Who We Are
OXFORDSHIRE YOUTH
Supporting young people to be the best they can be
With a history spanning over 70 years, Oxfordshire Youth is the leading youth organisation for the youth sector in Oxfordshire.
Young people need access to safe spaces and trusting relationships, where they can be themselves, make friends, develop new skills and make positive changes to their lives and their communities.
Throughout history, youth organisations have provided vital opportunities for young people to express themselves freely, build confidence, strengthen their talents, develop new skills and raise aspirations.
Our vision is for all young people to be empowered, feel respected and know that they are valued. We achieve this with, and through our local network of youth sector organisations, brought together through our merger with Oxfordshire Children’s Voluntary Youth Service (OCVYS), together reaching over 26,000 young people.
We believe that informal education, youth work & non-formal learning is essential to improving young people’s quality of life.
Young people are at the heart of what we do. Our Youth Committee VOICE, a network of young people from our member organisations, informs and guides our work.
We are committed to helping Young people fulfil their potential and provide a youth leadership programme.
Read our latest Impact Report 2020 to find out how we are making a difference.
OUR HISTORY
In 1947, our predecessor organisation Oxfordshire Associations of Boys Clubs was founded to support voluntary led youth clubs across the county who supported boys. How times have changed. Today, we still support those voluntary led youth clubs and in addition, we support a whole youth sector of organisations, that support young people from all walks of life, all genders, faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds.
We are committed to work collaboratively to build a resilient sector that responds to the needs of all young people.
1947
set up as Oxfordshire Association for Boys Clubs to support clubs working with young men.
1950s
Sport-based provision.
1960s
- Charity cricket.
- Ran the residential part of Duke of Edinburgh Award.
1970s
12 members which were mainly city based Boxing Clubs.
1980s
- Youth activities for youth clubs.
- Period of change and consolidation.
1990s
- Re-brand to Oxfordshire Association for Young People (OAYP)
40 youth clubs - Holiday roadshows – providing a full programme of activities throughout the summer holidays.
- Began the provision of mobile services;
- The Van Project, taking information out to young people in the community. The mobile youth club supported the opening of 15 new youth clubs.
- The A Team took activities to youth clubs and ran activities out of a van.
- Training for sports leaders.
2000s
- 110 members
- Project Infozone; working in partnership with Oxfordshire Count Council (OCC) to provide support for young people in schools and youth clubs providing information on a range of topics.
- Motivate young men project
- Motivate Young Women
- Sexual Health Project
2010s
- 2013 re branded to Oxfordshire Youth
- National Citizen Service (NCS)
- Voice Youth Committee
- Young Leaders Programme
- Takeover of Oxfordshire Children and Voluntary Youth Services (OCVYS) to expand OY’s offer of sector support to anyone working with children and young people
OUR PEOPLE
Click the button below to see a full list of all members of staff currently working at Oxfordshire Youth.
OUR PARTNERS
Oxfordshire Youth has strong relationships with a wide network of local partners, including our members, supporters and a large range of public and voluntary youth sector organisations. See below for a taste of the wide range of partners and supporters.
OUR GOVERNANCE
We’re governed by our Constitution.
Our registered office address is: First Floor, Bury Knowle Coach House, North Place, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9HY
Patrons
Tim Stevenson OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Sir Charles Ponsonby Bt, Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
President
Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
Vice-Presidents
Mr Malcolm Cochrane; Mr Richard Dick; Mr Dave Hutchinson; Mr Jim Duthie; Mr Andrew Feilden; Col Tom Hall; Brigadier Nigel Mogg; Mr Miles Tuely; The Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council; The Lord Mayor of Oxford; The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University; The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University; The Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester – Diocese of Oxford
Trustees
Chair: Carl Anglim. Deputy Chair: Fiona Clarke. Michael Watkinson MBE, Margie Jarvis, Richard Venables, Susan Jackson, Darius Smith, Lavinia Abell.
Find out more about our Trustees & Governance
OUR YOUTH COMMITTEE
VOICE a network of young people, aged 13-18, from our member organisations across the county. They represent the voice of young people to support Oxfordshire Youth to understand and meet the needs of young people and the organisations they work with.