Research and analysis

Uniformed Youth Fund extension: process evaluation 2025 to 2026

Updated 23 September 2026

Applies to England

Executive summary

About the Uniformed Youth Fund

Ipsos UK was appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to evaluate the Uniformed Youth Fund (the Fund). The Fund aimed to expand the capacity of Uniformed Youth Organisations (UYOs) in areas with unmet demand, especially focusing on hard to reach groups and deprived areas, with the objective to promote sustainable delivery and enhance young people’s wellbeing and skills. The Fund was part of the government’s National Youth Guarantee, launched in 2022 and aimed to ensure widespread access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer for all young people by 2025. The initial Fund ran from FY2022 to 2025 (first phase) and the Fund extension (FY2025 to 2026) operated as a one-year bridge while the new National Youth Strategy was being developed. The UYOs exceeded all Key Performance Indicators during the Fund’s first phase, establishing 798 new units and creating 23,741 new places. The evaluation of the initial Fund (2022 to 2025) included both a process and impact evaluation. Due to its short duration, only a process evaluation was conducted for the Fund extension, building on previous findings. As outlined in the Magenta Book, a process evaluation assesses how a policy or programme is delivered.

Aims and methods of the evaluation of the Fund extension

The Uniformed Youth Fund was extended through 2025/26 with a £7.3 million investment to increase access to UYOs. It aimed to create approximately 6,630 new places, focusing on underrepresented groups, aiding skill development of young people and supporting organisations in sustainable capacity building. This extension funded nine organisations, including UK Fire Cadets who were not part of the initial funding (2022 to 2025). Key changes from the initial Fund included lifting the mandate to reduce waitlists and focusing more on deprived areas using IMD data.

The evaluation focused on the following research questions:

• How many new places have been created and filled (if possible, as a result of the funding)?
• How many young people have UYOs managed to reach, particularly in deprived areas and for those who are hard to reach?
• How did the different UYOs go about creating new places and filling them? What has worked well and what has worked less well?
• Did the Fund improve the recruitment and retention of adult volunteers to UYOs?
• Did the funding improve the long-term sustainability of UYOs?

The process evaluation used a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collected throughout the Fund extension. Quantitative data was collected from quarterly monitoring reports submitted by the nine participating UYOs and a survey with staff and volunteers across the nine UYOs. Qualitative data was collected through the scoping interviews with key stakeholders and the 18 UYO case study visits which included interviews and focus groups with staff and volunteers and an observation of group activities.

Findings

Overall, the combined efforts of the funded UYOs exceeded the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set for the Fund extension in terms of volunteers recruited, units created and places created.

Fund set-up and management

UYOs submitted proposals outlining how they would deliver against the revised aims and objectives. This extension included the UK Fire Cadets for the first time, as they had not participated in the initial 2022 to 2025 funding cycle. Grant amounts were determined based on organisational size, historical funding utilisation, and proposal alignment with Fund objectives. Once selected for funding, each UYO set annual KPIs with DCMS that were aligned with the aims of the Fund extension. The KPI framework focused on key areas: number of units created, number of new volunteers recruited, and number of places created and filled, with particular attention to reaching young people from harder-to-reach groups and deprived areas. UYOs were also required to report on their sustainability planning and capacity-building efforts to ensure long-term viability beyond the Fund. For the Fund extension, DCMS took over the grant administration from Groundwork UK, while Youth United Foundation (YUF) continued working with DCMS to support the delivery of the Fund. The direct collaboration between UYOs and DCMS was reported as beneficial for quick decision-making and problem resolution.

Recruitment, retention and training of staff and adult volunteers

A total of 1,540 new volunteers were recruited in FY25/26, exceeding the target of 1,136. UYOs adopted strategic approaches to surpass their recruitment targets, with strategies such as developing young members into volunteers proving to be highly effective. Parental engagement also proved to be an effective recruitment method, while digital methods had mixed success. Time constraints and administrative barriers posed significant challenges for UYOs in recruiting volunteers as they often deterred individuals from committing to volunteering roles.

The most effective retention strategies focused on providing volunteers flexibility in their roles, responsibilities and time commitments to the UYO. Both the qualitative and survey data found that volunteers often continued in their role due to the direct impact on young people’s growth and wellbeing.

Although staff and volunteers found the training accessible, significant gaps were reported in regard to handling SEND and mental health needs. Digital and blended learning approaches were adopted, but training content needed updates to match evolving needs of young people post-pandemic.

Creation of new places

The Fund extension aimed to expand the capacity of UYOs to create new places for young people, focusing on harder to reach groups and those in deprived areas. Various data sources, including internal waitlists and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), were used to identify suitable locations for new units, allowing UYOs to strategically select areas with the greatest need. UYOs additionally considered harder to reach groups (i.e. young people in care, young people with SEND, ethnic minorities and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds) when identifying new areas and engaging young people. Successful outcomes included the creation of 8,504 places (against a target of 7808 places) and 503 new units (against a target of 222 new units). Across UYOs, 6,054 places were created in areas of higher deprivation (IMD 1-5 and YIF^{[footnote 1]}) which represents 71% of total places created through the Fund extension. Although this has been generally successful, venue suitability and volunteer availability were reported as key challenges to setting up new units in deprived areas.

Half of the newly created places were filled by the end of FY2025/26 (n=4,632), with the most effective recruitment methods utilising community engagement and word of mouth. Targeted recruitment strategies, such as reducing attendance costs and engaging young people’s networks, were crucial in supporting young people from deprived backgrounds to join groups. Efforts to improve engagement included holding interactive activities and addressing cultural, SEND-specific and financial barriers to participation. Some of the UYOs targeted young carers. For example, Girl’s Brigade worked to engage and recruit young carers by linking with relevant young carers’ organisations, promoting groups via home education networks, and offering a personalised programme adaptable to each young persons’ needs. Virtual units were established to increase accessibility to allow young people from more remote areas to participate. The online approach proved effective in engaging those who faced barriers to attend groups in person. Although the virtual sessions attracted young participants the format presented new challenges such as maintaining engagement throughout the session and adapting activities to digital formats.

Conclusion and recommendations

The combined efforts of the UYOs resulted in all collective targets for the Fund extension being met with 503 new units established, supporting the creation of 8,504 new places for young people. Of those places created, 71% were created in areas of deprivation, therefore increasing opportunities for young people in these areas. To lead new and expanded units, UYOs recruited a combined total of 1,540 new volunteers.

In terms of sustainability, the Fund extension proved instrumental in improving UYOs’ sustainability, with many reporting none or only a small number of unit closures. The Fund extension enabled resource procurement, reduced financial pressures and facilitated operations. Internal capacity was enhanced through improved internal systems, updated training and marketing and promotion, which led to an increase in volunteer recruitment and youth engagement. It has also enabled UYOs to test new innovative approaches, through pilot programs such as JLGB’s Generation Resilience and Scouts’ virtual units and increased collaboration and knowledge sharing through YUF-organised learning sessions. Furthermore, the transitional funding provided by DCMS between April 2026 and September 2026 supported UYOs to develop and embed their sustainability plans. Despite this, long-term sustainability remains dependent on strategic planning and addressing persistent challenges related to volunteer recruitment, availability of suitable venues, and engaging young people.

Based on the findings, several recommendations have been proposed:

• Investment in data collection, where UYOs should further invest in collecting demographic data on members to better assess improvements in diversity and engagement with underrepresented groups.
• Strategic recruitment plans, where UYOs should develop ongoing, targeted strategies for recruiting diverse groups, sharing best practices across the networks.
• Specialised training for staff and volunteers, where UYOs should invest in more training for staff and volunteers related to supporting young people with complex needs.
• Ongoing connections and resource sharing, where UYOs, with support from YUF, should continue their established connections to assist in sharing learning and resources, especially regarding support for SEND young people.
• Innovative delivery models, where UYOs should explore sustainable unit delivery, including digital and virtual models. Early findings suggest there is a potential for virtual units to enhance opportunities for youth who face attendance barriers. DCMS could consider funding for further piloting and research of innovative models to understand the impact on young people.

1. Introduction

Ipsos UK was appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to deliver an evaluation of the Uniformed Youth Fund (the Fund). The Fund’s objectives were to increase capacity of Uniformed Youth Organisations (UYOs) in areas with unmet demand, prioritising harder to reach groups and those in deprived areas, support UYOs to sustainably scale delivery, and improve the wellbeing and skills development of young people.

The initial Fund ran from FY2022 to 2025, supporting eight UYOs. The Fund extension (FY2025 to 2026) operated as a one-year bridge while the new National Youth Strategy was being developed, supporting nine organisations, including UK Fire Cadets joining for the first time, alongside the eight previously funded UYOs.^{[footnote 2]} A process and impact evaluation were conducted for the initial Fund (2022 to 2025). Given the short duration of the extension, only a process evaluation was commissioned for this additional year of funding, which builds upon the findings from the initial Fund (2022 to 2025) process evaluation. Some aims of the extension were changed slightly to reflect the findings of the first evaluation and objectives of DCMS (outlined in section 1.1.2). This report explores how the Fund was delivered and to what extent it achieved its objectives.

1.1 Overview of the Uniformed Youth Fund

1.1.1 Context and rationale of the Fund

• In 2022, the UK government committed to investing £560 million of funding over the following three years to deliver a new National Youth Guarantee that reflected young people’s priorities. The aim was to ensure that, by 2025, every young person in England would have access to regular out of school activities, adventures away from home, and opportunities to volunteer. A central part of this goal was to create opportunities for everyone, no matter their background.
• The Uniformed Youth Fund is a key pillar of the National Youth Guarantee. The Fund was initially established to invest more than £18 million over three years to support UYOs, such as Volunteer Police Cadets and The Scouts, to increase their capacity in the activities they provide across the country. In the first three years of the Fund (2022 to 2025), the UYOs surpassed all the key performance indicators (KPIs) that were set. Notable achievements included 798 new units opening with a total of 23,741 new places created^{[footnote 3]}, as outlined in the earlier process evaluation report.^{[footnote 4]}

1.1.2 Context, aims, and rationale of the Fund’s extension

The Fund was extended for another year (2025/26) to continue efforts to increase young people’s access to uniformed youth opportunities. It provided a further £7.3 million investment to achieve the following:

• increase the capacity of non-military uniformed youth group provision in areas with unmet demand, by creating approximately 6,630 new places for young people aged 10 to 18 by March 2026, prioritising harder to reach groups and/or those in deprived areas
• improve the wellbeing of young people and help them to develop skills for life and work by expanding the reach, number and range of regular activities for young people that drive these outcomes
• support UYOs to build their internal capacity to scale up sustainably and ensure organisations can continue to meet demand beyond 2026

Nine organisations received funding under this year-long extension – eight of which were part of the initial Fund (2022 to 2025). The organisations that received funding were Boys’ Brigade, Girls’ Brigade, Girlguiding, UK Fire Cadets (which was new to the Fund and had not received funding through the initial Fund), Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade (JLGB), Marine Society & Sea Cadets, Scouts, St John Ambulance, Volunteer Police Cadets. Beyond the £7.3 million allocation, DCMS offered transitional funding to UYOs from April 2026 to September 2026. This funding aimed to facilitate a more efficient conclusion to the Fund while enabling UYOs to fully develop and integrate their sustainability plans.

The key changes from the initial Fund include the removal of the requirement for the Fund to reduce waitlists and an increased focus on deprived geographical areas (Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 1 to 5 areas^{[footnote 5]} or Youth Investment Fund places)^{[footnote 6]} and harder to reach groups (i.e. young people in care, young people with SEND, ethnic minorities and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds). The IMD was updated during the extension (November 2025); however, UYOs tracked progress using IMD 2019 data. Given this, all reporting related to IMD areas in this report refer to the 2019 data.

1.1.3 Eligibility, application process and delivery of the Fund Extension

The eligibility criteria for the Fund extension included UYOs in the Youth United Network who support activities for young people aged 10 to 18 in England. There was no minimum or maximum amount UYOs could apply for, but the grant award was not to exceed 50% of the UYOs’ annual income. The funding was expected to be used for creating places and for improving young peoples’ wellbeing with the option to spend 15% of the funding on capacity building to help organisations improve their internal infrastructure and ensure longer term sustainability. Nine UYOs received funding and a breakdown of each amount is outlined in Table 1.1 below.

Groundwork UK managed the initial submission and review of applications from UYOs and were responsible for any follow-up questions with the UYOs. The applications were then shared with an assessment panel consisting of colleagues from Groundwork UK, DCMS and Youth United Foundation (YUF). DCMS was responsible for the grant management from 1 April 2025. YUF provided ongoing support to each of the UYOs, as well as learning events that brought the organisations together to share best practice on topics such as volunteer recruitment and retention strategies, ways to improve youth participation and organisational sustainability.

Table 1.1: Total amount of funding awarded to UYOs through the UYF extension (2025/26)

UYO	Amount of funding awarded
Boys Brigade	£314,978.95
Girlguiding	£1,426,820.25
Girls’ Brigade	£190,934.80
Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade	£621,891.01
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	£568,394.50
Scouts	£2,486,285.41
St John Ambulance	£577,853.50
UK Fire Cadets	£690,773.63
Volunteer Police Cadets	£437,174.49

_{Source: UYO Final Grant Agreements}

1.1.4 Process evaluation aims and questions

The process evaluation aimed to assess whether the Fund extension achieved its objectives in creating and filling new places, as well as how UYOs did this, and what worked well or less well. The evaluation questions were:

How many new places have been created and filled (if possible, as a result of the funding)?

• To what extent were created places concentrated in deprived areas?

How many young people have UYOs managed to reach, particularly in deprived areas and for those who are hard to reach?

• What was the depth of engagement (particularly in deprived areas and for those normally hard to reach)?
• Are UYOs targeting particular groups of young people?
• What types of young people took up the opportunities created by the Fund? (In terms of how young people were recruited, whether there was targeted recruitment of under-represented young people, whether the nature of engagement varied by characteristics).

How did the different UYOs go about creating new places and filling them? What has worked well and what has worked less well?

• How was the Fund delivered on the ground in terms of setting up new groups?
• How was the Fund delivered on the ground in terms of expanding capacity at existing groups?
• What could be improved with the delivery?

Did the Fund improve the recruitment and retention of adult volunteers to UYOs?

• Did the different UYOs see an improvement in volunteer engagement?^
• What worked well and what worked less well?

Did the funding improve the long-term sustainability of UYOs?

The evaluation questions were addressed through a mixed-methods approach with data collection methods including analysis of quarterly monitoring data, a survey of staff and volunteers, case study visits and interviews with key stakeholders. Further detail on the methodology is outlined in the next section and Annex 5.1.

2. Methods

This section outlines a brief description of the process evaluation methodology used in this one-year extension, and its limitations. It also provides an overview of the sources of evidence used to answer the evaluation questions.

2.1 Evaluation methodology

The evaluation used a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including a survey with staff and volunteers across the UYOs, case studies with two groups/units for each of the funded UYOs, and interviews with Fund stakeholders.

Table 2.1: Evaluation data: sources, volume and purpose

Sources	Volume of data collected	Purpose of collecting this data
Logic model development with individual UYOs of Year 4 strategy	9 workshops with individual UYOs	To understand more about UYOs’ agreed KPIs and plans for the fourth year of the Fund, how the UYOs plan to create new units and places, any hard to reach groups they intend to target for membership recruitment, the assumptions behind these plans and what the important enablers, barriers and risks are.
Observations of group activities (as part of case study visit)	18 sessions (2 per UYO)	To understand the effectiveness of the delivery of the Fund in how groups recruited volunteers and created new places, what has worked well and less well. Additionally, how the places were filled and the sustainability of these capacity improvements and what could be improved in future.
Interviews with staff at UYOs (as part of case study)	24 individuals (2 per UYO)	As above.
Focus groups with volunteers (as part of case study visit)	59 individuals (2 groups of around 2-3 volunteers per UYO)	As above.
Surveys with staff and volunteers in new units	One survey time point with 396 responses of staff and volunteers.	To understand volunteer experiences of recruitment, onboarding and ongoing engagement with the UYO. To learn more about how units have filled places and the types of young people who have joined.
Stakeholder interviews (DCMS and YUF)	4 individuals	To gain insights into the Fund’s objectives and whether and how they were met, as well as implementation and management of the Fund, including how UYOs were supported.
Monitoring data collected by DCMS	Quarterly monitoring reports from 9 UYOs	To obtain quantitative data on progress in delivery of the Fund (number of volunteers recruited, places created, places filled, etc.) as well as qualitative insights about the recruitment strategies of young people and barriers and facilitators to creating and expanding units.
Learning events hosted by YUF (where relevant)	YUF organised and delivered 8 learning sessions	The YUF events provide further evidence about approaches that are working well and less well in delivering the Fund, as well as deeper insights from UYOs who share best practice on specific topics.

2.2 Evidence sources

2.2.1 Logic model workshops

A 2-hour workshop was delivered either online or in person with each UYO to develop a logic model. The workshops aimed to build on the logic models developed in the initial evaluation to elaborate on how each UYO would reach the KPIs set in the Fund extension. Following the workshops, a logic model was developed to map the inputs and activities and how they were expected to lead to the final outputs (the Fund KPIs) and outcomes.

2.2.2 Monitoring data

Monitoring data on the outputs of the Fund extension was collected by DCMS on a quarterly basis from each UYO. Ipsos worked with DCMS to refine a monitoring data form and included a section to capture detailed quantitative data required for the evaluation. The KPIs included: the number of running units across the organisation, including new units and the number of units that have closed, how many new places have been created and filled, alongside the number of unfilled places, the number of volunteers in each UYO, and information on the UYOs’ recruitment campaigns.

2.2.3 Survey with staff and volunteers

A survey was conducted with staff and volunteers in newly created or expanded groups of the Fund to gather data on their experiences, perceptions and insights of creating new places and how these are being filled within the uniformed youth sector. The survey was live for a seven-week period between 28 October and 9 December 2025. A total of 396 completed survey responses were received from the nine UYOs – 80% were volunteers, 15% staff members and 6% identified as both. The number of responses per organisation varied, where the highest response was 135 (Scouts) and the lowest response was 13 (Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade).

2.2.4 Case studies with UYO groups

Eighteen case studies were conducted with UYOs (two case studies with each of the nine organisations). The participating units were chosen with support from the central management team within each UYO. The UYO staff team were asked to nominate units that were delivering on work that is prioritised under the grant in order to explore how they were delivering against the strategy and KPIs outlined in the logic model. Case study locations were purposively selected to ensure a diverse range of geographical areas, including both new and expanded units, and with an emphasis on areas with high deprivation (IMD 1 to 5).

Each case study consisted of one volunteer focus group (2 to 3 volunteers per group), telephone interviews with two staff members, and an observation of unit activities, resulting in a total of 24 staff interviewed and 18 focus groups (involving a total of 59 volunteers).

2.2.5 Interviews with Fund delivery team members

The evaluation team conducted three semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders representing DCMS and the YUF to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Fund’s implementation and outputs. The interviews were designed to elicit in-depth insights into a range of areas related to the Fund’s operation, such as the perceived enablers of the UYF in achieving its funding objectives to date; the challenges encountered during the Fund’s implementation and management; the perspectives of stakeholders on the Fund’s overall effectiveness in supporting UYOs; and specific areas where improvements could be made.

2.2.6 Youth United Foundation learning events

Youth United Foundation delivered eight Learning Events to support UYOs with developing their volunteer recruitment and retention strategies, ways to improve youth participation as well as their wider sustainability plans. During these sessions, UYOs’ shared best practices and learning with other UYOs. Topics included: targeted marketing tailored to specific areas and working in hard-to-reach communities; supporting young leaders; volunteer recruitment; onboarding platform for young people; syllabus change; sustainability; training on supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); and working in schools. The notes from the sessions were used to gather further evidence on what has been working well or less well in terms of the management and delivery of the groups.

2.3 Evaluation limitations

There were three limitations to the survey distribution and analysis that are important to consider for this report. Firstly, the evaluation team did not send out the survey directly to staff and volunteers who were eligible to participate. Without direct access to a comprehensive list of all the staff and volunteers, we were unable to determine who was not on the distribution list and who decided not to respond. It is therefore challenging to assess whether those who responded differ from those who did not respond, in terms of their characteristics and demographic information and opinions and perspectives on the topics explored. This could potentially limit how representative the findings are. For example, there is a possibility that the survey over-represents those who are interested in or prioritise the expansion of UYOs more. Secondly, within the survey data, some UYOs are over-represented, which means the findings may not accurately reflect the experiences and perspectives of all UYOs, potentially skewing the overall results to reflect the opinions of some UYOs more than others. Furthermore, four in five research participants were volunteers. As such, our ability to report quantitatively on the evaluation questions that focus on the perspective of staff working at UYOs is often limited by the lack of data, as volunteers do not count as staff. Where possible, we have supplemented any gaps with qualitative findings from the interviews with UYO staff.

This evaluation did not collect any data from young people and therefore does not include any findings from their perspective on the UYO delivery. The preceding UYF process and impact evaluation that was published in 2025, captured a large volume of young peoples’ data and perspectives through an advisory board, surveys, interviews and focus groups. To gather this data, UYOs worked with the evaluation team to engage with young people and parents which posed a significant burden on UYOs to gather consent and organise young people to take part. Given the shorter time frame of this evaluation, the decision was made to exclude young people from direct participation in the research activities. Their involvement was limited to light touch observations as part of the case study visits, but no identifiable data of young people was captured.

The findings from the case studies are likely to include some positivity bias. The UYO groups identified for the case studies were selected by senior leaders within each UYO, which may have led to the selection of groups that had more positive experiences. To mitigate this where possible, the case study data has been triangulated with the survey and monitoring data.

3. Findings

This section covers the findings from the process evaluation. The first section explores how UYOs developed new strategies and KPIs for the extension of the Fund (outlined in section 3.1). Subsequently, section 3.2 explores UYOs’ volunteer recruitment, retention and training strategies. Section 3.3 examines how UYOs expanded and established new units and created opportunities for young people to join. With infrastructure largely established in this funding extension, UYOs have focused on the engagement of young people, specifically those from groups typically underrepresented in uniformed youth settings (outlined in section 3.4). Evidence on virtual units and sustainability is explored throughout the sections.

3.1 Fund set-up and management

3.1.1 Overview

As part of the application process for the Fund extension, UYOs submitted proposals outlining how they would deliver against the revised aims and objectives. This extension included the UK Fire Cadets for the first time, as they had not participated in the initial 2022 to 2025 funding cycle. The Fund extension (2025 to 2026) set out clear requirements for UYOs to increase their capacity in areas with unmet demand. Priority was given to creating new places for harder-to-reach groups and/or young people in deprived areas. Additionally, UYOs were expected to expand their activities to support young people’s wellbeing and skill development whilst building their internal capacity for sustainable growth.

The application process was designed to be relatively light-touch, involving proposal submissions rather than full applications. The combined funding requested from all UYOs exceeded the available budget. Grant amounts were determined based on organisational size, historical funding utilisation, and proposal alignment with Fund objectives. As a result, UYOs received less than they initially requested, with the varied allocations reflecting previous spending patterns and delivery capacity.

Once selected for funding, each UYO set annual KPIs with DCMS that were aligned with the aims of the Fund extension. The KPI framework focused on key areas: number of units created, number of new volunteers recruited, and number of places created and filled, with particular attention to reaching young people from harder-to-reach groups and deprived areas. UYOs were also required to report on their sustainability planning and capacity-building efforts to ensure long-term viability beyond the Fund. While all UYOs were required to report against these core metrics, specific targets were tailored to the size, capacity and objectives of each organisation. UYOs met quarterly with DCMS to discuss progress against their KPIs, and in some instances, either revise them downward to account for unexpected challenges or upward where targets were met early.

Given the comprehensive evaluation already undertaken for the initial Fund, this evaluation adopted a lighter scope, focusing specifically on objectives relating to the number of new places created and filled, as well as organisational capacity and sustainability. Table 3.1 outlines the aggregated KPI performance across all UYOs for these core metrics.

Overall, UYOs achieved or exceeded their targets in the number of volunteers recruited, new leaders trained, units created and places filled. Table 3.1 outlines the combined KPI targets and totals across all UYOs. The KPI framework, agreed between UYOs and DCMS, covered key areas such as the number of new units created, new volunteers recruited and places established and filled. UYOs also reported on sustainability planning and capacity-building efforts for long-term viability after the Fund. Collectively, the UYOs achieved all targets, with 503 new units and 8,504 places for young people established. Notably, 71% of these places were in deprived areas, enhancing opportunities in these regions. Upon reflection, since all KPIs were met, the capacity of some UYOs may have been underestimated and could potentially have been stretched further with higher KPIs.

Table 3.1: The combined KPI targets and totals for FY 25/26

KPI	FY25/26 Target[footnote 7]	FY25/26 Delivery
Volunteers recruited[footnote 8]	1,136*	1,540
New leaders trained	1,696	1,696
Units created	222*	503
Places created	7,808*	8,504
Places filled	N/A	4,632

Beyond the core KPIs in Table 3.1, UYOs reported on various activities through their quarterly narrative updates and case studies. These activities, which supported the Fund’s broader objectives of expanding reach and building organisational capacity, included:

• programme development and innovation: including Scout Association digital initiatives and St John Ambulance’s three virtual unit pilots
• marketing and resources: recruitment campaigns, resource development, start-up grants^{[footnote 9]} and bursaries
• special initiatives: camps, residential events, school/community partnerships, and specialised safeguarding training through Volunteer Police Cadets and UK Fire Cadets

3.1.2 UYO support

As under the initial Fund, support was put into place to help UYOs deliver against their KPIs, share learnings and provide external advice. For the extension, DCMS took over the grant administration from Groundwork UK, while Youth United Foundation (YUF) continued working with DCMS to support the delivery of the Fund.

YUF provided comprehensive support to funded UYOs through monthly meetings with each UYO and facilitated learning sessions that brought UYOs together for knowledge exchange. Participants valued these sessions for addressing identified sector needs and challenges, particularly sustainability planning and volunteer retention strategies. The cross-organisational learning opportunities enabled sharing of best practices, with UYO staff reporting that these sessions provided valuable networking and helped to develop collaborative approaches to common challenges.

Financial management support proved particularly valuable during the extension year. YUF and DCMS worked closely with UYOs to identify and address underspend, with early identification enabling more effective responses to reallocate the budget. Where underspend was identified in time, DCMS managed internal reallocation of the budget between UYOs. This proactive approach helped maximise Fund utilisation, though the compressed single-year timeframe created ongoing delivery pressures. Several factors contributed to financial management challenges, including internal restructuring within some UYOs and the inherent difficulties of planning within a one-year funding cycle. This direct relationship between DCMS and UYOs, with YUF’s facilitation, enabled more immediate communication and responsive problem-solving.

Having a good relationship with them means that it’s much easier to support them… it cuts out that kind of middle layer of bureaucracy that maybe would cause slight delays to things.

(Stakeholder, DCMS)

However, the anticipated conclusion of the Fund extension in March 2026 impacted both planning for beyond the Fund and delivery capacity, which is discussed further in the following sections. Stakeholders emphasised that while the support structures effectively addressed immediate operational needs, they added that the uniformed youth sector required longer-term sustainability planning to ensure activities could continue post-Fund.

3.2. Recruitment, retention and training of staff and adult volunteers

The Fund aimed to support UYOs in building their internal capacity to scale up sustainably. A key focus for this was establishing a strong volunteer base through strategic recruitment, retention and training opportunities.

3.2.1 Volunteers recruited

Table 3.2 illustrates that by the end of FY25/26, a total of 1,540 new adult volunteers were recruited, surpassing the overall target of 1,136. While all UYOs ultimately exceeded their targets, their performance varied significantly. Some organisations vastly surpassed their goals, whereas others, recognising strong early progress, had their targets revised upward during the Fund period. The volunteer recruitment KPI was possible due to DCMS funding, which enabled UYOs to conduct targeted recruitment campaigns, provide training resources, and offer support to new volunteers. Successful approaches and challenges are covered in the next section.

Table 3.2: Number of new adult volunteer roles recruited across UYOs

UYOs	FY25/26 Target (original)	FY25/26 Target (revised)	FY25/26 Actual
Boys’ Brigade	N/A	N/A	48
Girlguiding	350	450	574
Girls’ Brigade	29	50	57
Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade (JLGB)	32	N/A	54
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	84	N/A	119
Scouts	330	340	342
St John Ambulance	N/A	N/A	154
UK Fire Cadets	100	N/A	102
Volunteer Police Cadets	80	N/A	90
Total	1,005	1,136	1,540

3.2.2 Volunteer recruitment successful approaches and challenges

In the previous evaluation, a wide range of recruitment approaches were identified by UYOs, including national campaigns, social media outreach, internal advertising and local relationship building. In this evaluation, we focused on understanding which practices were perceived to be the most successful through a survey of staff and volunteers.

Among staff survey respondents, the recruitment strategy most frequently reported to be successful (73%) was developing young members into volunteers. The effectiveness of the youth-to-volunteer pipeline is further evidenced by the volunteer survey respondents, with 83% indicating they were former members. JLGB demonstrated this success, increasing youth transitions to adult volunteers from two to twenty in a single year through targeted leadership development weekends. Structured progression programmes operated across multiple UYOs through formal youth leadership programmes and pathways that deliberately cultivated future volunteers.

Once they reach 13 and a half, 14, there is a young leadership programme that they can take up… we do try and encourage them to take it up because it does offer them a lot more skills… we have found that some of those children that have gone through that programme have stayed and become adult volunteers.

(Volunteer, Scouts)

Something that we do with our senior cadets once they get to a certain point is we send them on a course called a peer educator. And on that course, they learn about leadership and teamwork… it’s quite a useful course for them as they progress because they start to think about coming on as adults and then once they are adults, there’s an expectation there that they will support teaching.

(Staff member, Marine Society and Sea Cadets)

There was evidence that parent engagement as a recruitment method had progressed since the initial Fund period. 86% of surveyed volunteers had children in the organisation, indicating parents were a substantial recruitment resource. Over half of staff (53%) consider parent recruitment as a successful approach. Marine Society and Sea Cadets refined their approach during the taster sessions, where direct conversations with parents served dual purposes, reassuring them about support structures while simultaneously identifying potential volunteers.

Digital recruitment strategies, while continuing from previous years, showed mixed results that varied significantly by organisational context. The Scouts’ targeted advertising, funded through the programme, reached new demographics effectively. This included culturally diverse communities through consideration of wording, language and imagery, moving away from traditional ‘white, middle class’ representations. Additionally, they targeted the 18 to 30 age bracket by speaking to parents about relatives who could volunteer through highlighting the benefits of having the volunteer role on their CVs. However, smaller organisations (such as Girls’ Brigade and JLGB) reported that digital approaches did not have the same effect.

Some UYOs drew upon existing ties to their organisation. For example, the Volunteer Police Cadets reported success recruiting through NARPO (National Association of Retired Police Officers), with one volunteer noting that they responded to a newsletter advertisement. As faith-based organisations, both Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade said they utilised church networks for recruitment. While partnerships with religious communities showed limited success overall (11% of survey respondents considered this strategy to be successful for volunteer recruitment), they proved important for these faith-based organisations’ sustainability in their specific communities. School partnerships for volunteer recruitment also proved challenging, with only 34% of staff reporting success in engaging schools to identify potential volunteers. Finally, UYOs continued to rely on word of mouth for recruitment.

If a volunteer is having a good time and enjoying it, it’s them speaking to their friends. For example, I didn’t grow up in JLGB. The way that I got involved was my sister; she started, and then her friends were here volunteering. So that’s how that started.

(Volunteer, JLGB)

UYO staff indicated a range of challenges in recruiting new volunteers, with organisations noting that recruitment was impacted by individuals having limited time due to existing work and family commitments. Potential volunteers often faced barriers to volunteering due to shift work patterns and other employment arrangements that made it challenging to commit to a regular volunteering role. Administrative burdens added to these recruitment challenges, where Volunteer Police Cadets reported that vetting could often take more than four months, during which time many applicants had lost interest in the role. Geographic and organisational factors also posed challenges. For example, stakeholders acknowledged that it may be easier for the larger UYOs because of the weight their name carries.

3.2.3 Retention of volunteers

To ensure sustainability, UYOs recognised the importance of both recruiting new volunteers and retaining existing ones for organisational stability. Building on retention strategies identified in the previous process evaluation, such as early support, flexible opportunities, and positive recognition systems, this evaluation incorporates new survey data that quantifies the effectiveness of these approaches. The UYOs deployed a range of these measures to encourage the retention of their volunteers.

Survey data show that over three quarters (78%) of volunteers continued to volunteer because they have seen the impact the unit/group had on the young people attending.^{[footnote 10]} Volunteers also expressed the enjoyment of being part of a group (70%) and giving back to their community (58%) as common reasons to continue. Fewer volunteers were motivated by feeling appreciated for their contributions (36%) or learning new skills (23%), suggesting that intrinsic purpose outweighs external validation.

It’s more like a family. You see these young people grow, develop confidence, achieve things they never thought they could. How do you walk away from that?

(Volunteer, Volunteer Police Cadets)

Chart 3.1: Why volunteers continue to volunteer

Why volunteers continue to volunteer	Percentage of volunteers
Seeing the impact on the young people attending	78%
I am enjoying being part of the group/unit	70%
To give back to my community	58%
I feel a sense of community and belonging	56%
Socialising/making friends with other adults	40%
I am appreciated for my contributions	36%
I feel like there is no one else available to help	23%
I am enjoying learning new skills	23%
The flexibility in volunteering works well for me	16%
I enjoy spending time with my child who attends	12%
Someone I know attends as a volunteer	12%
Someone I know attends as a young person	7%
It is helping me get on in my career	5%
None of the above	1%

_{Base: Volunteers (316)}

Flexibility emerged as an important retention method among staff who completed the survey (n=80), with 61% of staff reporting success in retaining volunteers by adapting the roles, responsibilities and time commitments required. This aligns with the top two perceived barriers from the staff survey for new volunteers to join an UYO, inability to commit to a regular engagement (65%) and perceived level of work (51%). Staff also reported that time commitments were the most frequently cited reason by volunteers who had left their group or unit in the last six months. This builds on progress from the previous evaluation findings, where UYOs identified flexibility as a key retention strategy but were still developing their approaches. This included models like the Scouts’ approach to accepting any time commitment from weekly to monthly participation, and St John Ambulance ensuring sufficient coverage allowing individuals to take breaks without stopping sessions. Additionally, 55% of staff reported that they had successfully distributed leadership responsibilities among multiple leaders, reducing individual burden.

I really try to ensure that flexibility is there, which is why I don’t expand the group more until we have more adults, so that we have that capability. I feel that’s what keeps people coming.

(Staff member, St John Ambulance)

Formal systems for recognition and development were also employed. Among staff surveyed, providing upskilling opportunities was seen as the most successful retention strategy (63%), with opportunities ranging from formal qualifications and CPD accreditation. Formal recognition systems, such as awards ceremonies, were also considered successful by 61% of staff.

Key challenges to retention and the wider organisational sustainability included funding instability for support positions, resistance to change from longer-serving volunteers, and burnout risks where units relied on a small number of volunteers.

We’re trying to cover staff almost for each unit, or we have staff that will commit to more than one unit so they can travel around. That way we don’t have burnout, we’re not just relying on two members of staff, for example, to run that one unit week in, week out.

(Staff member, UK Fire Cadets)

3.2.4 Training of volunteers and staff

Training remained crucial for recruitment and retention, though significant gaps emerged as young people’s needs evolved post-pandemic. While most volunteers (72%) felt the amount of training was appropriate, staff were less satisfied.

Only 54% believed the training was sufficient, while nearly a third (30%) reported that volunteers did not receive enough training^{[footnote 11]}.

Chart 3.2: Amount of training provided to volunteers

Role	Too much	About right	Too little	Don’t know	Prefer not to say
Staff	6%	54%	30%	9%	1%
Volunteers	9%	72%	18%	0%	1%

_{Base: Staff (80), volunteers (316)}

The Fund enabled a range of delivery methods, including blended learning combined with online modules and face-to-face elements, digital platforms like JLGB’s online training hub, and residential programmes. The monitoring data illustrated notable training achievements, with St John Ambulance delivering training to over 380 youth leaders, and Volunteer Police Cadets training 1,138 leaders, both exceeding their KPI targets. Nearly half of staff (48%) reported continuously improving their training offer, recognising its importance for volunteer confidence and retention.

The most pressing gaps in the training were related to supporting young people with complex needs. Both staff and volunteers identified critical shortfalls in training for behaviour management, SEND support, and mental health challenges. Many staff and volunteers reported that training had failed to keep pace with the impact of the pandemic on young people’s physical and mental wellbeing, such as increases in anxiety, diagnoses of neurodivergent conditions, and complex mental health needs. Several organisations started to address these gaps, with St John Ambulance using the Fund to develop SEND training and JLGB introduced training on ‘how to run sessions for young people with neurodivergent thinking’.

These courses are quite a few years old and don’t cover supporting LGBT cadets, gender dysphoria, mental health, or SEND needs. They’re developing SEND training because leader courses don’t teach how to best support additional needs.

(Volunteer, St John Ambulance)

Access to training presented mixed results. A large proportion of volunteers found the training either easy or very easy to access (54%) and a third (32%) reported accessing training as neither easy nor difficult. Volunteers expressed strong demand for more local, face-to-face options instead of online-only modules to facilitate hands-on learning, especially for critical topics like first aid and safeguarding. Staff echoed these concerns, calling for more flexible, bite-sized training options to accommodate volunteers’ busy schedules. Beyond accessibility, views on training quality and relevance varied significantly. When asked as an open question in the survey, some volunteers reported that they found the training excessive and repetitive, while others felt that the training did not adequately prepare them for their roles.

The one downside to being a young leader is the additional safeguarding that we get, which to us is just the exact same safeguarding repeated for another two hours.

(Volunteer, Volunteer Police Cadets)

The training, I don’t think the training prepares you for what lies ahead… You learn on the job, you learn as you go.

(Volunteer, Boys’ Brigade)

Platform maintenance costs and staffing capacity for training delivery pose sustainability concerns for improvements beyond the Fund period, particularly for smaller UYOs with limited budgets.

Mental health and the working with young people, we will have to give to forces to deliver. Post-funding, we won’t have the capacity to deliver that.

(Staff member, Volunteer Police Cadets)

3.2.5 Recruitment and retention of volunteers in virtual units

Virtual units within UYOs presented both opportunities and challenges. Limited promotion of virtual units created barriers for recruitment – many potential volunteers remained unaware that these opportunities existed. Volunteers noted that the information was often buried on websites rather than actively promoted through newsletters or wider communications. However, virtual units successfully eliminated geographic barriers, opening volunteering to individuals previously excluded by location constraints. There was evidence that the virtual units supported volunteer retention. For example, geographic relocation was no longer a barrier to volunteers.

One leader recently stepped away from their in-person group because it was getting too much. They were probably going to leave anyway. This way they actually stay a leader without fully stepping away.

(Volunteer, Scouts)

We have an adult volunteer who used to be a cadet with us. After aging out of the cadet programme, they stayed on as an adult volunteer but then needed to move abroad for university. This is the great thing about virtual units - they can join our virtual meetings from another country and participate weekly online with us.

(Staff member, St John Ambulance)

No existing training frameworks addressed virtual delivery, requiring volunteers and units to create resources from scratch. This included producing instructional videos on how to use Teams and developing supplementary online safeguarding materials that combined existing training with internal expertise.

Although we’re following the same standards and policies, working virtually is completely different. There’s so much you have to adapt.

(Volunteer, St John Ambulance)

3.3 Creation of new places

The Fund aimed to extend the capacity of UYOs to reach young people in areas with unmet demand, by creating new places for young people, prioritising harder to reach groups and/or those in deprived areas. This section explores how UYOs have created places in new and expanded units, in areas of deprivation, and the sustainability of scaling their operations.

3.3.1 Identifying the location of new places

The process for identifying the location to create new places either for a new or expanded unit varied as UYOs deployed a range of methods and data sources:

• Internal data sources: According to survey data, two thirds of staff and volunteers (58%) used data on delivery gaps and waitlists to identify appropriate areas for new or expanded units.
• External data sources: Interviews with staff and volunteers indicate that UYOs leveraged external data sources to identify areas with higher deprivation and with underrepresented groups of young people. According to the survey data, nearly two in five participants (37%) used data sources like the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), annual census data and Free School Meal entitlement data.
• Local knowledge: Staff and volunteer knowledge around local context and demand helped to identify areas. For example, some new units were created where the local group had previously closed but where there was a viable venue and notable demand.

The synthesis of these sources allowed UYOs to create places in target areas, with higher levels of deprivation and with the strong potential for sustainable growth.

I think we chose that place because there was a hut, it was a group that was recognised but had closed down and we didn’t want to lose the opportunity and the momentum, I suppose, of that area.

(Staff member, Scouts)

The rationale for creating places in an expanded or new unit was determined by a number of considerations. This included whether there was sufficient local demand, availability of adult volunteers, and whether opening a new unit was strategically more beneficial than expanding an existing one. For example, JLGB created new units in Birmingham where no Jewish Youth provision previously existed, with the aim to reach more geographically isolated communities.

3.3.2 Creating and setting up new places

Collectively, UYOs exceeded the target number of new places created by the end of FY2025/26. Table 3.3 shows that a total of 8504 places were created against a target of 7808 places. There is variation across UYOs, with Girlguiding, Girls’ Brigade and JLGB exceeding their targets, whilst others like Marine Society and Sea Cadets and St John Ambulance were below target as outlined in Table 3.3 below.

After re-evaluating their initial targets for creating places, UK Fire Cadets and St John Ambulance had their targets reduced during the Fund period as it was agreed that the targets were set too high in the context the UYOs were working in.^{[footnote 12]} In January 2026, following a consultation with DCMS, UK Fire Cadets had their targets and grant allocation reduced due to delays in funding allocation that impacted the creation of new places. UK Fire Cadets was the only UYO that did not receive funding through the initial Fund in FY2022 to 25. The lack of experience of the Fund and large-scale funding meant they had challenges mobilising quickly. This reportedly impacted their ability to create places at the same pace and degree as other UYOs. Instead, UK Fire Cadets focused on sustaining existing places that were at risk of closing without immediate support. According to MI data, UK Fire Cadets sustained 261 places through the Fund in addition to creating 304 places. Stakeholders explained that the issues faced by UK Fire Cadets were anticipated due to the short duration of the Fund extension which did not provide sufficient time for UK Fire Cadets to build the necessary momentum or infrastructure to mobilise quickly. For St John Ambulance, there was internal restructuring within the organisation that impacted their volunteer recruitment capacity which in turn affected the number of places that were created.

I think that’s probably just from the teething problems [for UK Fire Cadets], that the other groups probably had three years to sort out and iron out…

(Stakeholder, DCMS)

Additionally, a total of 503 new units were created by all UYOs over the course of this extension of the Fund. For the UYOs that had targets, all of them met or exceeded their targets apart from Boys’ Brigade. Boys’ Brigade found it challenging to establish new partnerships and venues, where all units were to open in partnership with a local church.

Table 3.3: Number of new units and places created compared to target^{[footnote 13]}

UYO	New units created FY25/26	Target number of units	Places created in FY25/26	Target number of places FY25/26
Boys’ Brigade	8	83	385	385
Girlguiding	305	N/A	2286	1462
Girls’ Brigade	2	N/A	570	300
JLGB	10	N/A	488	470
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	32	6	748	984
Scouts	110	110	2200	2200
St John Ambulance	14	3	523	750 (reduced)
UK Fire Cadets	20	20	304	301 (reduced)
Volunteer Police Cadets	2	N/A	1000	956
Total	503	222	8504	7808

Once an area had been identified for a new group, staff explained that the process of opening a new unit involved securing a venue, recruiting volunteers and marketing the new group locally. Staff and volunteers shared that considerations were made to select appropriate venues and provide sufficient resources for young people. Observation data reflects this, as most of the venues visited were suitably resourced for the size of the group and types of activities being run, were well connected to transport links and were wheelchair accessible.

Survey results indicate that the most common activity to expand capacity was encouraging older members to become leaders (discussed further in section 3.4 4). The majority of participants (83%) had taken this approach, with three quarters (75%) reporting it to be effective. Other approaches that were thought to be effective in expanding capacity included the use of funding for recruitment, training and advertising (72%) and improved resource sharing (70%), for example, new online resource hubs, best practice sharing between groups/units.

Chart 3.3: Effectiveness of activities when expanding units/groups

Activity	Effective	Ineffective
Encouraging older young members to become leaders	75%	9%
Use of funds for recruitment, training and advertising	72%	8%
Improved resource sharing	70%	9%
Drawing on volunteer experience	68%	13%
Creating new partnerships / relationships to help with recruitment	64%	13%
Targeted advertisements for volunteers	56%	22%
Hiring local staff	52%	20%

_{Base: All (396)}

3.3.3 Creating places in deprived areas

A continued priority of the Fund was to offer more opportunities for young people in areas of deprivation. Across UYOs, 6054 places were created in areas of higher deprivation (IMD 1 to 5 and YIF). This represents nearly three quarters (71%) of total places created through the Fund. Despite this overall achievement, there was significant variation across UYOs in the proportion of places created in areas IMD 1 to 5 in the total number of places created.

For example, the Scouts achieved the highest proportion (89%) of new places in areas of deprivation, which they attributed to the successful implementation of targeted community engagement strategies and tailored local campaigns. UK Fire Cadets (75%), Marine Society and Sea Cadets (72%), and Girlguiding (70%) also created a high proportion of new places in deprived areas (further discussed in section 3.4.2). JLGB had the lowest number of places created in areas of deprivation (33%). According to monitoring data, as JLGB recruits Jewish young people, they focused on creating places in areas with a higher Jewish population which did not fall neatly across IMD area classifications. Boys’ Brigade reported that the requirement to establish all units in partnership with local churches limited their flexibility in targeting specific IMD 1-5 areas, though case studies confirm units in deprived areas actively accommodated financial hardship through reduced fees. Volunteer Police Cadets faced distinctive challenges with adult volunteers being more sceptical of policing in deprived areas, a barrier not faced by other youth organisations.

Table 3.4: Total number of places created in IMD 1-5 & YIF areas in 2025/26

UYO	Total places created in IMD1-5 & YIF areas	Total places created	Proportion of places created in IMD1-5 & YIF areas
Boys’ Brigade	185	385	48%
Girlguiding	1610	2286	70%
Girls’ Brigade	570	570	100%
JLGB	160	488	33%
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	536	748	72%
Scouts	1960	2200	89%
St John Ambulance	355	523	68%
UK Fire Cadets	228	304	75%
Volunteer Police Cadets	450	1000	45%
Total	6054	8504	71%

Staff and volunteers identified that establishing locations in deprived areas poses specific challenges, including finding suitable venues and recruiting enough volunteers. Infrastructural limitations and appropriateness of buildings often complicate venue sourcing, while parents’ time and financial constraints in these areas hinder volunteer recruitment.

Creating a new group is not just about money, it’s about infrastructure, it is about volunteers…

(Stakeholder, YUF)

One strategy used to tackle the logistical challenges involved in creating places for young people from deprived areas was to create places in areas IMD 6 and above that are next to areas IMD 1 to 5. This enabled UYOs to recruit young people from neighbouring deprived areas or those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged in the base community, whilst mitigating challenges, such as finding a suitable venue or recruiting volunteers. However, interview data highlighted that this strategy is not without its disadvantages. By creating units in areas outside IMD 1 to 5, it increased the likelihood that the Fund was not being sufficiently targeted at engaging young people who face the largest barriers to participation. These include transport barriers (e.g., cost, length, limited links), lack of awareness about the UYOs offer, and young people feeling that the group was not for someone like them.

It is challenging because you do have these pockets of deprivation in more affluent areas. And as such, you can have…on paper, it may look like you’re opening a unit somewhere which doesn’t need it… but this is why we don’t just have the criteria of IMD 1 to 5 areas but also working in areas which targets young people facing barriers to participation.

(Stakeholder, DCMS)

3.3.4 Waitlists

One of the objectives of the initial Fund (FY 2022 to 25) was for UYOs to reduce waitlists. However, the evaluation found that by creating places and expanding capacity, often waitlists increased due to the UYOs’ advertising generating further interest.^{[footnote 14]} This extension of the Fund shifted the focus from creating places that addressed waitlists, to creating places for harder to reach groups of young people who are typically less likely to engage with UYOs. Stakeholders stated that this decision was made to provide more equitable service provision to a broader range of young people.

According to survey data, over half (57%) of staff reported having a waitlist. The remaining data showed that almost a fifth (18%) of staff previously had a waitlist and another fifth (20%) of staff did not have a waitlist. Interview data indicates that, whilst most UYOs operate a waitlist, they are utilised in different ways across UYOs for selecting areas to create places, alongside multiple data sources. Despite increasing capacity at new and existing units, the size of waiting lists generally did not reduce, and in many cases, continued to grow. This increase in demand, following the outreach efforts as part of the Fund, was found to be a good indicator of sustainability for the newly added units, showing that there would likely be ongoing demand for the programme.

3.3.5 Sustainability of units

A key aim of the Fund extension was to support UYOs to build their internal capacity to scale up sustainably. Table 3.5 illustrates that five UYOs did not have to close any units and another three only had to close a small number of units by the end of FY2025/2026. This indicates that efforts to scale up sustainably have been generally successful. However, it must be noted that long-term sustainability cannot be inferred from this data as not enough time has elapsed since the end of the Fund to assess this.

Some UYOs used the Fund to actively sustain provision in places under threat of closing down. For example, after meeting their KPIs in Q3, Scouts utilised the remainder of the Fund to ‘re-energise’ units that required financial assistance to stay open. UK Fire Cadets also focused on sustaining provision in existing units that were at risk of closure, with 261 units sustained according to the MI data. Evidence from the quarterly reports showed that the UK Fire Cadets faced fewer challenges in expanding capacity in existing units due to the infrastructure, staffing and procedures already in place. Only minor adjustments (such as funding for more uniforms or equipment) were needed to increase group capacity. Despite having the highest number of unit closures^{[footnote 15]}, the impact on Girlguiding is limited due to their overall large unit count. Of the 562 Girlguiding units that closed during the Fund extension period, 544 had been created prior to the Fund (before 2022). Six JLGB units^{[footnote 16]} closed across the Fund period (since 2022), all of which were created during the Fund. According to the MI data, most of the JLGB units closed in South Manchester due to not having enough volunteers to sustain activities and due to low engagement from young people. Girls’ Brigade closed six units and MSSC closed a total of four units, of which most (eight) were units that had been created before the Fund. The remaining UYOs did not report any closures of units.

Staff explained that the Fund had contributed to the long-term operational sustainability of units as it had enabled them to set-up new units, purchase new equipment and materials, establish new venues and recruit new volunteers. Staff and stakeholders agreed that using the Fund in this way increased the likelihood of units staying open as UYOs were more equipped to cover unexpected costs. Furthermore, DCMS provided transitional funding to UYOs between April 2026 and September 2026 to support the UYOs to fully develop and embed their sustainability plans.

• Providing lasting resources to units: Staff explained that the Fund had contributed to the sustainable growth of units by providing essential resources to new and expanded units, such as enabling UYOs to replace old equipment. The resources purchased through the Fund varied from specialist equipment like helmets for UK Fire Cadets, to more general items such as games equipment and stationery.

I think the setup cost is the hardest bit…it’s now set up and because we’ve got the kit and we’ve got that uniform and we’ve got that equipment there, that’s going to make it really easy now to sustain it. Because, yes, whilst there’ll be replacements, it’s smaller chunks of money, that smaller ways of working and we can get smaller funding pots maybe from some of our more local areas and local businesses.

(Staff member, UK Fire Cadets)

• Improving internal systems: According to KPI data, many UYOs planned to use the Fund to invest in internal systems to improve delivery, including updating the training packages for volunteers, building online platforms used to coordinate sessions, developing resource banks and to improve governance review processes.

• Investment in marketing and promotional material: Staff and volunteers stated that the Fund was also used to develop new promotional materials, update UYO websites, and administer targeted marketing strategies. Staff found that this strengthened the sustainable growth of units by building their ability, capacity and expertise to recruit more volunteers and young people after the funding ended.

It’s definitely helped having more capacity and expertise in our comms team and our comms function and being able to spend money on targeted ads which obviously local groups necessarily might not have the funds or the expertise to be able to do that.

(Staff member, Scouts)

• Piloting new approaches: Some staff thought that the Fund had contributed to the sustainability of the UYOs’ operations through the piloting of new approaches that otherwise would not have been funded. This included pilots such as JLGB’s Generation Resilience programme and Scouts’ virtual unit pilot, both of which enabled targeted recruitment of hard-to-reach young people.

Without the funding we wouldn’t have been able to even try it full stop. So at least we now know what can work and how we can scale to other places.

(Staff member, JLGB)

• Improved connection and learning: Stakeholders found that the learning sessions (organised by YUF) enabled UYOs to improve their operations. These sessions provided a resource ‘bank’ for UYOs to share knowledge and expertise that may otherwise have been lost due to staff and volunteer turnover.

It’s not that we just have nine uniformed youth organisations working in isolation. We have them working, doing their own work and then bringing that learning to the table and sharing it.

(Stakeholder, YUF)

• Capacity for fundraising: Stakeholders and staff highlighted that the funding had placed UYOs in a better position to secure new funding streams. Some staff indicated that the theory of change workshops for this evaluation helped them to evidence their strategy and plans for expansion. Additionally, the extra staff capacity created through the Fund enabled the pursuit of new funding opportunities.

• Challenges to sustaining operations: However, staff and stakeholders acknowledged that there were significant challenges to sustaining operations without consistent funding, specifically for smaller UYOs which face greater constraints on staff capacity and resources. Staff reported that issues around volunteer and venue retention were key concerns that they found difficult to predict or mitigate.

The actual spaces that the UYOs are using can either increase in rent, close down…no longer be viable… this can their impact sustainability.

(Stakeholder, YUF)

Staff and stakeholders identified staff turnover as a challenge to sustainable delivery, particularly as the Fund concludes and some staff contracts will end. This results in the loss of expertise and experience crucial for sustaining operations.

• Importance of strategic planning: Stakeholders highlighted the importance of strategic planning to stabilise operations whilst UYOs transition away from relying on the Fund. Some stakeholders acknowledged that inadequate strategic oversight contributed to UYOs not fully developing internal systems and capacity through the Fund, despite this being a central element of the Fund.

3.4 Engaging young people and filling new spaces

This section explores UYOs’ approaches for filling new places, especially in deprived areas, how they targeted hard to reach young people and engaged young people in virtual units.

3.4.1 General recruitment and engagement

Alongside the number of new places created, the monitoring data outlines the number of new places filled by each UYO, as seen in Table 3.6. A total of 4632 places had been filled by the end of FY25/26, meaning just over half of the new places created had been filled by young people. The majority of UYOs filled more than half of the places created. For JLGB and Boys’ Brigade, they filled places created under the initial Fund, as well as all places created under the extension, leading to 100%+ places filled.

The lower recruitment figures for some UYOs, such as Girlguiding, can be attributed to the UYOs establishing the majority of new places (approximately 54%) in the third and fourth quarters which means the UYOs are currently in the process of filling them. This suggests that most UYOs likely commenced their substantial recruitment drives during these later quarters. Overall, these figures are consistent with last year. In FY24/25, a similar proportion of new places (55%) was filled.

Table 3.6: Number of new places filled across UYOs

UYO	Places filled	All new places created	Proportion new places filled
Boys’ Brigade	416	385	108%
Girlguiding	495	2286	22%
Girls’ Brigade	396	570	69%
JLGB	525	488	108%
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	255	748	34%
Scouts	1209	2200	55%
St John Ambulance	388	523	74%
UK Fire Cadets	248	304	82%
Volunteer Police Cadets	700	1000	70%
Total	4632	8504	54%

UYOs reported different methods to filling new places:

• Active recruitment: Some units were actively recruiting to fill spaces created through either expansion or the establishment of a new unit. The associated recruitment strategies, which are outlined below, generally involve young people sharing their positive experiences.

• Filling new places through waitlists: Some UYOs reported that they were filling new spaces by using waitlists, complemented by active recruitment.

• Not actively recruiting, but open to new members: Some units reported that while they were not actively recruiting, they would welcome any young people who wished to join. The main reason for this approach was having sufficient member numbers and a lack of time for active recruitment.

• Not filling any new places: Some units indicated that they were not filling new places or recruiting new young people. The primary reason for this was the lack of available volunteers and staff within the unit.

But yeah, our units are full at the moment and so we’re not actively going out and recruiting at the moment for them because we know we’ve got enough people on them.

(Staff member, UK Fire Cadets)

Units employed diverse recruitment strategies, however staff and volunteers identified that demonstrating unit activities, the enjoyment young people get from participation, and adopting a community-oriented approach were important recruitment drivers.

Among survey participants, both volunteers and staff (78%) indicated that opportunities to experience the programme through activities like taster sessions and ‘bring a friend’ nights were particularly successful. Taster sessions ranged from one-off meetings to longer multi-week engagements. One Girlguiding volunteer noted that a ‘bring a friend’ night was so successful that it effectively doubled their unit size. Taster sessions can present a double benefit to a unit, as parents often attended with their child, and leaders found this a good opportunity to ask parents to consider volunteering if their child decides to join.

And the six-week taster always goes down a treat because they do, like a run of activities which leads up to a badge and then they get that badge at the end of the six weeks generally they tend to stay on because they’ve had so much fun.

(Staff member, Scouts)

Volunteers and staff across all UYOs mentioned that “word of mouth” had influenced young people to join their units. Positive experiences shared by other young people or parents often encouraged new members to join.

We’re quite lucky [here] because most of our cadets coming in, apart from the early days, come from word of mouth. So, cadets go back to school, and they go, oh, I did this today. And ultimately, it’s like, well, my friend wants to join.

(Volunteer, UK Fire Cadets)

Some volunteers and staff reported conducting community outreach through events such as Christmas fairs, parades, and family-oriented open days. These events were designed to showcase the activities that the units organise to potential new members. Among staff and volunteer survey respondents, 78% considered promotion at local events to be a successful recruitment technique. They also indicated that some approaches were unsuccessful in recruiting young people, such as utilising school partnerships (13%), partnerships with a religious community or places of worship (11%) and local and regional media coverage (11%).

Social media was often mentioned as a tool for recruitment, but with mixed results. For example, UYOs reported that their social media posts were primarily seen by individuals already engaged with the organisations, rather than reaching new audiences. However, as it emerged in the monitoring data, organisations such as Scouts and Girlguiding have conducted large social media campaigns with successful results. Some volunteers felt that social media reached individuals already following the organisation, limiting its effectiveness for attracting new members.

3.4.2 Recruitment in areas of deprivation

Generally across UYOs, two-thirds (68%) of places filled in the FY25/26 were in IMD 1-5 areas. Scouts had the higher proportion of places filled in these areas with 90%, followed by Girls’ Brigade (100%). The organisations with the least number of places filled in deprived areas were the Marine Society and Sea Cadets (42%) and JLGB (35%).

Table 3.7: New places filled across UYOs in IMD 1-5 areas

UYO	New places filled in IMD 1-5	Total new places filled	Proportion new places filled in IMD 1-5
Boys’ Brigade	269	416	65%
Girlguiding	337	495	68%
Girls’ Brigade	396	396	100%
JLGB	185	525	35%
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	107	255	42%
Scouts	1083	1209	90%
St John Ambulance	265	388	68%
UK Fire Cadets	173	248	70%
Volunteer Police Cadets	349	700	50%
Total	3164	4632	68% (average)

UYOs identified ways young people from deprived areas joined the units:

• Organic recruitment: Most of the units visited as part of the case studies were situated in IMD 1 to 5 areas. In many cases, volunteers said they did not engage in any targeted recruitment efforts and that the high proportion of young people from low-income households in the group simply reflected the local community composition.

I feel like we’ve got quite a good diversity of kids… We don’t need to target anyone specifically. It’s just what young people we get through the door, we just want to retain them. But we get everyone through and we’ll take them no matter who they are. We don’t turn people away, we just welcome in.

(Volunteer, Boys’ Brigade)

So, from our own risk and intelligence data, it’s telling us we need to pinpoint in that area, but then from our agencies and our partners as well, you know, they’re telling us that there’s high numbers of young people on free school meals.

** (Staff member, UK Fire Cadets)**

• Targeted community engagement: UYOs that achieved the higher numbers of places created and filled in deprived areas, such as Scouts, also employed targeted community engagement strategies to recruit young people in deprived areas. This was key to building trust with communities often unfamiliar with Scouts and created a greater understanding of local needs in these areas. Community engagement included increasing visibility through local events, partnerships and community presence that helped raise the awareness of Scouts.

UYOs reported challenges engaging young people from deprived areas, primarily due to limited volunteer availability and inadequate infrastructure. Additionally, parental hesitations, stemming from perceived costs or distrust in UYOs, often further complicated engagement efforts. To address these issues, staff and volunteers highlighted key strategies to facilitate young people’s participation:

• Mitigating cost of attendance: To ensure places were filled by young people in areas of higher deprivation, UYOs introduced measures to mitigate the cost of attendance. This included reducing or nullifying membership fees and costs for materials, providing free food to members, providing bursaries for young people to attend events, and offering flexibility in paying for uniforms or any additional costs. Among surveyed staff and volunteers, 71% felt that offering financial support to young people was a successful recruitment tool.

One of our rangers definitely wasn’t going to come if she had to pay subs because she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.

(Girlguiding, Volunteer)

We don’t charge anywhere near what we would if we were in a different [less deprived] location.

(Volunteer, Boys’ Brigade)

• Utilisation of start-up grants: Volunteers discussed the importance of using start-up grants when creating new units in areas of higher deprivation. This offsets costs on membership fees or equipment, allowing for young people to participate who would otherwise not have been able to. Additionally, without start up grants, new unit activities in areas of higher deprivation would be limited due to the costs of some of the more expensive activities. For example, some sport activities required specialised equipment or activities that took place outside of the unit that could include transport costs.

It’s really helpful that we got this money because I think otherwise we would have only been able to do like the free, here’s some pen and paper activities.

(Volunteer, Girlguiding)

3.4.3 Targeted recruitment

Around two-fifths (39%) of surveyed staff and volunteers reported their organisations or units had adapted their recruitment strategy to target different groups of young people. Based on the data from the Theory of Change workshop, all the UYOs were targeting young people from a low socio-economic background, and most were targeting young people with SEND, alongside some UYOs focusing on ethnic minorities, rural areas and young carers.^{[footnote 17]} Across all organisations, the monitoring data shows that approaches have focused on making recruitment more accessible, flexible and locally rooted. Many UYOs reported that effectively reaching hard to reach young people required tailoring strategies to their specific needs and interests. This included community-embedded recruitment, engagement with young people’s care networks and partnering with existing organisations serving these groups. For example, the Girls’ Brigade reported using blogs for home-educated children to reach parents looking for activities for their children. Also, some UYOs established partnerships with local SEND schools and youth organisations that serve high numbers of young people with SEND. Another example was the Volunteer Police Cadets’ programme engaging at-risk young people through referrals from the local community such as schools, social services or the police.

So, if a police officer or Police Community Support Officer or somebody from social services, that kind of thing approaches us, or a school says, I’ve got [name of young person], and this might be a suitable opportunity for them. They’re a vulnerable young person for these reasons, then we would consider moving them in during the year if it’s the right opportunity for them.

(Staff member, Volunteer Police Cadets)

Some UYOs, such as JLGB and the Marine Society and Sea Cadets, noted in the monitoring forms that engagement with schools, particularly by delivering sessions on-site, was a useful method to reach young people from hard-to-reach backgrounds. This approach offered a familiar setting where young people were able to interact with UYOs within a comfortable environment.

Girl’s Brigade worked to engage and recruit more young carers by linking with relevant young carers’ organisations, promoting groups via home education networks, and offering a personalised programme adaptable to each young persons’ needs. Leaders observed a small yet noticeable increase in young carers joining but recognised that often caring duties was a barrier for young people being able to regularly attend the groups. Similarly, Scouts enhanced their outreach by collaborating with young carer organisations and creating events such as the young carers’ weekends, to encourage more young carers to get involved.

A similar proportion (35%) of staff and volunteers said there had not been any changes to their recruitment strategies to target specific groups. Instead, they expected that units would use diverse methods to ensure they reflected the diversity of the community in which it was located.

We’ve got a real broad range of different communities. So, we’ve got people from the Jewish faith, we’ve got people from the Muslim faith, we’ve got people from Christian faith that are white British. We’ve got people from Greece, so they’re Greek Cypriot. We’ve got parents where English isn’t their first language.

(Staff member, Scouts)

Despite these differences, 87% of surveyed staff and volunteers reported that their unit had at least one member from an under-represented background. More than three in five (62%) said their group included young people with special educational needs or disabilities. Approximately two in five were aware of members facing financial challenges (39%) or were from ethnic minority backgrounds (38%).

Chart 3.4: Demographics of young people

Demographics of young people	Percentage of young people in groups reported by staff or volunteers
Individuals with SEND	62%
Young people who face financial challenges	39%
Ethnic minorities	38%
Residents of a rural area	23%
Children in care	23%
Young carers	13%
From refugee or migrant backgrounds	8%
Not in Education, Employment, or Training	6%
Other	5%
Don’t know	13%
Prefer not to say	2%
None of the above	8%

3.4.4 Engagement of young people

Once young people have joined the units, UYOs focused largely on retaining their participation which often depended on how engaging the unit’s activities were for young people. Across UYOs, many of the activities that researchers observed were designed to be interactive. Some activities were more physically active, including blind football, capture the flag, or circuits of games. Other observed activities were less physical, such as food preparation, painting, and crafting various objects.

Across all observations, young people appeared consistently engaged while participating in activities. They frequently displayed signs of enjoyment (laughter and discussing the activity) and were actively involved in the tasks. Young people were observed positively interacting not only with their peers but also with volunteers and staff. This suggests a generally positive relationship between volunteers and young people, as well as an overall sense of enjoyment in attending the sessions.

During several observations, volunteers noted that their choice of activities was directly influenced by feedback from young people. They also adapted their activities in real-time based on the young people’s input. In some sessions, volunteers would introduce the activities planned for the following week, a practice that appeared to heighten the young people’s excitement and anticipation for the next meeting.

3.4.5 Inclusion and retention strategies for hard-to-reach young people

In the interviews, staff and volunteers identified key facilitators to ensure hard to reach young people felt included:

• Cost reduction: many of the adjustments made were cost related to ensure that unit related activities, once young people joined the group, were affordable for all.

• Cultural inclusion: cultural barriers were addressed through measures, such as adapting uniforms to allow young people to wear religious garments and by volunteers proactively learning about religious customs.

• SEND adaptations: Based on KPI data, the inclusion of young people with SEND emerged as a key priority across UYOs. Six out of nine organisations included KPIs related to SEND provision in their objectives, ranging from research to better understand SEND young people and adaptations to engage SEND schools. In interviews, both volunteers and staff indicated that they offered some unit level adaptations. Examples of this were the use of fidget toys, designated “quiet corners,” individualised support plans, and subtle communication systems like non-verbal signals. Support is often highly personalised and discussed with the young person’s parent or carer.

And then we always make sure as well, if there are any additional needs, working with the cadet and kind of the parents and guardians to see what would help, what would suit them, how to work with them…So they can get what they want and what they need and reach that kind of gold standard of what they want to achieve out of our program.

(Volunteer, St John Ambulance)

Despite these successes, many volunteers highlighted the inadequacy of volunteer training, describing it as being outdated and repetitive, with significant gaps in topics related to supporting young people with SEND, mental health conditions, and LGBTQ+ identities. Additionally, staff and volunteers noted that supporting children with SEND and from harder-to-reach backgrounds often required substantial time and commitment. This was highlighted as a potential barrier, as it often required prolonged engagement to establish trust and cultivate meaningful relationships.

3.4.6 Young people progressing into leadership and volunteer roles

In the interview data, staff and volunteers considered the development of young people as leaders to be a key strategy for both long-term engagement and the sustainability of units. It is therefore important that some young people express interest in this role. Both interview and survey data indicated strong levels of interest among young members in becoming leaders in the future. In the survey, 66% of volunteers reported that there were some young members who had expressed an interest in becoming leaders from their group.

Staff and volunteers described three main ways in which they supported young people to develop their leadership skills and take on leadership roles:

• Youth leadership training programmes: many units ran specific youth leadership programmes, such as the “Young Leader Development Programme” at Girlguiding or the “Peer educator” course at Marine Society and Sea Cadets, which provided structured training on leadership, teamwork, and how to deliver sessions.

Something that we do with our senior cadets once they get to a certain point is we send them on a course called a peer educator…And it’s quite a useful course for them as they progress because they start to think about coming on as adults and then once they are adults, there’s an expectation there that they will support teaching.

(Staff member, Marine Society and Sea Cadets)

• Informal leadership during activities: some volunteers and staff mentioned that they would occasionally let young people help with the session or activity they were running. At the case study observations there were two occasions where young people were leading or assisting an activity. In both cases, young people (under the age of 18) assisted with the sessions. The young people were often members of the unit, either from an older age group or approaching their 18th birthday and preparing to leave the unit.

• Structural leadership progression: some UYOs have structured ranks that allow young people to slowly progress whilst increasing their responsibilities.

Staff and volunteers indicated that individuals who pursued leadership pathways during their youth, often transitioned into volunteer roles as adults. Many of the volunteers who were interviewed had been members when they were younger and followed a progression through youth leadership to eventually become volunteers.

And it shows that our progression model does work. And obviously if they stay connected to us, it means that they’re a lot more likely to come on as an adult volunteer.

(Staff member, JLGB)

I’ve been in Girls’ Brigade since I was 8 years old…when I was about 16, I did the training to become a leader and I took over the group…three years ago. So, I’m the team leader.

(Volunteer, Girls’ Brigade)

There was evidence from the interviews that young people faced barriers to progressing into volunteer roles, primarily due to the time commitment involved. Some volunteers and staff explained that young people aged 18 and over found it challenging to commit to volunteer work largely due to other life commitments, such as attending university.

3.4.7 Recruiting and engaging young people in virtual units

Three UYOs (Scouts, St John Ambulance and Girls’ Brigade) used the Fund to create places in virtual units and virtual programmes as a means to engage underrepresented young people who faced barriers to attending in-person. Among staff and volunteers who had a virtual offering, nearly three in five (58%) found it successful for recruiting young people. Among a small number of surveyed staff and volunteers (n=40) who have recruited hard-to-reach young people, about half felt that offering virtual programmes/units was a successful approach.

The main rationale for establishing a virtual version of the UYO has been to support young people who face difficulties accessing in-person groups. A volunteer noted that young people appear noticeably more comfortable when joining sessions from their own homes. Girls’ Brigade staff also highlighted that the online programme has been particularly effective in reaching young people in rural areas. Similarly, after trialling a virtual unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, St John Ambulance found it to be highly successful and subsequently established a new virtual unit. This has enabled young people who would otherwise lack access to the UYO to participate easily, without the need to travel.

Scouts piloted a digital Scouting unit for six sessions which created places for around 12 young people. At the point of the observation, they were actively recruiting and had not yet filled all the places but were aiming to double attendance from six to 12 participants. This pilot engaged young people with SEND, and who otherwise would have faced barriers to attending in person. From the interviews, staff indicated the decision to create a virtual Scouting unit was based on consistent demand from young people for a virtual group since lockdown, when many Scouts groups went online. Staff also understood from anecdotal feedback that some young people were leaving Scouts because they could no longer attend in-person sessions, so creating a virtual unit provided an opportunity to keep some young people engaged. Since the creation of the unit, they have employed targeted outreach to specific underrepresented communities, such as young people with chronic illnesses and those in SEND schools. They used cold emailing to specific organisations that work with certain groups of young people that meet Scouts KPI targets. This included large-scale email campaigns to schools and workplaces, and engaging with online platforms for communities dealing with chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome and long Covid. Focused recruitment also considered young people who were geographically isolated from physical group activities. Volunteers also expressed that given the limited time nature of the unit, as it was a pilot, some parents were not sure about signing their children up.

We knew the demand was there from an anecdotal standpoint… as well as just collecting information about why young people were leaving Scouts because the Scouts has been doing its own research on numbers.

(Staff member, Scouts)

Whether it’s because they’re really rural and there’s no local group… there’s so many different reasons as to why a young person might not be able to access Scouting in person, so we’re very much trying to fill that gap and to make ourselves more inclusive, more accessible.

(Staff member, Scouts)

St John Ambulance increased the capacity of their virtual unit, established during the pandemic, to accommodate an additional 11 young people from rural areas. The flexibility of the virtual unit allowed them to accommodate a geographically wide spread of cadets. Recruitment strategies included online presence and advertisement through social media and the main St John Ambulance website. Community engagements, such as charity events and remembrance parades, also enhanced visibility. Word-of-mouth proved effective, particularly when new recruits experienced in-person activities before attending virtual sessions. The virtual model attracted young people from a range of underrepresented groups.

So, we have a lot of people who are very out, like very rural and stuff, don’t live near a town. We’ve got some young carers involved. We did have someone who was in foster care who has aged out and gone to university. So, we kind of do have kind of representation with those harder to reach areas.

(Volunteer, St John Ambulance)

There is a wait list [to join the virtual unit] because we originally limited ourselves to 20 cadets. Since then, I’ve decided that we’re going to up our limit because we are coping very well. We’ve got enough leaders, enough resources to do so… at the moment there’s 25, so we’re hoping to invite most of them along.

(Staff member, St John Ambulance)

Girl’s Brigade enhanced their virtual programme, providing an alternative mode of engagement for young people who previously faced barriers to participating in person. It was aimed at girls aged 14 to 18 years old and covered diverse topics tailored to the group’s interest, such as online safety and climate change. The recruitment relied on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which seemed effective mostly in engaging those connected with existing groups. While the online format allowed access to less established areas, attracting young people beyond the familiar networks remained challenging. Nonetheless, the online format presented an opportunity to reach regions without an established Girls’ Brigade presence, creating new conversations around expansion into these areas with in-person units. This was highlighted in monitoring reports, where Girls’ Brigade explained that new research and case studies from Australia were being analysed to establish online programmes to target remote areas where Girls’ Brigade cannot reach.

Across all units, engagement in the online programmes generally remained high apart from a small number of young people (1 to 2 per group) who were less engaged. Observations indicated that young people were generally interested in participating. In most cases across the three observations, participants had their cameras switched on and were attentive during the sessions. In only a few instances did volunteers need to prompt specific individuals to participate or request they turn their cameras on. Occasionally, only one to two young people across all visits appeared distracted or reluctant to engage in the activities and discussions taking place. All young people in the virtual units joined through their own device and were in a private environment.

4. Conclusion

4.1 Reflections on Uniformed Youth Fund extension

This process evaluation of the Uniformed Youth Fund extension found evidence that UYOs met the key aims of the fourth year of the Fund. The combined efforts of the UYOs resulted in all collective targets for the Extension being met with 503 new units established, supporting the creation of 8,504 new places for young people. Of those places created, 71% were created in areas of deprivation, therefore increasing opportunities for young people in these areas. To identify the best places to open or expand units, many UYOs successfully integrated multiple data sources, including waitlists and census and IMD data.

To lead new and expanded units, UYOs recruited a combined total of 1,540 new volunteers. Whilst most UYOs used the Fund to develop new approaches to recruit volunteers, community engagement through word of mouth and drawing on local community connections was still central to recruitment.

Of the created places, 54% (4632) were filled by the end of March 2026; of those places filled, 68% (n=3164) were in areas of deprivation. UYOs faced a number of challenges establishing a presence in new communities, particularly those in IMD 1 to 5 areas, and found that it took longer to establish the relationships needed to engage volunteers and young people. However, offering financial support was widely considered a successful recruitment tool for young people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Many UYOs also sought to recruit young people who come from underrepresented backgrounds, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, with SEND and who are carers. They found that approaches needed to be tailored to the interests of the particular group they were trying to reach and to take a relational and community-based approach, often working with schools and organisations that had already established relationships with the young people. In order to better support young people from underrepresented backgrounds, many volunteers indicated they needed better training, particularly in supporting those with SEND.

Three organisations used the extension to pilot or further refine virtual units and other digital engagement offerings, which are designed for young people who face barriers to in-person participation. This approach showed promise for improving accessibility while still offering a quality experience for volunteers and members although further testing and development is needed.

As the final year of the Fund, ensuring sustainability of the created spaces was a key focus. For many UYOs, bigger investments were made early in the extension to establish and grow units, covering heavier up-front costs; while in the final months, there was a greater focus on retaining volunteers and recruiting young people. Many UYOs invested substantially in infrastructure, ensuring there were better systems and structures in place that would last beyond the Fund. Finally, the majority of UYOs invested in leadership development opportunities for their young members, providing them with the skills to become unit leaders once they have aged out. This member-to-leader pipeline was widely considered by staff and volunteers as one of the strongest sources of volunteers and key to the sustainability of units.

Changes were made to the delivery of the Fund during the extension year with DCMS taking a more hands-on role with UYOs, particularly around financial management. Whilst a grant administration partner was an advantage during the set-up phase of the Fund, this change for the extension was received positively as it enabled more efficient communication between UYOs and DCMS, particularly in identifying issues earlier in order to mitigate any risks to delivery. YUF continued to provide additional support to organisations and provided regular opportunities for UYOs to connect and share learnings. UYO staff found these learning sessions beneficial and many expressed interest in continuing to connect and share past the lifetime of the Fund. DCMS have provided transitional funding to UYOs between April 2026 and September 2026 to help maintain the provision created through the Fund to the Fund and for UYOs to embed their sustainability plans.

4.2 Reflections on the overall Fund impact

In total, the Uniformed Youth Fund has provided £24.1m in funding to nine organisations over four years (2022 to 2026). In total, more than 32,000 new places were created for young people to take part in uniformed youth groups. A key priority of the Fund was to increase access for young people in areas of deprivation, and UYOs delivered on this aim with 61% of new places created in IMD 1-5 areas across the total Fund period. Only slightly more than half of all created places were filled by the end of the Fund, which may present some challenge to UYOs to continue recruitment at scale without the additional funding.

Table 4.1 KPIs achieved across the Fund 2022-26

	FY23/24 Delivery	FY24/25 Delivery	FY25/26 Delivery	Fund Total
Volunteers recruited	2,476	2,508	1,540	6,524
New leaders trained	1,474	1,827	1,696	4,997
Units created	501	297	503	1,301
Places created	11,993	11,748	8,504	32,245
Places filled	6800	6,223	4,632	17,655

The Fund also aimed to improve the wellbeing and development of young people and included an impact evaluation to explore if and how UYO participation supports these outcomes. A separate evaluation report provides robust evidence of the positive impact of UYO participation on young people’s wellbeing, social and emotional development, skills and attainment, and community connectedness.^{[footnote 18]}

UYO central staff have described the sustained funding and support over the last four years as ‘transformational’ and as a critical catalyst for growth, innovation and long-term sustainability. In final monitoring data reports, UYO central staff reflected on the broader impacts of the Fund on their organisation:

• Enabling strategic growth and expansion: The most consistent impact reported was the Fund’s role in enabling structured, deliverable growth. It allowed organisations to move beyond mere aspirations and actively create thousands of new places for young people, often in areas of high deprivation. In some areas, UYOs reported the funding maintained places that may otherwise have been lost.
• Driving innovation and modernisation: The UYF provided the resources needed for organisations to innovate, test new delivery models, and modernise their approach to youth work (e.g., utilising social media and running virtual units to reach underrepresented groups).
• Building organisational capacity and resilience: The funding was described as “fundamental” for building the core infrastructure needed to deliver safe and effective youth work, such as improved safeguarding processes and digital infrastructure. This was especially crucial during a period of organisational instability and financial uncertainty for many.
• Strengthening volunteer recruitment and experience: Many UYOs were able to invest in the modernisation of the volunteer journey, making it easier for volunteers to join, learn, and feel supported.
• Proving the value of youth work: For many, the success of the UYF-funded projects provided concrete evidence of the value of their programmes, which helped secure internal buy-in and long-term strategic support.

In conclusion, the Uniformed Youth Fund has been a vital resource that has enabled these organisations to not only survive a challenging period but to fundamentally evolve. It has empowered them to expand their reach, modernise their services, build a stronger evidence base, create connections within the uniformed youth community, and hopefully, create a lasting legacy of growth and resilience that will benefit young people for years to come.

4.3 Recommendations

Based on these findings, we recommend the following for UYOs:

• UYOs to make further investment in data collection on young people. Most reported some challenges in reporting demographic data of their members, making it difficult to ascertain whether they were improving diversity and engaging under-represented groups.
• UYOs to develop ongoing targeted and strategic plans for recruitment of under-represented young people. UYOs that found success in diversifying their reach indicated that this came through creating bespoke plans for each group UYOs were trying to engage. It would be beneficial for UYOs to share best practice in reaching under-represented groups to support learning across the UYOs.
• UYOs to invest in more specialised training for staff and volunteers. The evidence showed the most significant gap was training related to supporting young people with complex needs. For example, training focused on supporting young people with SEND or with mental health conditions.
• UYOs, in collaboration with YUF, to maintain connections that have been established through the Fund, particularly to support ongoing sharing of learning and resources. This continued connection may be particularly beneficial around the topic of supporting young people with SEND, an area of focus for many UYOs and an area where volunteers expressed strong demand for further training and resources.
• UYOs to continue to explore sustainable and high-quality delivery of units, including more innovative delivery models and digital/virtual units. Early findings indicate there is potential for virtual units to improve opportunities for young people to take part in uniformed youth groups who may face barriers to attending in-person units. DCMS could consider funding for further piloting and research of those innovative delivery models, in particular virtual units to understand impact on young people in comparison to impacts already documented from the previous evaluation.

5. Technical annex

5.1 Definitions

In the context of UYOs, different terms are used as key performance metrics in government and charity sector initiatives to measure capacity and growth. The same definitions have been used throughout this report (see table 5.1 below).

Table 5.1 Definition of key performance metrics

	Definition
Units	Individual, localised branches or groups
Places	The total physical capacity or number of available spots for young people to attend and participate in a specific unit
Created	The establishment of brand-new units, or the expansion of existing ones to accommodate more young people
Filled	The actual number of those available places that have been taken up by young people actively attending the unit

5.2 Evaluation framework

Table 5.2 presents our evaluation questions relating to the delivery of the Fund extension and the data sources used to answer them.

Table 5.2: Evaluation framework

	Theory of Change workshops	Stakeholder interviews (DCMS and YUF)	Staff & volunteer survey	Case studies	UYF Learning events	Quarterly Monitoring Reports
1. How many new places have been created and filled (if possible, as a result of the funding)? a. To what extent were created places concentrated in deprived areas?	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Key evidence source
2. How many young people have uniformed youth groups managed to reach, particularly in IMD deprived areas and for those who are hard to reach?	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
a. What was the depth of engagement with young people, (particularly in IMD deprived areas and for those normally hard to reach) (if possible, as a result of the funding)?	Evidence not provided	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Key evidence source
b. Are UYOs targeting particular groups of hard-to-reach young people?	Key evidence source	Evidence not provided	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
c. What types of young people took up the opportunities created by the Fund? (how young people are recruited; whether there is targeted recruitment of under-represent young people; whether nature of engagement varies by characteristics)	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Key evidence source
3. How did the different uniformed youth groups go about creating new places and filling them? What worked well and what worked less well?	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence
a. How was the Fund delivered on the ground in terms of setting up new groups?	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
b. How was the Fund delivered on the ground in terms of expanding capacity at existing groups?	Supporting evidence	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
c. What could be improved with the delivery?	Evidence not provided	Evidence not provided	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence
4. Did the Fund improve the recruitment and retention of adult volunteers to uniformed youth groups?	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
a. Did the different uniformed youth groups see an improvement in volunteer engagement? What worked well and what worked less well?	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source
5. Did the funding improve the long-term sustainability of uniformed youth group places?	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence	Key evidence source	Key evidence source	Supporting evidence	Supporting evidence

5.3. Overview of UYO targets of young people

Based on the data from the Theory of Change workshop, UYOs were targeting the following young people outlined in Table 5.3 below.

Table 5.3: Type of demographic and backgrounds of young people UYO is targeting

	Low SES*	SEND	Ethnic minorities	Geographically isolated (e.g. rural areas)	Young carers	Other
Boys’ Brigade	X	X	-	-	-	Girls, understand how to better include them
Fire Cadets	X	-	X	-	-	Girls, but looking more at improving their experience than recruiting more
Girls’ Brigade	X	-	-	-	X	N/A
Girlguiding	X	X	X	-	X	Those with poor academic results and English as second language
JLGB	X	-	-	-	-	N/A
MSSC	X	X	-	-	X	Communities with high immigration
Scouts	X	X	X	X	X	Young people with migrant background, military family children, home-schooled
SJA	X	X	-	X	X	N/A
VPC	X	X	-	X	-	Young people living in areas with anti-social behaviour and violence prevention needs

_{*Low Socio-economic status}

5.4 Case study selection criteria and process

We engaged with each of the UYOs and asked them to provide us with a list of 3-5 units that were:

• a mixture of new and expanded units
• predominantly in IMD 1-5
• across a range of geographic regions

We also asked that they included units that had good examples of the work they were prioritising under the extension grant, as it related to their KPIs and theories of change. Broadly, the areas of focus we observed across the ToCs and nominated sites were either operational or young person focused:

• Operational: These were sites had a strong focus on improving or innovating operations, such as improving/increasing the volunteer training/recognition offer, piloting virtual units or other new programme approaches, delivering start-up grants, or having particular insights about setting up a new unit.
• Young person focus: These were units with a strong focus on engaging hard-to-reach groups of young people (i.e. young people in care, young people with SEND, ethnic minority young people) or with very high rates of engagement with young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Once we had the full list of potential sites, we reviewed and discussed these as a team, aiming for the following sampling frame per UYO:

• 1 Expanded unit and 1 New unit
• a minimum of one unit in IMD 1 to 5, but ideally both
• two different geographic regions
• one ‘operational focus’ unit and one ‘young person focus’ unit

While sampling per UYO, we also aimed to keep an overall balance across the sites to ensure a good geographic spread, more than half in IMD 1 to 5, and an approximately 50/50 split on expanded/new and operational/young person focus. With the aim of oversampling for IMD 1 to 5 to provide richer insights in terms of challenges and successes when expanding or setting up units in areas of deprivation. The tables below set out the selected sample for case study sites.

Focus area: A unit can meet both operational and YP focus criteria (e.g., a virtual unit that is specifically targeting young people with SEND and in rural areas), which is why the total number of sites in the criteria table is above 17.

New/expanded: As several UYOs were more focused on expanding existing units than setting up new ones, there are slightly more expanded units than new ones.

Geography: We selected two virtual units, but one engaged young people in rural areas in the East Midlands, so we have recorded it as East Midlands. The other virtual unit does not have a specific geographic focus.

IMD: Twelve of the selected units were located in IMD 1-5 areas and two were virtual units that do not have an IMD indicator. So effectively 80% of physical units were located in areas of deprivation.

Table 5.4: Regional sampling

Region	Number of sites
East Anglia	1
East Midlands	2
London	3
North East	1
North West	3
South East	1
South West	2
South Yorkshire	1
West Midlands	2
West Yorkshire	1
Virtual	1

Table 5.5: Other sampling criteria

Other criteria	Number of sites
Units with operational focus	12
Units with young person focus	12
Expanded units	9
New units	7
Units in areas with IMD 1-5	12

5.5 Survey with staff and volunteers

5.5.1 Distribution

Survey respondents were invited to take part via the central staff at each UYO, who were tasked with sending out survey invitations and reminders to complete the survey. The survey used a targeted approach to distribution.

We did not have access to a list of staff and volunteers who were involved in UYO. As a result, central staff at UYOs were responsible for creating a list of the staff and volunteers to take part in the survey.

5.5.2 Completion

The survey was live for a seven-week period between 28 October and 9 December 2025. A total of 396 completed survey responses were received from the nine UYOs. The number of responses per organisation varied: the highest was 135 responses and there were fewest was 13 responses.

Most respondents were volunteers (80%); one in seven were members of staff (15%) and the rest were both (6%).

The tables below show the breakdown of demographics across the analysed sample.

Table 5.6: Survey sample characteristics – age, gender, ethnicity

Demographics		Total
Gender	Male	46%
Gender	Female	51%
Gender	Non-binary	2%
Age	18 to 34	24%
Age	35 to 54	35%
Age	55+	39%
Ethnicity	White	90%
Ethnicity	Asian or Asian British	5%
Ethnicity	Black, Black British, African or Caribbean	2%
Ethnicity	Other ethnic group	1%

Table 5.7: Sample distribution by UYO

Uniformed Youth Organisation	Number of responses received	Percentage of overall responses
Boys’ Brigade	31	8%
Girlguiding	17	4%
Girls’ Brigade	15	4%
Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade	13	3%
Scouts	135	34%
Marine Society and Sea Cadets	24	6%
St. John Ambulance	64	16%
UK Fire Cadets	36	9%
Volunteer Police Cadets	61	15%

5.5.3 Analysis

For the closed questions, data tables were created for each survey question, summarising the overall findings and by key variables (such as organisation and role). The list of key variables used to analyse each question was agreed in advance of table production. Free text responses were analysed as qualitative data and presented as relevant in the findings.

1. DCMS (2023) Youth Investment Fund (YIF) – places section methodology. ↩

2. Nine UYOs funded in the extension: Boys’ Brigade, Girls’ Brigade, Girlguiding, UK Fire Cadets, Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade, Marine Society & Sea Cadets, Scouts, St John Ambulance, Volunteer Police Cadets ↩

3. Definitions of the key performance metrics are outlined in Annex 5.1 ↩

4. Uniformed Youth Fund evaluation reports: process report ↩

5. The Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks small neighbourhoods (LSOAs) in England from most (1) to least (10) deprived. More information here. ↩

6. DCMS (2023) Youth Investment Find (YIF) – places section methodology. ↩

7. Targets with asterisks were revised during the Fund. ↩

8. Some UYOs did not have KPI targets for adult volunteers, shown in table 3.2. ↩

9. Start-up grants are funds provided by UYOs to local units to help cover initial costs and support growth. ↩

10. A separate report details the impacts of uniformed youth group participation ↩

11. It is important to consider that staff made up a smaller portion of survey respondents (n=80), and these results may reflect a response bias from those most dissatisfied with the training. ↩

12. UKFC had an original target to create 375 new places which was revised to 343 and further reduced to 301 and St John Ambulance had an original target of 960 which was reduced to 750 (source from the quarterly reports) ↩

13. Not all UYOs had a target for new units. ↩

14. Uniformed Youth Fund Evaluation: process report (DCMS, 2025) ↩

15. 546 units closed overall, with 10 units that were created during the Fund and 536 that were created prior to the Fund ↩

16. 10 new units created by JLGB were associated with the Generation Resilience programme which started during FY25/26. JLGB otherwise focused on expanding capacity in existing units to sustain delivery ↩

17. Full details can be found in Annex 5.3 on Table 5.3. ↩

18. Executive summary ↩