NextGen Greenwich, the new youth and health and wellbeing service for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, has been approved.
Launching in autumn 2026, the new model will replace Young Greenwich, our current youth offer, to deliver services that reflect the current needs and aspirations of children and young people, build stronger partnerships and improve outcomes. Key changes include a new £400,000 grant fund to help bring community organisations and young people’s ideas to life, a more accessible health and wellbeing service in schools and a new Community Youth Hub.
NextGen Greenwich has been co-produced with hundreds of young people who have told us what they want through surveys, focus groups and a consultation process. It represents a fundamental shift in how the council will support young people, providing a more accessible service that is tailored to what they’ve said they want from their council. NextGen Greenwich will provide mental and physical wellbeing support for young people, alongside offering more free and low cost activities and safe spaces to spend time in.
Councillor Adel Khaireh, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said “Children and young people are our future. Through NextGen Greenwich we are investing in the next generation, offering every young person the spaces and opportunities they need to thrive. As a former youth worker, I saw first-hand the life-changing impact coming to youth centres at the heart of communities had on young people, and this is consistently backed up by research. We know years of funding cuts to youth services by successive governments are one of the main issues affecting young people across the UK. That’s why, while two thirds of councils have cut youth services, we’re continuing to invest in our youth and wellbeing offer for our young people.”
Councillor Mariam Lolavar, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Borough of Sanctuary said: “Young people have clearly told us what they want: safe spaces to meet, being part of the services that affect them, support for their health and wellbeing and real opportunities to fulfil their potential. We will give them what they want. NextGen Greenwich sets out a clear plan that places young people at the heart of decision-making. That includes opening a new council-owned Community Youth Hub, developing a more accessible health and wellbeing offer in schools and launching a new £400,000 Youth Grants Programme to provide the services and opportunities they want.”
What is changing?
· A new name for our youth offer and school-aged health and wellbeing service, NextGen Greenwich, chosen by young people.
· NextGen Greenwich will encompass three service delivery elements focused on council-owned community youth hubs, a new school-aged health and wellbeing (SHAW) service and a new £400,000 youth grant programme.
· A new permanent RBG owned Community Youth Hub in the west of the borough
· Opening hours: Community Youth Hubs open minimum 5 days a week (including Saturday) with the ambition to be open 7 days a week, from 9am-9pm.
· A greater emphasis on working with the whole family and offering intergenerational learning and youth-only sessions at our four Community Youth Hubs.
· A new £400,000 NextGen youth grant fund for providers to deliver support for children and young people, focused on areas with less existing provision.
· Young voices at the heart of services by:
· Introducing two new Youth Advisors and a paid Youth Voice Apprentice role at the council.
· Creating voluntary roles for young people to help design and review services.
· Creating a new Youth Partnership Group that will include paid and voluntary roles for young people to help decide and evaluate what is delivered.
· Expanding peer-to-peer and youth-led activities.
· Co-producing a modernised digital offer with young people, where they can get support, information and advice.
· Reshaping and renaming our School Nursing Offer to a broader School-aged Health and Wellbeing (SHAW) Service, with a new service model focused on prevention.
NextGen Greenwich forms part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s wider investment in the youth offer. Separately, the Council is also investing £600,000 into our play facilities to keep them safe and open for families to enjoy.
This is in addition to £1.5million the council will invest in Coldharbour Community Hub, as part of Getting Things Done, to create a state-of-the-art hub complete with a revamped playground – subject to conversations with the community.
Our current youth offer, Young Greenwich, is a partnership between the council, Oxleas NHS, CACT, GLL and METRO, and supports children aged 5 to 18, or 25 for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
The new NextGen Greenwich model has been developed using the insight from a three-phase engagement and consultation process with young people, residents, families, schools, voluntary organisations and professionals working with our communities.
The Council will be undertaking a procurement process to identify providers to deliver NextGen Greenwich’s services.