Big Lottery Fund

Young people have been a key beneficiary group for BIG and our predecessor organisations.

Across the UK, we have run and learnt from a wide range of programmes supporting young people -- from childcare to involving young people in designing and running projects.

Young people throughout the UK have developed their confidence, gained skills, behaved better at school, engaged with their community, and made new friends. They have also been enjoyed access to a wide range of good quality childcare, play and sports facilities.

This page gives an overview of and links to our learning in this area.

We have brought together our guidance on good practice in working with young people.

Fun and games

The New Opportunities for PE and Sport This is a summary of the fifth evaluation report for the New Opportunities for PE and sport programme. The evaluation is exploring the impact of the programme on partnership, ...
- 258KB programme is the UK’s largest single investment in PE and school sport, ever. It has improved 2,900 school sport facilities for pupils across the UK. As a result of this programme, participation in school sport has increased, with a greater choice of activities and better motivation to get involved.

Our Children's Play programme has widened access to play provision in England, and has notably offered children the chance to take part in riskier play.

Starting young

Nearly half a million young people aged 8-19 have got involved in activities we’ve funded, from summer camps and sports teams to theatre groups and homework clubs. Through programmes like Activities for Young People and  Positive Activities for Young People, Do it 4 Real and Splash Extra This report covers activities in 2002 and contains qualitative information on processes at the level of schemes and activities and an analysis of the part played by different ...
- 1,350KB, young people have developed skills, developed new relationships and had fun.

More recently, Improving Futures aims to give a better start to children growing up in families with multiple and complex needs.

Room to grow

Parents and carers also benefit from childcare facilities: with their children safely at play, they can work longer hours, or start a new career. Our Out-of-School-Hours Childcare programme created over half a million childcare places, with additional support to areas of disadvantage. The programme is credited with bringing about a step-change in the childcare sector throughout the UK.

Read more

You can find out more about how we have supported young people in some of our published research:

• Our Evaluating Young People’s Fund webpage, which includes findings on the impact of this programme on young people and communities.
• Reports from Activities for Young People, which aimed to help young people through transitions, notably relating to education and work.
• A summary report from the evaluation of our New Opportunities in PE and Sport This is a summary of the fifth evaluation report for the New Opportunities for PE and sport programme. The evaluation is exploring the impact of the programme on partnership, ...
  - 258KB programme, which funded a wide range of facilities from outdoor activity centers to new refurbished sports facilities in schools.
• A report highlighting the range of innovative approaches to play that have been created and delivered through our Playful Ideas BIG commissioned ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd to undertake research into the Playful Ideas programme. This research was conducted with a sample of 11 Playful Ideas proje...
  - 797KB programme and shares the learning from projects

What’s next?

Our experiences of funding projects for young people have helped us to develop new funding programmes. For example

• Youth in Focus is helping to support vulnerable young people in England through difficult changes in their lives
• Life Changes is transforming the life chances of young people in Scotland leaving care
• Reaching Out: Empowering Young People is supporting young people most at risk across Northern Ireland

Please contact us to find out more.