History of the National Youth Agency

NYA has a long history of supporting and championing youth work.

Our origins lie in the Albemarle Report which was published in 1960 as a result of a review of youth services across England and Wales. Along side identifying the need for expansion of youth work and better leadership, it argued for greater research into the needs of young people.

As a result NYA formed in 1964 as an information centre for youth services at the National College for the Training of Youth Leaders in Leicester.

In the 1970s we became the National Youth Bureau and then in 1991 the National Youth Agency. At that point our activity focused on providing information for youth practitioners and young people. Funding came primarily from national and local government.

In 2009, in an increasingly difficult funding environment, we refocused and modernised our shape and purpose. With no central government funding we developed a radically different business model with contracts and programmes that produce margins which pay for the running costs of the organisation, but also enable us to do the important things that no one else will fund, such as running youth work campaigns and developing alternative structures to support youth work delivery.

Today the National Youth Agency is a modern and effective youth intermediary charity. It remains the national expert on youth policy and youth work in England.