Youth workers across Scotland are being invited to explore ‘Growing Up and Masculinities: A Space to Be’ a bold new set of resources designed specifically for children aged 8–12 as part of No Knives Better Lives’ Imagine a Man, YouthLink Scotland’s long-running programme promoting positive masculinity and gender equality.
This new age-appropriate toolkit is a direct response to practitioners who said loud and clear: we need to start earlier. With growing concerns about harmful gender norms taking root in childhood—and a wider public conversation shaped by figures like Gareth Southgate urging boys to talk about emotions, the Netflix series Adolescence showing how early pressures start, and politicians like Keir Starmer backing prevention work—this resource arrives not as a knee-jerk reaction, but a grounded, evidence-based intervention.
YouthLink Scotland has spent the last four years developing and testing the Imagine a Man programme with communities, youth workers, and young people. These new resources for upper primary-aged children are built around storytelling, creativity, play, and critical thinking—giving children the tools to challenge stereotypes and imagine new ways of being a boy, a girl, or anything in between.
But this isn’t just about boys. The programme is rights-based and rooted in a vision of a gender-equal society, benefiting girls and young women just as much as their male peers. By addressing masculinity in a thoughtful, inclusive way, it helps create safer, kinder and more respectful spaces for everyone.
Youth workers play a vital role in shaping this next generation’s outlook. With the right tools, we can support boys to be emotionally literate, respectful and resilient—before the pressures of adolescence really kick in.
For those ready to start meaningful conversations with younger children about gender, identity and relationships, the Imagine a Man primary-age resources are here, and they’re ready for you.
To find out more and download the new resources as well as the original toolkit, visit Imagine a Man.