News & thoughts

In this final blog, Bethia McNeil reflects on the lessons and legacy of YMCA George Williams College.

Dr Peggy Warren and Catherine Mitchell share their final reflections on the E4P project, calling on youth sector partners to engage with the learning that has been shared and to work collaboratively, centring young people and practitioners, to improve demographic data practices.

The Trustees of YMCA George Williams College have taken the decision to close the charity, with operations ceasing from 31 March 2025.

We spoke to Doncaster Children's University to find out how they have been implementing the College's measurement tools.

NCS Trust, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Centre for Young Lives - with support from YMCA George Williams College and Leeds Beckett University - have partnered to explore the evidence linking participation in enrichment activities to improved academic attendance.

The first in this series, we spoke to YMCA Heart of England who have been implementing the College's measurement tools to streamline their data processes and tailor their organisation's services for young people.

The College's Dom Weinberg ponders what the impact would be if we ceased evaluation in youth work.

We're looking for evidence of youth voice activity to feature in a brand new Youth Voice Observatory, coming this autumn!

Continuing the series, we spoke to Stratford Youth Collective who have been using the College's Quality Practice Tool, Youth Engagement Survey, and Young People's Survey to improve the quality and participation within their provision.

YMCA George Williams College is proud to unveil its latest training offer, an exclusive support package for all those working with and for young people across the YMCA Federation.

Announcement: YMCA George Williams College has today announced a new sector-wide alliance, bringing together leading voices and practices in shared measurement to evidence the impact of quality youth work.

The College's Head of Research and Evaluation Liz Phillips shares learning on 'positive masculinity', an innovative approach driving forward critical support for boys and young men.

In this blog, Sophie Payne shares examples of how the team at Student Hubs have worked towards achieving the College’s Impact and Improvement Standards, and how the standards can support intentional design, delivery, and learning practices.

For National Storytelling Week, Catherine Mitchell and Hannah Warsame explore the relationship between storytelling and data collection, and our duty towards the stories that sit behind our data.

In this read, Bethia McNeil looks back at ten years of the Centre for Youth Impact, looks forward to new beginnings, and explores evaluation’s shift from the ‘marginal’ to the ‘mainstream’. 

We are thrilled to announce the expansion of the YMCA George Williams College Regional and National Impact Networks, welcoming Youth Scotland and Youth Cymru to our existing peer network across the UK.