Torbay Council secures £1m funding for youth provision through Young Futures Hubs Programme

However as Lead Member for Children's Services, I was hoping the decision to proceed with the "Young Futures Hubs & Transformation Programme" might have made a bigger splash.

In a nutshell Torbay Council has been successful in our bid to be included in this government sponsored programme which will provide substantial financial support, circa £1million, to support youth provision in the Bay by bringing everything together so youngsters can more easily find out about what is going on. In particular youth service will be linked with mental health support, education & routes into employment.

This will be achieved by working with children & young people to produce Torbay's first Youth Strategy. This fits with quite a lot of projects already underway: our ambition to be a UNICEF recognised Child Friendly Place as well as the investment in our children's play areas after years of neglect. The new equipment at Stoodley Knowle for example is proving a definite "hit". It was great to have the involvement of children at Ilsham Primary School as well as the wider community & SWISCO to bring this to fruition.

Although folk will say "there's nothing for youngsters to do" the reality is quite a lot is going on, but information is patchy & how do you get everything out there in a user friendly fashion?

Yours Truly is a bit of a dinosaur in terms of communication (& much else) but genuinely surprised when I sit down with children & young people & ask how they find out about what is going on in the Bay: there's clearly no single media they say they would turn to.

It's probably a bit naive to think schools would be the best source of information when they are such busy places & sad to say attendance, although starting to improve, is something of a challenge, also several hundred youngsters are "elected home education" so removed from these settings. Indeed, children who might be missing from school for whatever reason are probably those who might benefit the most from participation in youth activities.

I was hugely impressed by the eloquence of the youngsters who came together at New Parkfield in September for our second "Powered by Youth" event, when they outlined how they would like to see the Bay improve. Ironically, much of what they had to say mirrors what groups of older people have stated: a feeling of not being safe in our town centres as well as frustration with some aspects of our 'bus services. For older people, those above retirement age, there is some compensation in that 'buses are free to use, but for youngsters they don't come cheap. Perhaps that's something our first Elected Mayor for Devon might like to consider as transport within the county will be within their remit. As youngsters can travel for free in London & Manchester (so I am told) then perhaps the same could apply here?

The first Powered by Youth event, held at the Spanish Barn in September 2025, has had a positive legacy. The presentation by youngsters explaining how a lack of funds had led to the closure of some services providers by Play Torbay made such an impact that colleagues at Torbay Council found the money, circa £50,000 if my memory is correct, to get these going again, including activities for youngsters with SEND, special educational needs & disabilities, also those who are "elected home education".

This last label is something of a misnomer. For many of these youngsters it doesn't feel like much of a choice, rather they & their families might say school doesn't feel like the right fit.

I was delighted to visit the team at Play Torbay recently & see for myself how the forest school boosts social skills & confidence as well as providing a place for mums (mostly) to meet up in a comfortable space.

This week is Children's Services Practice Week when councillors, officers & the council's partners can observe what is happening on the front line, so to speak, as well as showing support for professional colleagues. I am very much looking forward to going along to "Chill'd Out" our recently refurbished youth provision by Torquay Sea Front & will have a further opportunity to meet youngsters there.

So far this year we have had more activities at New Parkfield; the Acorn Centre at Barton has taken on a new lease of life following substantial investment; we have our new "Rise & Reach" centre for care experienced youngsters as well as smart new premises for our Youth Justice Service at Tor Hill House (not Union House as I wrote last time) where youngsters can get the appropriate support to achieve more constructive futures. Our first Tor-VYBZ youth music festival was a definite highlight of the Summer & hopefully will be back in 2027.

So there's lots going on for children & young people in the Bay. Hopefully the Young Futures Hubs Programme (if only it had a snappier title) will accelerate this. It would be great for everyone to live in a more vibrant place.

Best wishes, Nick Bye