Evidence in practice: Detached youth work, a popular approach nationwide but can it reduce violence?

At the session you will hear about what the evidence says about this popular approach, what are the common key principles as shared by leading practitioners with insights to their model and future opportunities that the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is working towards to understand the impact of detached youth work at a neighbourhood level.

Detached youth work aims to connect with young people in their chosen environments, offering support in non-traditional settings. These locations typically include places where young people naturally gather, such as streets, parks, shopping centres, fast food outlets, or other community spaces. Unlike traditional youth services provided in clubs, schools, or colleges, detached youth work engages with children directly within the community. The frequency and length of these interactions can vary, encompassing activities such as relationship building, providing information and guidance, directing them to other services, and organising sports and cultural events. This approach is flexible and centred around the needs of each individual child.

At the session:

• Hear about the current evidence base for detached youth work and some of the core principles
• Get an insight into the full report for how detached youth work can be tested at scale (what the study plan set out to do, key learnings and recommendations for trial).
• You’ll hear from leading delivery organisations who will share key principles to detached youth work that they are employing whilst exploring some key challenges
• Get an insight into how we should think about engaging children from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.