Onside Youth Zones:

Bridging the Gap continued to gain momentum as COVID restrictions eased and more young people were able to be welcomed back to physical delivery at the 13 Youth Zones. The opening of schools and return to normalcy greatly benefited the programme. Over the course of our partnership, 840 young people were referred to external agencies for mental health support and 323 received 1-2-1 support and PDPs. The programme engaged with 7,036 young people overall and, as part of the sustainable development to embed learnings and support within each participating Youth Zone, 52 staff have also received mental health training. The DCMS Youth Investment Fund also pledged £40M to building five new Youth Zones across the country ensuring the impact of our programme will broaden