Policy & Practice: Briefing - Manifesto to help today's 'bored'youth

OK - first of all, who's behind this? Well it's an initiative of 4Children, backed with funding from Nestle. The review team was an independent body chaired by former MP Oona King and included young people and practitioners, academics and policymakers. The latter ranged from veteran youth service supporter Lord Northbourne to Flo Armstrong, head of Barnet Youth and Connexions Service, Leon Feinstein of the Institute of Education and Viv McKee of The National Youth Agency.

And what was the focus? To consider the lives of young people and what kind of support they need. It starts off by recording the big picture of social change for young people - the dramatic changes in family structure and work patterns that mean many young people don't get the kind of extended family or community care and support available to previous generations. They spend more time on their own and with friends - sometimes in "gangs" - and face more bullying and peer pressure. For some there's drugs, poverty and so on. It's a more frenetic and complex world and there's a lack of people to help young people deal with it.