Today, there is recognition of the value and impact of this model. As services, funders and policy makers work towards delivering effective, open access support for children and young people in every community, important questions have emerged: what does good look like, and how do we help every hub get there?
Grounded in lived experience, practitioner expertise and research evidence, the Youth Access Quality Framework sets out what good looks like for hubs, providing a clear, shared structure for defining and demonstrating quality.
The framework is already being used by services and funders to drive improvement for young people and is informing policy conversations in England and beyond.
But we also heard that services needed more than a framework – they wanted practical tools to support improvement, demonstrate impact and strengthen the case for long term investment.
This October, we’re launching the next step - aurora, a tool that brings the framework to life.
Meet aurora
aurora is a practical tool that transforms the quality framework into a usable roadmap for hubs, that answers services calls for a tool that:
- Is strengths-based, celebrating great work rather than just flagging gaps
- Is flexible enough to reflect the reality of how hubs operate
- Gives the sector a clearer national picture of the difference that hubs are making
That national picture matters as much as the local one. Every hub that uses aurora gets clarity on its own strengths and next steps whilst adding to a body of evidence that helps funders, commissioners and policymakers understand, and properly resource, what hubs deliver across the country.
Using aurora
As a hub, aurora enables you to explore and score your service across each area of the framework to illuminate your strengths and your brightest opportunities.
Once you’ve completed a self-assessment, you can build bespoke action plans for the whole team to track progress, and access insights, resources and wisdom from the wider community.
Backed by young people and the sector, aurora is a tool that:
- Celebrates what you're doing well while guiding you toward even greater impact for young people
- Connects your local excellence to national advocacy, ensuring youth services get the recognition and support they deserve
- Brings your whole team into the conversation, making improvement visible, accessible, and exciting for everyone
- Helps you build action plans that take the guesswork out of development, giving you a clear starting point and a roadmap
- Showcases your impact and how you're evolving to stakeholders
See it live
Join us on Tuesday, 20th October for your first look at aurora live in action. This is your chance to see how the tool works in real time and understand how it can help support your service.
Join us online Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 10:30-12:00.
We can't wait to show you what we've built together.
*A note on 'hubs' terminology. Services providing the Youth Access model of advice and counselling are also known as YIACS, early support hubs, youth mental health hubs, drop-in services, integrated health and wellbeing models, and one-stop-shops.
Sometimes they get referred to simply as “hubs”. We know that “hubs” is a popular term to describe many different types of service. When we use it, we specifically mean community-based open-access advice and counselling services for young people aged 11 to 25 i.e. the Youth Access model.
