In June, we hosted the first of a series of workshops designed to inform the development of a quality framework for youth advice and counselling services that aims to:
- enable services to better understand their strengths and areas for development
- provide services with tools to expand their provision to meet young people’s complex needs
- help commissioners and funders to recognise and invest in impactful services
- improve national data collection and inform policy making and funding decisions
In short, how can we celebrate fantastic work, spread good practice and develop local services from the roots up.
What 33 hubs taught us
Facilitated by our three fantastic young co-designers, our first workshop was for existing hubs (both Youth Access members, and non-members). Supported our project designer Dr Isabel Hanson (also a GP and academic currently studying this area of research) and Youth Access Chief Exec Cassi, the co-designers created a space for honest reflection about what quality really looks like in practice.
Sometimes the hardest questions to answer are the broadest ones. So we took a step back and asked participants to share a moment they felt genuinely proud of.
With this question in mind, attendees were able to tap into the magic of what services do.
Participants considered what enabled these proud moments to take fruit, and in turn, considered how a framework could encourage and replicate this. Participants then brought all this thinking together with real-time feedback through interactive polling.
There were clear themes that emerged from participants’ proudest moments
- Youth-led transformation: Examples where young people weren't just consulted—they shaped services from the ground up. From co-developing funding bids to speaking at AGMs, services were proud of circumstances where young peoples voices drove change as leaders, not tokens.
- Relational practice at the core: Success stories centered on trusting, emotionally attuned relationships built through staff flexibility, continuity of care, and long-term commitment, especially in complex cases.
- Resilient team culture: Teams took pride in maintaining inclusive, value-driven approaches even during funding cuts, staff shortages, and safeguarding challenges—never compromising on quality or accessibility.
- Creative, holistic responses: Services described innovative wraparound support addressing housing, domestic violence, and neurodiversity through connected emotional support, practical advice, and partnership working.
- Youth-designed spaces: From outreach hubs to shipping container classrooms on farms, physical spaces reflected genuine community needs and youth creativity.
And there were clear foundation elements that enabled this excellence
- Youth voice embedded at every stage—from governance to recruitment panels
- Robust supervision and learning cultures that sustain relational work
- Flexible, trusting team dynamics rooted in shared values
- Strong community partnerships enabling joined-up support
- Values lived daily, not just stated in mission documents
These fundamental foundations reveal the infrastructure of quality youth services.
Where clinical meets cultural
One of our most significant findings challenges a false dichotomy in provision for young people. Participants emphasized that the best hubs don't choose between clinical rigor and cultural relevance—they integrate both. High-quality services combine therapeutic safeguards with social meaning-making, tailored to the identities and communities they serve.
This integration requires clear ethical boundaries, strong supervision, and trauma-informed approaches, but delivered within culturally embedded, youth-centred models.
What our framework must address
The workshop identified some crucial areas for us to strengthen:
Youth voice as foundation
Participants felt strongly that youth voice should be the first domain in our framework—foundational, not optional.
Evidence that matters
Services need tools that capture both relational outcomes valued by practitioners and quantitative measures required by funders. We're developing approaches that honor narrative, qualitative, and co-designed evidence.
Safeguarding in a growing field
As new hubs emerge, our framework must set clear standards around safeguarding, supervision, and ethical delivery without stifling innovation.
Next steps
Over the coming months, we will be:
- Refining the framework based on real-world application
- Developing supporting resources that make quality accessible to services of all sizes
- Continuing to centre youth voice in its development
- Hosting workshops for commissioners, funders and government stakeholders to inform the framework
- Hosting workshops for young people
- Going out to public consultation
Next month, we'll share the findings from our workshops with young people, taking place in-person in a northern and southern based hub. Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter to hear what young people across the UK have to say.
