News & Events | YouthLink Scotland

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Featured News & Events

Youth Work: A Vital Part of the Solution

Watch a recent BBC Scotland Sunday Show which discussed the rise in knife crime, youth violence and antisocial behaviour. On the show, Tim Frew, CEO YouthLink Scotland, the national agency for youth work and Angela Constance, Scotland’s Justice Secretary.

National Youth Work Awards 2025

A huge congratulations to our newest array of National Youth Work Awards winners! Meet the faces and the teams behind some of the very best youth work in Scotland.

National Youth Work Conference 2025

This year’s National Youth Work Conference will take place in Glasgow on Monday 27th October. The theme is Safe Spaces, Strong Futures – Youth Work’s Role in Safeguarding Young People and Promoting Wellbeing. Save the date and find out more…

Nae Danger: No Knives, Better Lives New Active Bystander Package

We’re excited to announce the launch of our refreshed Nae Danger Active Bystander Package – a practical, youth-led resource designed to help practitioners support young people in taking safe, confident action when they witness harm or risk in their communities.

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New Sextortion Education Resource

Fearless has launched a new Scotland-wide education resource, aimed at helping young people better understand, recognise and respond to sextortion.

Topic: Crime, Digital Youth Work
Date: 26 June, 2025

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Group of young people playing in a park

The theme for Playday 2025 is ‘Spaces for Play’. This exciting UK-wide celebration takes place on Wednesday, 6th of August 2025, and highlights the important role play has in children’s development, wellbeing, and connection to their communities and culture.

Topic: Leisure & Recreation, Outdoor Learning
Date: 25 June, 2025

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Disclosure of Childhood Criminal Convictions

From 1st April 2025, new rules under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 mean that most convictions made during childhood will no longer need to be shared when applying for most jobs. The changes aim to reduce the long-term impact of early mistakes and give young people a better chance to move forward with their lives. Clan Childlaw has published a new briefing paper explaining how recent changes to the law affect young people with criminal records.

Topic: Child Protection
Date: 25 June, 2025

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Children and AI: Teaching Pack

Children’s Parliament, the Scottish AI Alliance and The Alan Turing Institute are proud to launch a free, practical teaching resource that helps introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a way that is engaging, age-appropriate and grounded in children’s human rights.

Topic: Digital Youth Work
Date: 25 June, 2025

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National Improvement Framework Attainment and Health and Wellbeing Measures 2025

This report summarises evidence around improvement in attainment and health and wellbeing, and the gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas. It draws on analysis of quantitative data based on the core measures for monitoring progress on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

Topic: Education, Skills & Employability, Health & Wellbeing, Poverty
Date: 25 June, 2025

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YouthLink Scotland Training Report 2024-25

It’s been another successful year of training delivery within YouthLink Scotland, delivering 3,851 learning places on key themes that matter to the sector and young people. Check out our Training Report for 2024-25 to find out more.

Topic: Training & Development
Date: 25 June, 2025

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Young people eating school lunch

Free School Meals Expansion

This trial phase of the free school meals programme will see S1 to S3 pupils in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, who attend selected schools in eight local authority areas, receive a nutritious and healthy meal.

Topic: Health & Wellbeing, Poverty
Date: 23 June, 2025

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How Does the Education Reform Agenda Align with Scotland’s Biggest Priorities?

The report – the first analysis of its kind – is entitled ‘Gaps, overlaps, and challenges’ and calls for the realignment of education skills policy in Scotland if the country is to maximise the progress it can make. The results reveal how education and skills policy can be better integrated across national priorities to tackle longstanding societal challenges and secure a strong future.

Topic: Education, Skills & Employability
Date: 23 June, 2025

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Disability Equality Plan

The Disability Equality Plan has been developed in co-production with three core funded Disabled People's Organisations. The plan reflects a government wide commitment to ensure that the voices and experiences of disabled people meaningfully considered from the outset of policy making.

Topic: Equality
Date: 23 June, 2025

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Curriculum, Qualifications and Assessment Reform – Progress to Date and Next Steps

Scotland is making important changes to its curriculum, qualifications and assessment system to better support children and young people from ages 3 to 18. The document provides an initial timeline to give clarity to partners and practitioners across the education and skills system.

Date: 23 June, 2025

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Learning from 25 years of Preventative Interventions in Scotland

Within Scotland, there has been a long standing interest in preventative approaches. This report includes 15 case studies of successful preventative interventions introduced in Scotland since devolution and draws together overarching observations.

Topic: Prevention & Early Intervention
Date: 19 June, 2025

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More Support for Care-experienced Young People

The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill proposes extending the aftercare support currently available for 16-to-26 year olds who were in care on their 16th birthday to those who had left care before that point – including providing help with accommodation, education, employment and wellbeing.

Topic: Care
Date: 18 June, 2025

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