse activities, better promotion of what’s available, and meaningful involvement in shaping services. They called for youth spaces that reflect their interests and identities, from creative arts and sports to LGBTQ+ and SEND-friendly environments. The findings underscore the importance of youth voice, equitable access, and sustainable investment in youth work.
This assessment provides a robust evidence base for strategic planning, highlighting both the strengths of the current offer and the opportunities for innovation and growth. It calls for a youth strategy that is inclusive, responsive, and co-designed with young people, ensuring that every young person in CWAC can thrive.
There is a urgent need to improve mental health support, create inclusive environments, and ensure safety for young people across Cheshire West and Chester. The CWAC Needs Assessment revealed that 35% of young people reported anxiety, depression or mental health issues, and 17% identified as neurodivergent. Many young people expressed a desire for safe, welcoming spaces where they feel heard, supported, and included, particularly those from SEND and LGBTQ+ communities
Why
This priority is grounded in the consistent feedback from young people, parents, carers, and youth sector professionals. Mental health emerged as a dominant concern, with young people citing limited access to timely support, long waiting lists, and a lack of early intervention. The report also highlighted that 76% of young people had never met youth workers on the street, and many felt that current youth spaces were overwhelming or not designed for their needs. Parents and carers echoed these concerns, pointing to inaccessible SEND provisions, lack of inclusive spaces, and barriers such as transport and affordability. The strategy responds directly to these findings by proposing tailored staff training, mapping services, co-designed activities, and youth-led inspections to ensure that youth spaces are truly inclusive and safe.
What We Want to Achieve
We aim to create a borough where every young person has access to Emotional Wellbeing support across the youth sector, feels safe in both physical and digital environments, and can engage in inclusive, youth-friendly spaces that reflect their identities and needs. We want to see youth centres refurbished, quiet and warm spaces mapped and promoted, and staff trained in cultural competence and inclusive practice. By launching initiatives like the Youth Inspectors programme and partnering with organisations, we aspire to embed youth voice in service design and ensure that SEND and LGBTQ+ young people are not only included but celebrated. Ultimately, we seek to build a youth offer that is equitable, accessible, and empowering, enabling young people to thrive in safe and supportive environments.
| Theme | Key Actions |
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| Expand Wellbeing Wellbeing Support |
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| Create Inclusive, Youth-Friendly Spaces |
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| Enhance Digital & Physical Safety |
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| Promote Cultural Competence & Representation |
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The Youth Strategy seeks to embed young people at the heart of decision-making, service design, and future planning across Cheshire West and Chester. The CWAC Needs Assessment revealed that young people feel strongly about being heard and involved, with many expressing a desire to influence staff recruitment, shape activities, and contribute to service development. The strategy outlines a comprehensive approach to amplify youth voice through forums, summits, and partner engagement, while also strengthening career pathways and promoting youth work as a viable profession. This focus aims to foster a culture of empowerment, where young people are not just participants but co-creators of their futures.
Why
There is clear evidence that young people want meaningful involvement in shaping the services that affect them. In focus groups, young people said they felt listened to and wanted more opportunities to influence decisions, including staff recruitment: “We should be part of choosing new staff”. Despite this enthusiasm, only 13% of young people currently volunteer weekly, and 41% of 16-17-year-olds volunteer a few times per year, indicating untapped potential for local engagement. Additionally, 83 young people (19%) expressed interest in arts and creative activities, and many requested life skills and career readiness support, such as cooking, financial literacy, and job applications. Sector professionals also highlighted the need for better work readiness and more diverse pathways into employment. These findings underscore the need to build structured opportunities for youth leadership, career development, and local participation.
What We Want to Achieve
We aim to create a borough where youth voice is embedded in governance, and young people are empowered to shape services, influence decisions, and lead change. We want to establish a CWAC Youth Forum that connects existing youth platforms, and ensure young people are involved in staff recruitment and service design. By integrating life skills and leadership programmes into youth settings and building volunteering and work experience pathways, we will equip young people with the tools to thrive. We also aim to promote youth work as a career, support the workforce with CPD and wellbeing initiatives, and secure sustainable funding. Celebrating youth participation through an annual Youth Summit and feedback loops like “Your Voice, Our Action” will reinforce the value of youth contributions. Ultimately, we want young people to feel confident, capable, and connected to their communities and futures.
| Theme | Key Actions |
|---|---|
| Youth Voice and Influence |
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| Career & Life Skills Pathways |
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| Youth Work Careers & Workforce Development |
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| Re-engagement & aspirations |
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We aim to remove barriers that prevent young people from engaging with youth support services, while improving visibility and coordination across the borough. The CWAC Needs Assessment identified significant challenges in transport, promotion, and service fragmentation, particularly affecting SEND young people, those in rural areas, and older youth. Many young people reported not knowing what activities were available, with 30.7% relying on social media and only 6.4% using posters or council websites. Transport was repeatedly cited as a barrier, with unsafe or unreliable buses, cost concerns, and geographic isolation limiting access. The strategy responds by proposing youth-led campaigns, mobile youth offers, improved mapping of services, and stronger multi-agency collaboration to ensure equitable access and better communication.
Why
The need to tackle this area is rooted in the widespread and recurring barriers identified in the report. Transport and geography were among the most significant obstacles, with young people in areas like Winsford reporting isolation and lack of safe travel options. Additionally, lack of awareness was a major issue, with young people and parents struggling to navigate online platforms and find accurate information about youth activities. The report also highlighted service duplication and siloed working, with professionals noting that poor communication and fragmented systems hindered effective delivery. These findings underscore the need for coordinated efforts to improve visibility, accessibility, and collaboration across sectors, ensuring that youth support services are inclusive, well-promoted, and strategically aligned.
What We Want to Achieve
We aim to build a partnership youth offer that is accessible, visible, and collaborative. We want to identify and address transport barriers, especially for SEND and rural youth, by piloting mobile youth services and promoting independent travel training. We will enhance awareness through youth-led social media campaigns, a centralised youth information hub, and improved school-based promotion. By strengthening multi-agency forums, engaging with the VCSF Sector, and reducing duplication in service design, we will foster a more connected and responsive youth sector. Ultimately, we want every young person in CWAC to know what’s available, feel confident accessing it, and benefit from a joined-up system that meets their needs wherever they live.
| Theme | Key Actions |
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| Transport and Accessibility |
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| Promotion and Awareness |
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| Partnership Working |
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| Equitable access to services |
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