Youth Access

What Youth Access does

Youth Access is a UK national membership organization (registered charity no. 1042121) founded in 1975 that represents and champions community-based youth advice and counselling services. Its member network comprises 133 organizations delivering open-access, free, confidential support to young people aged 11-25 across the UK, collectively serving 399,876 young people annually and generating 58,061 visits to its national Service Directory. The organization is headquartered in Epsom with a seven-person operating team led by Chief Executive Cassandra Harrison and a Trustee Board chaired by Dan Mobbs. It was previously known as the National Association of Young People's Counselling and Advisory Services (NAYPCAS) before rebranding in 1993.

The organization's core product offering is the Youth Access Model, a framework defining shared purpose, values, and principles for youth advice and counselling services (formerly the YIACS model since 1998), operationalized through the Quality and Improvement Programme. The programme includes the Youth Access Quality Framework (launched 2025) and the aurora digital self-assessment tool (launching 2026-10), which together enable member hubs to score provision against national standards and build action plans. Supporting products include the searchable Service Directory, a Members Area portal hosting toolkits and webinars, five professional networking groups (CEO, Counselling, Communications, Advice and Drop-in, Income Generation), policy and research publications, and a Self-Assessment Tool.

Youth Access operates a diversified non-profit revenue model combining five tiered annual membership subscriptions (scaled to member organization income from under £50k to over £2m), donations, and grant funding from a roster of UK charitable trusts and foundations (The Blagrave Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Esmee Fairbairn, BBC Children in Need, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Youth Futures Foundation, The Aim Foundation, Global Dialogue) plus statutory funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care. The organization has secured £22 million in statutory funding for frontline member services through sustained policy advocacy and leads the Fund the Hubs coalition with Mind, YoungMinds, BACP, The Children's Society, and other national mental health bodies.

Name

Youth Access

Legal name

Youth Access

Website

https://youthaccess.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Youth Access is a UK national membership organization, founded 1975, representing 133 youth advice and counselling services that collectively support nearly 400,000 young people aged 11-25 annually through open-access, community-based support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Advisory and Counselling Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAFAN

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Community & Public Education Programs (Libraries, Community Centers)

SECONDARYEDAKANAJ

Benefits Counseling & Financial Literacy for Transition-Age Youth

Education/Special Education & Learning Support Services/Transition Services (Post-Secondary, Employment & Independent Living)

SECONDARYBPAGADAO

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Youth advice services
• Counselling network
• Membership organization
• Quality improvement programme
• Youth mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Epsom

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees for youth advice and counselling organizations, tiered based on annual organizational income (under £50k, up to £250k, up to £500k, up to £1-2m, over £2m)
2. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals supporting youth mental health and wellbeing services
3. Trust and Foundation Funding: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations including The Blagrave Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Youth Futures Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn, BBC Children in Need, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and The Aim Foundation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Youth Access is a UK-wide national membership organization that represents and champions youth advice and counselling services. It provides a shared framework (the Youth Access Model), a Quality and Improvement Programme (including the aurora digital self-assessment tool), professional networking groups, a national service directory for young people aged 11-25, and policy advocacy to secure statutory funding for member organizations.

Product overview

Youth Access is a national membership organization that offers a coordinated ecosystem of support services for youth advice and counselling. The core offering is the Youth Access Model framework, which defines standards for youth advice and counselling services. This is complemented by the Quality and Improvement Programme (including the aurora digital tool and self-assessment capabilities), professional networking groups, a members-only resource portal, a national service directory for young people, and publications including policy, practice, and research resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• aurora: A practical digital tool that transforms the Youth Access Quality Framework into a usable roadmap for hubs, enabling services to explore and score their provision, build action plans, and access insights and resources from the wider community.
• Quality and Improvement Programme

Products and services

• Youth Access Model Foundational framework outlining shared purpose, values, and principles for youth advice and counselling services delivered under one roof, used by member organizations to structure their service delivery.
• Quality and Improvement Programme Programme driving growth and development of advice and counselling services with a youth work ethos, including standards, self-assessment tools, improvement resources, and national mapping for member organizations.
• aurora Quality Improvement Tool Digital tool that transforms the Youth Access Quality Framework into a usable roadmap for hubs, enabling services to self-assess, build action plans, and connect with the wider community.
• Staff and Trustee Networks Five professional networks (Advice and Drop-in, CEO, Communications, Counselling, Income Generation) offering spaces for staff with similar responsibilities to connect and share learning among member organizations.
• Members Area Exclusive online portal providing members access to resources including the Local Influencing Library, Evaluation Bitesize videos, webinars, toolkits, workshops, and training materials.
• Service Directory National searchable directory enabling young people to find free, confidential youth advice and counselling services near them, with filters for types of support and location.
• Publications Policy, practice, and research publications including briefings, reports, frameworks, and evaluation findings supporting evidence-based practice in youth advice and counselling.
• Self-Assessment Tool A tool enabling services to evidence and benchmark their provision against Youth Access Quality Framework standards, helping funders and commissioners recognize impactful services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 88 young people participated in Youth Access work in 2025, with 100% feeling heard and included in youth social action pilot
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Scottish Youth ParliamentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future five-year programme coordinating young campaigners across UK nations.
• Children and Young People's Mental Health CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Fund the Hubs campaign advocating for national network of early support hubs.
• Centre for Mental HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign; supported Centre 33's flexible support pilot project.
• MindcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental health charity coalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign.
• The Children's SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign and joined forces in 2024 for advocacy work.
• YoungMindscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth mental health charity coalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign.
• Black ThrivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign focused on racial equity in mental health.
• BACPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy coalition partner in Fund the Hubs campaign.
• SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future programme supporting young people's mental health in Scotland.
• Promo CymrucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future programme supporting young people in Wales.
• HafalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future programme (part of Adferiad Recovery) in Wales.
• National Children's Bureau Northern IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future programme supporting young people in Northern Ireland.
• Royal College of PsychiatristsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional body partner in Our Minds Our Future programme.
• NHS Clinical Commissioners Mental Health NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Our Minds Our Future programme providing clinical commissioning perspective.
• Centre for Youth ImpactminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning partner in Our Minds Our Future programme providing impact measurement expertise.
• YOUnited PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal mental health partnership in Cambridge including Centre 33, two voluntary sector providers, and two NHS partners working to ensure easier access to services.
• VCS Leadership GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner42nd Street is part of this Greater Manchester group of 20+ organizations working strategically on mental health planning and delivery.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Youth Agency: UK-wide membership and standards body for youth work and services. Operates a similar network-of-members model for the youth sector and is a natural comparator as both organizations champion community-based youth provision.
• UK Youth: National membership organization for youth organisations across the UK. Closely comparable in mission (community-based youth services), funding model (trusts/foundations), and advocacy posture.
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): UK membership body for counsellors and psychotherapists. Already a coalition partner with Youth Access on Fund the Hubs, BACP shares the membership-driven model for the counselling profession and overlapping end-user populations.
• The Mix: UK charity providing free, confidential information and support for under-25s on mental health, money, housing, and relationships. Comparable direct-to-young-person service model with similar mission to Youth Access members.

Broad incumbents

• YoungMinds: Leading UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health. A Fund the Hubs coalition partner, YoungMinds operates at significantly larger scale with direct service, campaigns, and policy work that overlaps Youth Access's mission.
• The Children's Society: Major national charity providing direct support to vulnerable children and young people across the UK. Joined forces with Youth Access in 2024 for joint advocacy and serves overlapping beneficiary populations.
• Mind: Largest mental health charity in England and Wales. Coalition partner on Fund the Hubs with overlapping mission on young people's mental health, though operating at much larger scale with direct service delivery.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): Largest membership body for the UK voluntary sector. Comparable membership-driven infrastructure model and represents a broader category of charities including Youth Access's own member organizations.

Emerging players

• Centre for Mental Health: UK mental health think tank and research charity. Coalition partner on Fund the Hubs and provides research/evaluation support — a comparable but smaller-scale, research-led organization with overlapping subject matter focus.

Regional players

• Adferiad Recovery: Welsh mental health charity (parent of Hafal) participating in the Our Minds Our Future programme. Comparable in mission but primarily serving Wales — illustrates how Youth Access's network extends across the UK's devolved health jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@youth.access
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youthaccess
• Instagraminstagram.com/youthaccess
• TikToktiktok.com/@youthaccess

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth Access