NCS TRUST ANNOUNCES A NEW PROGRAMME FROM 2023 ONWARDS

• New programme will offer young people more opportunities and ways to get involved in NCS closer to home 
• The Trust is currently commissioning its new services for next year and a new network of partners
• From 2023, NCS Trust will award grants to local organisations to deliver community-based experiences, with applications opening in early 2023 

The National Citizen Service, which has successfully run youth programmes for over 10 years, has announced that it will transform the services it offers to young people from next year.

NCS will deliver a brand new suite of experiences for young people with a new network of local and youth sector partners to ensure that its services are even more relevant and accessible for young people, whilst delivering better value for money to taxpayers.

As part of the new NCS offer, young people will be in more control of their own NCS journey, being able to choose from up to three different types of experiences which will include a residential experience, community-based activities and online learning.

NCS will offer a new residential experience which will consist of a five day stay away from home where young people will take part in activities that centre around one of three themes; employability, independent living or social action. With a mix of fun, adventurous activities and skills for life, young people will have the opportunity to make new friends from many different locations and backgrounds. 

More young people will be able to take part in NCS closer to home next year with regular or one-off activities where they can gain new skills, learn more about their local community, and how they can help to improve it. 

To support this, and working closely with the National Youth Agency and Street Games, NCS will award grants to local organisations to deliver community-based experiences. Applications are expected to open in early 2023, and should align to one of the NCS outcome goals of employability, independent living or social action.

Grants will also be available for more bespoke experiences for groups of young people who may not otherwise engage in NCS. The new NCS delivery model for 2023 will help local organisations make an even bigger difference in their local communities. 

New to NCS, and to unlock the benefits and experience that the programme can offer to as many young people as possible, an exciting new range of online activities will be launched in 2023. Young people can complete these from the comfort of their own home, on a laptop or smartphone. 

These digital activities will be presented in a range of different online formats, from content they can consume at their own pace, to live group sessions where they discuss or debate an interesting topic and hear from experts. Each activity has the purpose of allowing young people to gain new skills.

More than 700,000 young people have taken part in NCS over the last decade, completing over 15 million hours of community based social action, and gaining priceless life experiences.

Mark Gifford, CEO of NCS Trust, said:

“I am very proud of the work we’ve done over the last year to reimagine and reshape our experiences for young people, and I’m excited for them to be available in the coming year. 

“NCS has delivered life-enhancing experiences to over 700,000 young people since its inception. Our new approach allows young people to engage with NCS in new ways, allowing us to reach more young people than ever before. 

“Everything we do is guided by our mission to create a country of confident, connected, caring citizens where everyone feels at home, while ensuring that our experiences contribute to our participants feeling more work-ready and world-ready in a post pandemic world.”

Stuart Andrew, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Civil Society, said:

“The Government’s National Youth Guarantee is designed to give young people the best start in life by providing access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities.”

“I’m delighted to support the National Citizen Service’s exciting new programme for 2023 which is making our guarantee a reality and allowing more young people than ever to develop skills for life while creating unforgettable memories.”