We want to celebrate the resilience, achievements, and impact that define this year. In just over 12 months, Oxfordshire Youth supported over 1,800 young people, 1,300 youth workers, and 150 organisations that collectively provide vital services for more than 32,000 young people across the county. This incredible work is under-resourced and underfunded, yet it continues to achieve small but mighty outcomes.

Self-care is a gift we should keep giving, especially during this season. Please look after yourself this Christmas. If you need more information about tips for coping at Christmas, visit the Mind website. 

Over the next 12 sleeps, join us as we reflect on some of the highlights that brought joy, growth, and hope to our journey, along with a glance to the future. Let’s celebrate these moments together. 

With speeches from Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, Jodie Lloyd-Jones, CEO, and those working directly with young people, we were glad to be given the opportunity to thank the incredible array of businesses and funders who make our work possible.

Special thanks go to ARC Oxford and many of the companies on the campus: Freeths, Radley, and Richard Venables for spearheading donations for the beautiful gifts we wrapped.

We’d love it if you had a look at our mini festive impact booklet, this can be downloaded to share our empowering work with others.

To view and download our booklet click here.

60% of the young people in our supported accommodation service are Care Leavers. For many Care Leavers, rather than experience the light and sparkle of Christmas, the festive season can be a challenging and lonely time. The Christmas Dinner is a way for us to show our care and support, and help create positive memories for all involved.

You can read more about this wonderful event in a recent press article by clicking here.

There are 50 spaces available and these will be in high demand. If you know an interested young person, please contact emmy.oshaughnessy@oxy.mediasitesvr1.co.uk. Children of Care Leavers are warmly welcome.

If you are interested in volunteering at this special event, you can speak to the Deputy CEO of Oxfordshire Youth, emmy.oshaughnessy@oxy.mediasitesvr1.co.uk

Watch the heart-warming video below from the last Christmas Dinner as a taster. 

We are fundraising for gifts, venue hire, food, games and transport. You can play an important part and support the fundraiser by visiting our JustGiving page.

In April 2024, we partnered with Radley College and hosted the retreat on their campus. We used the beautiful spaces they could offer us, as part of OY’s ongoing partnership with Radley.

The 2024 retreat provided workshop sessions on reflective practice, psycho-social peer group, protecting boundaries in leadership and systems change.

The retreat is funded by The Prudence Trust and forms an integral part of our three-year Youth Sector Wellbeing Programme. This funding allows us to offer a retreat in each year of our three-year contract, so we are excited to be developing a new programme for Spring 2025.

You can find out more in our video below.

If we dip into our creative and artistic resources, we’re able to feel a sense of fulfilment. Taking this active step means putting our best foot forward to care for our own wellbeing and health. Above all, we can help others by looking after ourselves and investing time and effort into our wellbeing.

With the ever growing rise in complex mental health needs among young people, youth workers need the tools for resilience.

By exploring our own creative health and wellbeing, we can teach and encourage others with confidence and trust.  

To support that process, Oxfordshire Youth has partnered with The Prudence Trust to offer a pioneering wellbeing programme. Our Youth Practitioner Wellbeing Programme is fully focused on developing and uplifting individuals, their organisations and the young people engaged with them. It’s a priority for us to ensure that this course is fully funded. With participants receiving over £2000 of training for free, equity and access to opportunities is at the top of our priorities. Youth workers can take part in wellbeing sessions and engage in personal development, peer-to-peer networking and many more enriching activities.

You can find out more about it here and to join us, sign up to be part of the next course. Give yourself the gift of time to explore, connect and grow. If you’d like to discuss any aspect of the programme, please contact Nataliia Turban, Oxfordshire Youth’s Youth Sector Wellbeing Coordinator by emailing nataliia.turban@oxy.mediasitesvr1.co.uk.

Currently at Oxfordshire Youth, we provide YPSA services to 110 young people every year. We want to ensure they receive the support, skills, and connections they need to build a brighter future.

Many young people in supported accommodation have experienced the care or the asylum system. They’re missing the family support needed to move with confidence towards their adulthood. This can cause complex barriers and issues such as: lack of secure and stable housing, mental health, employment and education.

Thanks to Lucy Group’s long-term commitment, we now offer annual Future Leader residentials, engaging employability workshops, and meaningful work placements.

Over the three year programme, Oxfordshire Youth and Lucy Group will harness the incredible strengths of these young individuals. We’ll help them build new networks, gain confidence, and acquire essential life and leadership skills.

Here’s a look at the journey so far. Thank you to the Lucy Group for enabling 8 young people to go on the residential and 15 young people to engage in employability skills training!

What impact can youth work services play in young people’s lives? 

Register for our webinar here. Taking place on the 4th November at 12pm.

I’m a current student at SOAS and I study social sciences, which magnifies my interests in people and diversity. For two years, I was the spokeswoman for a Muslim and women of colour-led activist organisation called Help The World Oxford. At this organisation, they facilitated a space for young women to flourish in the social advocacy field. Growing up as the only Asian girl at school set a foundation of understanding the experience of feeling misrepresented. Youth work was an opening for me to recognise parts of my own identity in spaces of importance – such as social media, mental health and charities. My passion for youth work stems from a desire to diversify the third sector, and instil my own experiences of being an Asian woman into my work.

I’m a youth participation professional with a decade’s additional experience as a campaigner and volunteer centred on young people’s rights, health, and voices. I successfully campaigned for first aid to be taught in schools as a National First Aid Advocate with St John Ambulance, and I now volunteer as the organisation’s National Youth Participation Lead. I also champion youth social action through the #iWill movement, with whom I co-designed the youth strand of the 10-year national Vision for Volunteering strategy. As a trustee of Oxfordshire Youth, I bring my youth voice expertise and share my own experiences of living, studying, and working in Oxfordshire. I want to ensure young people across the county receive the support and opportunities they deserve.

I currently work as a Public Affairs and Media Officer for the UK’s ad regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority. I’ve been involved in youth voice since I was a teenager and it’s something I’ve remained passionate about ever since. I was previously a media spokesperson for Girl Guiding UK, and I also represented the organisation on their British Youth Council panel. In this role, I represented the voices of around 400,000 young women and girls. Now, I’m a young trustee for Oxfordshire Youth, a position which I find incredibly rewarding as I get to use my youth voice experience to impact real decision making.

What to expect

We’ll explore Youth Work Towards Systemic Change, with Seth Reynolds from Grassroots Initiatives Towards Social Change, policy shifts, and the innovative programs that are driving transformation in youth development. The day promises engaging talks, in-depth discussions from key speakers such as The Children’s Society and opportunities for collective action. 

Grab your ticket

Tickets are limited, so grab the chance to learn, network, and collaborate on the pressing issues facing young people here today. 

Taking place on the 21st November from 9:30am- 4pm at the Mercure Hotel Iffley, Oxford.