The National Citizen Service (NCS) Trust has announced it is going to offer year-round activities for young people in 2023.
The move marks a major change for the NCS, created in 2011 by then Prime Minister David Cameron to focus on summer and autumn residential programmes for 16- to 17-year-olds.
Under the overhauled provision, the residential experience of NCS will be revamped to span five days and four nights rather than its traditional offer of a one- to-two-week stay within a four-week programme.
Other options will include one-off community-based activities and online learning, and there will also be a strong focus on employability and independent living in addition to social action and volunteering.
It will be assessed “in a way that will be recognised by society, employers and educators”, according to NCS Trust chief executive Mark Gifford.
Creating “more bespoke experiences”, particularly for those who “may not otherwise engage in NCS”, is a main factor in the transformation, according to the trust.
This could see it significantly expand the number of those taking part on 2021/22's figures, when more than 600,000 young people participated in its programme – the same as pre-pandemic levels in 2019/20.
Delivering programmes amid a cut in funding is also a factor. The government's youth policy review in March committed £171m in investment in the NCS over the next three years, while at its peak the service received £180m annually.
Another is young people's changing needs post pandemic, particularly around employability, says Gifford.
“Young people told us they wanted choice and programmes to focus on independence, employability, building skills that are practical and support with volunteering and social action,” he adds.
Almost nine out of 10 of the 1,000 young people aged between 16 and 19 the trust surveyed last year wanted to learn a new skill and gain experience of work. Two-thirds wanted to help their local communities through volunteering and social action.
Meanwhile, findings from a survey of 6,000 young people published in this year's DCMS Youth Review also highlighted the importance of volunteering opportunities, which they cited as one of their top priorities for youth services.
This survey also found that residential trips continue to be important to young people, with “adventures away from home” named another priority.
Residential offer
Shortening the residential trip will reduce administration costs and enable the NCS to maintain the “adventures away” element amid reduced funding.
Under its previous set up, NCS delivery was divided into nine regions, with four management partners and the NCS Trust directly managing programmes in London, the North East and the South West.
Instead, just two regions – North and South – will be created for 2023 “which removes the layers involved”, says Gifford.
This could see the NCS work with two partners, one for each region, and expected to manage their own network of providers, but “the procurement process may result in one partner leading in both regions and that if this represented value for money for the taxpayer, we would be supportive of this”, he adds.
Critics have questioned whether the shortened programme and residential element of the NCS offer will dilute its effectiveness and value.
Gifford is confident it won't. He says that “some young people were disengaging” when programmes with a residential element last weeks.
The NCS has since run shorter programmes. Its offer in 2022, the first year post Covid, spanned five days within a two-week programme. Gifford says that “young people taking part got the same out of those as they would” over a longer number of weeks.
Community activities
Gifford says that those on the new shorter residential courses from 2023 will be encouraged to take their “participation further and take part in community activities”.
This community element of the revamped NCS is being developed in partnership with Street Games and the National Youth Agency, and in 2023 an application process will launch to fund locally-based programmes.
A total of £20m is to be made available, through two-year grants to local providers. Gifford says offering grants for two years rather than one “gives providers peace of mind around their funding”.
Charities, community interest companies and voluntary groups will be expected to apply, he says.
“This is focused on grass roots involvement. That local level involvement is important to this,” he says, adding that “we have already had hundreds of organisations contact us wanting to apply”.
Role for digital
Applications for funding to provide digital initiatives will also open in 2023. According to Gifford, around 75 providers have already registered an interest.
What will be offered “is not school online”, Gifford says, adding: “Young people were clear they do not want a version of how school was online during the pandemic.”
He says: “What they want is more in-depth, immersive and social activities.
“This could be an escape room online; it could be having guest speakers coming in. The World Cup is going on. Wouldn't it be good to get someone like Harry Kane to give a talk?”
Research by the NCS with underrepresented groups found that “accessibility and convenience of being able to access activities from home was appealing, particularly for those who might feel more anxious”, adds an NCS spokesperson.
This found that eight out of 10 young people said “they would be likely to take part in digital experiences”, the spokesperson adds.
Mixed response
Youth sector experts have given a cautious welcome to the new direction for NCS.
Paul Oginsky, a former adviser to Cameron and chief executive of youth mutual Vibe UK, says the year-round offer will “make NCS much easier to deliver and draw in more smaller providers”.
Another benefit is that the “digital programmes will allow young people from rural areas to benefit and connect with other young people”, adds Oginsky.
But he fears the revamped NCS “loses the shared experience” of its previous longer residential trip.
If the revamped NCS is to be a success, Oginsky hopes its relationship with providers is “as a partnership model” based around “pushing funds to the frontline”, with five-year commissions and cutting reporting involved.
Young Voices Heard director James Cathcart also welcomes the year-round offer as it “puts the individual young person at the centre, in control of their choice of experiences”.
In addition, the mix of residential, community and digital programmes lends itself “to closer integration with youth work services and its associated support” to target young people who would most benefit from NCS, he adds.
He wonders though whether the NCS's new focus on employability and independent living may prompt a review of the trust's charter, which focuses on projects that benefit society and enhance skills including teamwork.
Gifford says that “being work ready” is already an existing goal of programmes and offered assurances that the offer has been checked with the DCMS, Treasury and lawyers.
Of the three main elements of the new NCS, Cathcart believes residential programmes are “not just popular but memorable” and warns that a “digital experience cannot replace the same bonding and social benefits of coming together”.
But he stressed it was important for NCS to focus on “whether the evaluation of outcomes are as positive for young people while delivering the same value for money as the original design”.
One benchmark of success will be the NCS's success in engaging young people who are most in need of support, adding that open access youth centres can help “mobilise youth work support to those who need it”.
Could the NCS expand even further beyond 2023? Cathcart suggests its core age could be expanded further and perhaps it could even be “renamed the National Youth Service alongside other co-ordinated youth services”.
CASE STUDY
GROUNDWORK LONDON PROJECT SHOWS BENEFIT OF MIXED NCS EXPERIENCE
By Emily Harle
A group of young people from the Camden School for Girls planned and researched a community project to help elderly residents with dementia as part of their National Citizen Service (NCS) project.
The teenagers created fidget blankets – patchwork quilts made from different materials, textures and objects that are designed to trigger memories and stimulate senses – which they gifted to elderly residents with dementia at Ash Court Care Centre in Kentish Town.
They began the creative project by sourcing materials from friends and family, and their school's design and technology department, followed by an afternoon spent sewing their blankets at Parliament Hill Bandstand on Hampstead Heath.
The young people also created posters to encourage passers by to join the project, which several members of the public did.
The next day, they gifted their blankets to elderly residents at Ash Court Care Centre.
The young people researched and planned the community project after a team and skills building residential experience, which according to 17-year-old Kitty Connolly “allowed me to challenge my fears and push my boundaries with not just activities but meeting new people”.
She added: “The social action project has opened my eyes to social issues and has allowed me to fight for a difference in a way that I know best through my creative outlets.
“Knowing that I am making a difference, even if only for a day, is an indescribably rewarding feeling.”
The group's NCS team leader, Nour Khalaf, said: They managed to make compromises throughout the project when they encountered challenges, which showed their determination to see their project to the end.”
The experience was delivered by Groundwork, a federation of charities which provides community action opportunities for people across the UK. Groundwork is currently the largest provider of NCS in London. It is yet to announce plans for its 2023 delivery.
