Young Start Annual Report 2025

This report sets out how Young Start funding was distributed over the past year and the difference it's making to children and young people across Scotland.

What Young Start funding achieved in 2024/25

In 2024/25, Young Start funded £8.9 million of activity across 105 youth-led projects in 25 local authority areas. This is the highest number of funded projects in a single year since the programme began.

These projects work with thousands of children and young people aged between 8 and 24. Many face poverty, caring responsibilities, disability, trauma, displacement, or social isolation.

Children and young people helped to develop the projects. These youth-led activities ranged from youth clubs, arts and sport to mentoring, leadership development and peer support.

Young Start funding helped children and young people to:

• improve their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing
• build stronger connections with their communities
• gain skills, confidence and experience that support education, employment and volunteering