Derby Youth Alliance: Children and Young People’s Network Meeting – December 2025
- Admin
- Dec 24, 2025
- 2 min read
Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting our December 2025 Youth Alliance Children and Young People’s Network (YA/CYPN) meeting at the Pakistan Community Centre. It was a wonderful way to round off the year, bringing together over 50 professionals from a wide range of organisations that support children and young people across Derby.
We kicked off with a warm welcome from Community Action Derby’s Helen Britten, Programme Lead for the Youth Alliance, whilst attendees enjoyed a wide selection of treats and samosas kindly provided by Amjad Ashraf from Community One.
Guest Speaker Presentations
We were delighted to welcome Catherine Atkinson, MP for Derby North and Baggy Shanker, MP for Derby South, who shared updates and responded to concerns regarding safety in Derby City centre. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding of the measures expected to be introduced in 2026 to address these concerns.
Following this discussion, Andrew Ling from Derby City Council’s Youth Justice Service joined us via Microsoft Teams. He provided valuable insights for our attendees, highlighting key changes to the Youth Justice system expected during 2025–26.
To conclude the speaker sessions, Charlotte Drewett from British Cycling gave a brief overview of their Derby City Academy programme. It was inspiring to hear about the programme’s aims and how it will support young people aged 11–14 to engage with cycling.
Performance and Break
We were thrilled to welcome the Poss-Abilities Dance and Fitness group who showcased their incredible dancing and singing talents. They performed four fantastic dance routines, along with a moving solo performance of Hallelujah. For their final number, they had many of our members up on their feet joining in with the last dance, which brought a lot of joy! A massive thank you to Lorraine Raithby, without whom this could have not been possible.
Informal Marketplace and Networking
Attendees also had the opportunity to showcase their work through a marketplace, and to engage in some networking. The marketplace generated some excellent discussions and served as a great reminder of the impact we can achieve together through partnership and shared commitment to children and young people across Derby. A huge thank you to all our stallholders for taking part.
Next steps…
Our next YA/CYPN meeting will take place in March 2026 (date and venue to be confirmed). We look forward to seeing you there!
For more information about the Youth Alliance Children and Young People’s Network, or to get involved, please visit: Derby Youth Alliance – CYPN.
