Centre for Young Lives

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Press Release
27 Sep 2026

Children’s Mental Health campaign warns over a million children in England could miss out on mental health treatment by end of this Parliament

Press Release
28 Sep 2026

Women’s Centres: an essential part of the Government’s early intervention structure

In partnership with The JABBS Foundation and the National Women’s Justice Coalition, The Centre for Young Lives is today publishing a new briefing calling for Women’s Centres to be recognised as a core part of the Government’s early intervention infrastructure.
News
22 Sep 2026

Levelling the Pitch

Young people's creativity is everywhere. Opportunities to develop it are not.
Press Release
17 Sep 2026

Centre for Young Lives publishes new briefing, Young Futures: opening up opportunities for and supporting care-experienced children and young people

Today, the Centre for Young Lives is publishing a new briefing, Young Futures: opening up opportunities for and supporting care-experienced children and young people.
Blog
12 Aug 2026

Tim's blog: Enrichment teaches me things I can’t get from school - and more young people should be able to access it

News
11 Aug 2026

Centre for Young Lives and Agenda Alliance publish new briefing on making Young Futures Hubs work for young women and girls

The Centre for Young Lives and Agenda Alliance have today published a new briefing, Meeting the needs of young women and girls in the implementation and delivery of Young Futures Hubs, setting out how the Government's Young Futures Hubs can better support young women and girls by tackling VAWG, improving mental health outcomes, and widening access to opportunity.
Press Release
28 Jul 2026

Head of Policy, Connie Muttock, responds to the Prime Minister's announcement on skills and education

Connie Muttock, Head of Policy at the Centre for Young Lives, responds to the Prime Minister’s announcement on skills and education
Press Release
26 Jul 2026

New report exposes the scale of childhood crisis facing Andy Burnham and warns “incremental change will no longer cut it”

Press Release
09 Jul 2026

Experts call for national connected data model to transform children's services and boost UK economy

Press Release
09 Jul 2026

New briefing urges government to end fragmented youth support, and calls for Young Futures Hubs in every community

Press Release
09 Jul 2026

New report urges Andy Burnham to end 40 years of school competition and calls for new era of place-based inclusion

The Centre for Young Lives think tank and education charity SHINE are today (Friday 10th July) publishing a new report, A New Settlement for Education: Why We Need a New Theory of Place-Based Improvement. As Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street in the coming weeks, it makes a direct appeal to the incoming Prime Minister to translate his long-standing commitment to devolution and inclusion into a new era of education reform.
Press Release
25 Jun 2026

Toxic “looksmaxxing” social media trend is pushing boys towards extreme body obsession, misogyny, and self-harm, Centre for Young Lives report warns

A new report from the Centre for Young Lives thinktank published today (Thursday June 25th) warns that the fast-growing online trend known as “looksmaxxing” is driving some boys and young men towards dangerous body image pressures, extreme behaviours, and misogynistic worldviews.
Press Release
08 Jun 2026

New Report from the Centre for Young Lives: Government needs to do more than set a target if it is going to improve school readiness

Press Release
28 May 2026

Connie Muttock, Head of Policy at the Centre for Young Lives thinktank, responds to the Milburn Review interim report

Blog
29 Apr 2026

Funding the future of girls and young women's mental health

News
21 Apr 2026

Mumsnet analysis for Future Minds campaign reveals the reality of the children’s mental crisis for many families

Press Release
19 Mar 2026

Centre for Young Lives launches new Vulnerability Index project to transform support for families, women, and girls, and to refocus Government attention on to vulnerable children

The Centre for Young Lives has announced the development of a reimagined Vulnerability Index, a major new project that will harness open data to understand the scale and nature of risks facing children and young people to drive earlier interventions.
Press Release
12 Feb 2026

Launch of the “Young Creatives Commission” brings together top cultural talent for new national inquiry to boost young people’s access to arts, culture and the creative industries

Press Release
09 Mar 2026

Centre for Young Lives report calls on MPs to reclaim childhood and break the stranglehold of big tech by voting to limit social media to over 16s

Blog
03 Mar 2026

Ambitious About Inclusion

Luke, a member of the Fair Education Alliance Youth Steering Group, attended our recent Ambitious About Inclusion event in Newcastle and shares his thoughts about the session.
Press Release
23 Feb 2026

Schools White Paper 'best chance in a generation' to reform the education system

News
19 Feb 2026

Bold vision must be followed by system shifts - our framework for SEND reform in the Schools White Paper

Ahead of the Schools White Paper from the Department for Education, the Centre for Young lives has published a new framework for SEND reform.
Blog
11 Feb 2026

Centre for Young Lives responds to the Milburn Review on young NEETs

Press Release
29 Jan 2026

Centre for Young Lives launches new neighbourhood ‘Growing Up Well’ model to transform the system of support to tackle the mental health crisis facing children and young people

The Centre for Young Lives think tank publishes Growing Up Well: A new place-based model to radically improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, setting out a new tested blueprint for local systems to deliver earlier, more effective support for children and young people.
Press Release
28 Jan 2026

Mumsnet survey reveals three-quarters of parents fear for children’s mental health as leading charities launch national crisis plan

The Future Minds campaign – bringing together Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, and YoungMinds – is today (Wednesday 28 January) publishing “Future Minds: a roadmap to transform children and young people’s mental health by 2035”, a new plan to help fix the children’s mental health crisis”.
Press Release
22 Dec 2025

Centre for Young Lives publishes new ‘inclusion score’ to map inclusive schools in England

The Centre for Young Lives is publishing a new research paper, Mapping inclusion in education, which gives all local authorities an indicative ‘inclusion score’, and which suggests London boroughs may be outperforming the rest of the country on inclusion.
Blog
12 Dec 2025

No wrong door: How Young Futures Hubs can tackle the mental health crisis

Blog
10 Dec 2025

The Government’s new Youth Strategy sets out an ambitious plan, by young people and for young people

Today’s publication of the Government’s Youth Strategy marks the start of a positive 10-year vision for young people, backed by over £500 million. By young people, for young people – this is a strategy that we all stand to benefit from.
News
10 Dec 2025

Baroness Anne Longfield to chair the National Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs

Call for Evidence
24 Nov 2025

Centre for Young Lives launches 'looksmaxxing' call for evidence

The Centre for Young Lives is beginning a new research project to explore ‘looksmaxxing’ - a growing internet subculture focused on maximising perceived physical attractiveness - and the impact of social media algorithms on boys' health and self-identity. We want to understand how these beauty trends are impacting how some boys and young men see themselves and the wider world.
News
21 Nov 2025

Future Minds Campaign and Fund the Hubs publish new paper setting out the key principles for delivering an ‘in-reach’ mental health and wellbeing offer through the Government’s new Young Futures Hubs

A new policy briefing by the Future Minds Campaign and Fund the Hubs calls for an open access wellbeing offer in Young Futures Hubs to support children and young people with mental health problems.
Press Release
05 Nov 2025

Centre for Young Lives report urges Government to embed Best Start Family Hubs in law and target new funding at England’s areas of greatest need and “childcare deserts”

This report sets out a framework for the Government to ensure that its Best Start Family Hubs – the successor to Sure Start – are effectively delivered and meet the needs of those children and families who need them most.
News
07 Oct 2025

Baroness Anne Longfield’s oral and written evidence to the Covid Inquiry.

During the three-hour session, Anne’s evidence was able to draw heavily on some of the recent work of the Centre for Young Lives, in particular the research we published in July in our 2025 State of the Nation report
Press Release
29 Sep 2025

The Centre for Young Lives publishes new research on the power of football to support children and young people and the impact of the Premier League Charitable Fund

The Centre for Young Lives is working with the Premier League Charitable Fund as its learning and evaluation partner to explore how football and football club charities can help to break down the barriers to opportunity facing some children and young people.
Press Release
02 Oct 2025

Baroness Longfield calls for a formal Government apology to children for the damaging mistakes made during the Covid pandemic

Baroness Anne Longfield, the former Children’s Commissioner for England, has today urged the Government to deliver a formal Prime Ministerial apology in Parliament to children and young people in England, in recognition of the avoidable mistakes affecting children made by the then Government’s in its response to the Covid pandemic.
Press Release
01 Oct 2025

Centre for Young Lives sets out a new framework for effective delivery of the Government’s Young Futures Hubs to keep vulnerable teens safe from harm and support them to succeed

The Centre for Young Lives think tank publishes a new report setting out a framework of how the Government’s Young Futures Hubs can keep vulnerable teenagers safe and support them to succeed.
Press Release
08 Sep 2025

New report reveals almost half of children on free school meals were not ready for school in 2023/4

'Education Equality for the North of England: Challenges and Opportunities' will be presented today (Monday 8th September) in Leeds to national child health, education and care leaders, the new analysis shows that 48.5% of children who receive free school meals will have started school without meeting ‘school already’ criteria. Meanwhile, 49.1% of children not school ready are later identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Press Release
25 Jul 2025

Centre for Young Lives’ 2025 State of Childhood Vulnerability report warns the Covid pandemic is still casting a long shadow over millions of children in England five years on

The Centre for Young Lives think tank launches its annual report on childhood vulnerability ‘State of the Nation: Identifying Vulnerable Children and Young People and Supporting Them to Thrive’. 
Blog
15 Jul 2025

Education and quarantine: experiences of the covid pandemic

Last week we met Tanisha, a Year 12 student, who joined us for a few days to find out more about our work. We were keen to ask Tanisha about some of her experiences during the Covid pandemic, five years on, and she generously shared her recollections of that time with us in this blog.
News
10 Jun 2025

Experts and practitioners back the Raising the Nation Play Commission’s call for a National Play Strategy in England

Over 1,200 leaders - ranging from GPs and health workers and headteachers to experts in the built environment, creative industries, physical activity and sports, and the early years, charity leaders, academics, and local government leaders - have joined the Raising the Nation Play Commission’s call for a new National Play Strategy for England.
Press Release
11 Jun 2025

Inquiry Calls For a New National Play Strategy for England to Reclaim Childhood and Tackle the Scourge of Addictive Doom-Scrolling

News
04 Jun 2025

Centre for Young Lives report puts forward a fresh vision for youth provision and reveals the huge financial and social benefits of investing in youth centres, youth workers, and activities for young people

New analysis published by the Centre for Young Lives estimates that for every £1 invested in youth provision- including youth centres, youth workers, and positive activities for young people to do - there would be a return of at least £2.40 in financial, economic, and social benefits.
Press Release
22 May 2025

Centre for Young Lives report reveals London is powering ahead of the rest of England in delivering schools that leave fewer children behind as part of a new plan to boost inclusion and opportunity for all children

Press Release
30 Apr 2025

Report calls for new strategy for children’s mental health services to tackle ‘perverse’ situation where NHS local spending prioritises treating bunions over supporting young people considering self-harm

The Centre for Young Lives think tank publishes a new report, “Growing Up Well: Ambitious for the future of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Support”, which provides a deep dive into spending on and strategies for children and young people’s mental health services in local areas across England. 
Press Release
08 Apr 2025

New FOI data reveals funding cuts to Family Hubs and children’s centres could put Government’s Opportunity Mission at risk

A new report published by the Centre for Young Lives think tank, draws on new Freedom of Information data from councils in England to reveal the current provision of children’s centres and Family Hubs, both crucial tools in the Government’s mission to widen opportunity and boost school readiness.
Press Release
14 Mar 2025

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report urges ‘Britain’s kids have got talent’ drive in schools to boost opportunity and stop the pipeline of pop stars, actors and creatives becoming the preserve of the well-off

Report urges ‘Britain’s kids have got talent’ drive in schools to boost opportunity and stop the pipeline of pop stars, actors and creatives becoming the preserve of the well-off
Press Release
24 Feb 2025

Inquiry Report Calls On The Government To Restore School Playtime Amid Warning That Play Is Being Squeezed Out Of Children’s Lives

The Raising the Nation Play Commission, a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England, publishes its Interim Report, ‘State of Play’. The Commission was launched in June 2024 by its chair, entrepreneur and campaigner Paul Lindley OBE - founder of Ella’s Kitchen, the UK’s biggest baby food business. It is working in partnership with former Children’s Commissioner Baroness Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives think tank.
Press Release
18 Feb 2025

New research reveals positive link between enrichment and tackling the school attendance crisis

The Centre for Young Lives- commissioned by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) and NCS Trust (National Citizen Service) - has today (Tuesday February 18th) published a new report, ‘Beyond the classroom: the role of enrichment in tackling the school absence crisis’. 
Press Release
05 Feb 2025

‘Future Minds Campaign’ Launches With New Research Warning The Trillion-Pound Cost Of Failing To Tackle The Children’s And Young People’s Mental Health Crisis Is Holding Back Government’s Growth Plans

New research warns that the mental health crisis facing children and young people will prevent the Government from its mission of boosting economic growth and productivity as well as impacting the lives of thousands of young people. The research estimates that the long-term impact of mental health problems in childhood now costs the UK over £1 trillion in lifetime lost earnings. 
Blog
02 Feb 2025

The Centre for Young Lives is One

This week we celebrate the first anniversary of the Centre for Young Lives. We’ve come a long way, very quickly, and we’ve never been more convinced that founding the Centre was the right decision. 
Press Release
27 Jan 2025

Centre for Young Lives and Mission 44 – Ambitious about Inclusion

We are delighted to be working with Mission 44 on the Ambitious about inclusion roadshows.
Thoughts
17 Dec 2024

Our response to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

The Centre for Young Lives welcomes the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as a positive and important step towards improving the safeguarding of vulnerable children and boosting their life chances. It addresses issues we have been very concerned about over many years, including vulnerable children falling through the gaps and into danger.
Blog
12 Dec 2024

Centre for Young Lives submission to the NHS 10 year plan consultation

The Centre for Young Lives wants to see the health and wellbeing of children and young people at the heart of the NHS 10-year plan. Taking care of the health of children is crucial to making sure we have a fit and healthy adult population – yet children’s health needs after often an add on or afterthought rather than a priority. We are calling for a once-in-a-generation rebalance to prioritise children’s health.
Thoughts
05 Dec 2024

Centre for Young Lives submission to the Curriculum and Assessment Review

The Centre for Young Lives welcomes the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review. This is our submission. It reflects our view that significant change is needed to improve the system so that it provides an excellent education to all children.
Press Release
03 Dec 2024

Centre for Young Lives report warns poverty and hardship are preventing some children from attending school amid big increases in persistent and severe absence among children receiving Free School Meals 

Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives think tank, is today (Tuesday December 3rd) publishing a new report, ‘Too Skint for School’, examining the link between poverty and school attendance. 
Press Release
29 Nov 2024

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report warns thousands of vulnerable children at risk of criminal exploitation and urges Government to roll out Young Futures in disadvantaged areas

Press Release
25 Oct 2024

Call for new era of school inclusion and belonging as attendance crisis report warns children in the North and children with SEN are more likely to be persistently missing school

A new report published by Child of the North and Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives think tank puts forward new recommendations to tackle the school absence crisis.
Press Release
14 Oct 2024

Leading youth organisations to explore links between enrichment and school attendance in response to ‘absence epidemic’

NCS Trust (National Citizen Service), The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) and the Centre for Young Lives (CfYL) have partnered to explore the evidence linking participation in enrichment activities to improved academic attendance, amidst a rise in persistent absenteeism among young people.
Press Release
04 Oct 2024

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report urges Government to tackle crisis in preschool provision amid warnings that hundreds of thousands of children are not ‘school ready'

A new report published by Child of the North and Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives think tank, makes a series of proposals to tackle the high number of children starting school not ‘school ready’, and the crisis in early years and childcare provision - particularly in disadvantaged areas.
Press Release
13 Sep 2024

Report urges Ministers to ignore ‘Nanny State’ critics and expand sugar taxes, ban sale of energy drinks to under 16s, and roll out teeth brushing programme in schools

Ignore ‘Nanny State’ critics and expand sugar taxes, ban sale of energy drinks to under 16s, and roll out national supervised toothbrushing programme in schools to tackle the crisis of tooth decay affecting millions of children – Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report
Press Release
09 Sep 2024

Centre for Young Lives is named as a Core Participant for Module 8 of the Covid Inquiry

The five charities: Centre for Young Lives, the Child Poverty Action Group, Save the Children UK, Just for Kids Law and the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (known together as the Children’s Rights Organisations or CROs) have been selected as Core Participants for their expertise in children’s rights, inequalities and discrimination. 
Press Release
23 Aug 2024

New Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report calls for ‘digital vaccination’ for all children to tackle tsunami of fake news and disinformation and close the digital divide

Press Release
26 Jul 2024

Ministers urged to put early identification and support of children with SEND at the heart of a new strategy to boost school attendance and end families’ ‘traumatic’ battle for support

Thoughts
17 Jul 2024

Our response to the King’s Speech

The Centre for Young Lives welcomes the Government’s focus on putting vulnerable children and young people at the heart of its opportunity mission.
Press Release
25 Jun 2024

Centre for Young Lives calls for review into impact of smartphones and social media and for the scrapping of two-child benefit cap in ten point plan for a new government

Centre for Young Lives is today (Tuesday) setting out a ten-point plan for the next Government to boost children’s life chances. Its priorities match some of the biggest challenges facing children in the UK, problems that have had little air time during the General Election campaign.
Press Release
09 Jun 2024

Ella’s Kitchen Founder Paul Lindley and Centre for Young Lives announce landmark inquiry with warning developers and councils could face future legal challenge over failure to provide places for children to play

Paul Lindley OBE, founder of organic baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen, along with the Centre for Young Lives , today announces the launch of the Raising the Nation Play Commission, a landmark inquiry into children’s play in the UK. Throughout its 12-month programme, the Commission will seek testimony from leading experts in children’s play and wellbeing, as well as from parents, children and young people across the country, to produce a report making recommendations for post-election government policy.
Press Release
24 May 2024

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report calls for schools to be supported to fix the broken school food system and boost physical activity to tackle Britain’s child obesity crisis

News
21 May 2024

Visiting Fellow Professor Hannah Smithson gives evidence to SEND, Neurodivergence, and Youth Justice investigation

Press Release
10 May 2024

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report calls for schools to be at the centre of a ‘fresh start for Sure Start’

A new report by Child of the North and Anne Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives think tank, “Building the foundations of a new ‘Sure Start’: An evidence-based plan for connecting and coordinating support and services in and around education settings”, sets out the case for a new updated model of Sure Start that puts schools and nurseries at its heart. It proposes a national network of ‘hubs’ in educational settings that can provide services such as:
Press Release
26 Apr 2024

Call to rocket-boost children’s mental health support through schools as half of school children in England set to miss out on help

Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report sets out an evidence-based plan to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children through schools to support the 1 in 5 children with a probable mental health condition.
TES Article
02 Apr 2024

The Centre for Young Lives is delighted to be joined by visiting fellow Jonny Uttley

Jonny is the CEO of The Education Alliance Multi-Academy Trust (TEAL).
Press Release
15 Mar 2024

Government must support schools to take the battle against child poverty inside the school gates, new Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report urges

‍Child of the North/Centre for Young Lives report sets out an evidence-based plan to use the country’s education infrastructure to reduce the impact of child poverty on millions of children.Report calls for the poverty battle to be taken ‘inside the school gates’, including a plan for Free School Meals to go to individual schools and nurseries in areas with the worst levels of child poverty.The report highlights recent analysis of the data of over 60,000 children illustrating a link between poverty and the current school attendance crisis.
Press Release
02 Feb 2024

New analysis reveals autism assessment and support crisis with tens of thousands of children waiting months and years for help after demand rockets by over 300% since Covid

A report published by the Child of the North initiative - led by the N8 Research Partnership of Northern universities and others - and former Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield’s new Centre for Young Lives think tank, reveals a crisis in children’s autism assessment, warning that thousands of autistic children and young people are waiting months - or even years - for health and education support.
Event
18 Dec 2023

An Evening with the Shadow Education Secretary

Recap of our recent 'in conversation' evening with Bridget Phillipson MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Topics covered include early years, attainment, support for disadvantaged children, and more.

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Kelly Pickard

Director of Operations and Co-Founder
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Scarlett Walsh

Executive Assistant
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Katie Barron

Head of Social Innovation and Systems Change
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Sophie Poll

Business Support Adviser (Operations, HR & Finance)
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Centre for Young Lives

Articles by

Press Release

Children’s Mental Health campaign warns over a million children in England could miss out on mental health treatment by end of this Parliament

September 28, 2026
| by
Centre for Young Lives

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Press Release

Women’s Centres: an essential part of the Government’s early intervention structure

September 27, 2026
| by
Centre for Young Lives

In partnership with The JABBS Foundation and the National Women’s Justice Coalition, The Centre for Young Lives is today publishing a new briefing calling for Women’s Centres to be recognised as a core part of the Government’s early intervention infrastructure.

Read more
News

Levelling the Pitch

September 26, 2026
| by
Centre for Young Lives

Young people's creativity is everywhere. Opportunities to develop it are not.

Read more

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Kadra Abdinasir

Associate Director for Policy, Centre for Mental Health
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Eugene Minogue

CEO, Play England
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Martin Allen Morales

CEO, Institute of Imagination
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Dr Naomi Lott

Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Law | Deputy Director of Careers (International), School of Law, University of Reading
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