The Launch: Contextual Youth Work Research Report

We are proud to share the launch of our Contextual Youth Work Research Report, a collaborative study developed by Dr Elaine Williams (University of Greenwich) in partnership with the Reaching Higher team.

The report explores how community context shapes young people’s experiences and outcomes and serves as an important first call to action for understanding and embedding Contextual Youth Work in Croydon.

At its heart, this research reinforces a truth many of us working alongside young people already know: no single service, organisation, or professional can do this work alone. Young people move through families, schools, peer groups, areas, digital spaces, and institutions every day. To truly support them, our responses must be just as connected. 

Contextual Youth Work challenges communities, systems, and organisations to move beyond silos, share responsibility, and build relationships that place young people at the centre of a collective effort, rather than the margins of fragmented services.

To mark the launch, we held an event at Croydon College bringing together practitioners and community members from across the borough. A huge thank you to our panel speakers Dr Elaine Williams, Natasha Reynolds, Diana Korczynska, Gavin English, and members of the Reaching Higher team for sharing realistic and reflective insights drawn from both lived experience and professional practice in supporting young people.

The report is now available digitally : https://www.reachinghigher.org.uk/contextual-youth-work

We encourage you to read the report, share it within your networks, and join the conversation on how we collectively strengthen contextual approaches to supporting young people in Croydon.