“This is not an invention, this is not a narrative, this is real”   Our first panel at #LabourPartyConference2026 gave a key insight into the potential when policymakers, academics, charities, and young people come together to make a difference when it comes to child and adolescent mental health.

Today we’ve published the Young Creatives Commission Interim report – ‘Levelling the Pitch’, in partnership with Roundhouse Trust. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

Levelling the Pitch | Centre for Young Lives | News

Published: Young people's creativity is everywhere. Opportunities to develop it are not.

centreforyounglives.org.uk

LWN are proud to be partnering with some amazing orgs for this Reception at #Lab26 Come share your views as we shine a light on opportunities to provide earlier, more effective support for women & girls www.lwn.org.uk/delivering_f... @cfyounglives.bsky.social

Are you excited by the opportunity to join a fast-growing, influential think tank that champions vulnerable children and campaigns for lasting change? We're looking for an ambitious comms professional 👇 www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/about-us/job...

Job Vacancy: Press & Communications Manager | Centre for Young Lives

£39,149 - £43,668

centreforyounglives.org.uk

These are the sort of reforms we have been campaigning for over the last few years. This announcement is an important leap forward towards rebuilding a high achieving, high aspirations, high-quality education system that works for all children, wherever they grow up. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Schools to offer technical subjects to pupils from age 14, Burnham says

The government wants pupils to take courses like AI and manufacturing which are linked to local jobs.

bbc.co.uk

Very good to hear @andyburnham.bsky.social explicitly reference support for young people's mental health in his opening address - the first time any new PM has done so. The Future Minds campaign looks forward to working with government to prioritise and reform support for children's mental health.

Centre for Young Lives@cfyounglives.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Encouraging to hear young people among the very first priorities mentioned by PM @andyburnham.bsky.social, and the first time young people's mental health was explicitly referenced in an opening address. We stand ready to work with government to help deliver lasting change for children and families

We’ve published our annual State of the Nation report. What does it show? Despite progress in some areas, some of the most concerning forms of vulnerability – like deep poverty, housing insecurity or missing half of school – continue to rise…

New report exposes the scale of childhood crisis facing Andy Burnham and warns “incremental change will no longer cut it” | Centre for Young Lives | Press Release

Published:

centreforyounglives.org.uk

Encouraging to hear young people among the very first priorities mentioned by PM @andyburnham.bsky.social, and the first time young people's mental health was explicitly referenced in an opening address. We stand ready to work with government to help deliver lasting change for children and families

Great to see @schoolsweek.bsky.social following up on our paper from @jonnyuttley.bsky.social schoolsweek.co.uk/five-school-...

Five school reform recommendations for Burnham's government

Report from former MAT CEO calls for system 'based on collaboration, place and collective responsibility'

schoolsweek.co.uk

"Now is the time to be much more ambitious about using connected data to boost life chances for all children, wherever they are growing up." - Haroon Chowdry @cfyounglives.bsky.social Read the Connecting data report calling for a national devolved approach: tinyurl.com/cotn100726 #Connectingdata

More reading for the incoming Prime Minister, published today with our partners @childofthenorth.bsky.social.

Child of the North@childofthenorth.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We need a national connected data model to transform children’s services. Our report shows how proven approaches already working in Northern England can be scaled nationally to address the urgent need for better data sharing. childofthenorth.aflip.in/Connectingda... #ConnectingData

What should incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s priorities be for our schools? Today we’re publishing a brilliant short report by our Visiting Fellow @jonnyuttley.bsky.social which calls for a new era of inclusive place-based education reform. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

New report urges Andy Burnham to end 40 years of school competition and calls for new era of place-based inclusion | Centre for Young Lives | Press Release

Published: The Centre for Young Lives think tank and education charity SHINE are today (Friday 10th July) publishing a new report, A New Settlement for Education: Why We Need a New Theory of Place-Bas...

centreforyounglives.org.uk

Sadly this has been happening for many years and it’s a scandal that needs to be ended. Care homes charging councils up to £28k a week per child www.thetimes.com/article/b34d...

Care homes charging councils up to £28k a week per child

A part-time bouncer and a recruitment magnate are among the directors demanding ‘mind-boggling’ sums, as local authorities battle a shortage of suitable homes

thetimes.com

Are you working in the north of England to support children and young people’s play? @childofthenorth.bsky.social @cfyounglives.bsky.social would like to hear about your work. www.n8research.org.uk/what-we-do/r...

Equitable Access to Play – Opportunities for Children and Young People in the North of England - N8 Research Partnership

Call for contributions to the report 'Equitable Access to Play: Opportunities for Children and Young People', which brings together case studies and stories that highlight the work of people supportin...

n8research.org.uk

We’ve joined Substack. Our first post looks at our recent report on #looksmaxxing. open.substack.com/pub/centrefo...

An easy pill to swallow: why looksmaxxing appeals to boys and young men

Ben Firth on our troubling new report on “looksmaxxing”.

open.substack.com

Our report on #looksmaxxing out today. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

Yesterday, we were proud to be in Parliament to launch the latest report from the Child of the North APPG: ‘Building a Preventative Mental Health System for Children and Young People’. www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/...

Setting a minimum age of 16 on addictive social media apps is a vital first step. Parents and children want to see a digital world that works for them, not tech companies. The Govt must now stand firm in the face of tech industry lobbying and stay the course to protect children and young people.

During 2025 and early 2026, we partnered with @mission44.bsky.social 44 to host a nationwide series of events aimed at helping schools and their partners become more ambitious about inclusion. Here's just a flavour of the brilliant ideas and best practice we heard about.

We were pleased to contribute to a new @cfyounglives.bsky.social report on achieving the Government's school readiness target as members of its expert advisory group. The report highlights the need for stronger early years systems and urgent action to tackle inequality. bit.ly/4gazHVp

New Report from the Centre for Young Lives: Government needs to do more than set a target if it is going to improve school readiness | Centre for Young Lives | Press Release

Published:

bit.ly

We've published a new report, ‘Starting Well: Lessons from local areas on how to ensure all children are school ready’. Drawing on interviews with local authorities, we highlight what is working to improve early years outcomes and the barriers. www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

New Report from the Centre for Young Lives: Government needs to do more than set a target if it is going to improve school readiness | Centre for Young Lives | Press Release

Published:

centreforyounglives.org.uk

Call for contributions. In partnership with the @cfyounglives.bsky.social we are inviting contributions to a new report, and would like to hear from anyone who is involved in supporting children and young people’s play. Learn more👇 We'd love to hear from you. DL 31 Aug. Please share!

Equitable Access to Play – Opportunities for Children and Young People in the North of England - N8 Research Partnership

Call for contributions to the report 'Equitable Access to Play: Opportunities for Children and Young People', which brings together case studies and stories that highlight the work of people supportin...

n8research.org.uk

Alan Milburn’s report puts to bed the nonsense that this is a ‘Snowflake Generation’ unwilling and unable to work. The reality is there are hundreds of thousands of young people not in education, employment or training who want to get into work but are being held back. www.gov.uk/government/p...

Young people and work: interim report

The young people and work report is an independent review of the increase in the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

gov.uk

The Government announced today that it has reached its target of 8500 new mental health workers in England. This is welcome but we need more, and a workforce plan to address the mental health crisis. Read our response from @andybell-centremh.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/posts/centre...

The Government announced today that it has met its target to recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers in England. Welcome news, but is it enough? Responding to the announcement from the… | Cent...

The Government announced today that it has met its target to recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers in England. Welcome news, but is it enough? Responding to the announcement from the Departm...

linkedin.com

… think-tank @cfyounglives.bsky.social says: “We talk about the time children spend on their phones, but we don’t talk about alternatives.”

Why London’s teens need more third spaces— Sometimes it feels like young people are either demonised for staying in — or going out. @conniemuttock.bsky.social the head of policy at… www.ft.com/content/89c7... @emmavj.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Why London’s teens need more third spaces

At a time when young people are either demonised for staying in or going out, youth clubs are more important than ever

ft.com

Very important progress and something we’ve been campaigning for. We await the details. news.sky.com/story/social...

Education secretary says social media restrictions for under-16s will be introduced

The Conservatives have been calling for a ban on under-16s using social media for months and have accused the government of dragging its feet by holding a public consultation before doing anything.

news.sky.com

Brilliant to see @jackrooke.bsky.social win a BAFTA. Jack is a Commissioner on our Young Creatives Commission with Roundhouse and a true champion for widening access to the arts and culture. Spare a moment to listen to his great speech. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGKn...

Jack Rooke wins the Writer: Comedy BAFTA for Big Boys | BAFTA TV Craft Awards

YouTube video by BAFTA

youtube.com

We've published new research and recommendations to tackle the NEET crisis.

Turning the Tide on Rising Young NEETs: New report from Centre for Young Lives sets out a new vision for a system-wide approach to shifting the dial on young people not in education, employment or tra...

Published:

centreforyounglives.org.uk

We're really pleased to see recommendations from our Raising the Nation Play Commission - on No Ball Games signs and play friendly school uniforms - backed by the DCMS Select Committee in its new report 'Game On'. committees.parliament.uk/committee/37...

Game On: MPs call for new focus and funding to get nation moving more - Committees - UK Parliament

A renewed commitment to PE in schools, ending the 3pm Saturday blackout for women’s football and the removal of unnecessary ‘No Ball Games’ signs are among the recommendati...

committees.parliament.uk