Rewriting the story: Why youth provision in Knowsley matters more than ever
Tue 9 Jun, 2026
The question that sits at the heart of the challenge facing youth provision is: “How do we expect young people to believe [Knowsley] is getting better if all they hear are the old stories?”. Even though it is largely about funding buildings, food and activities or staffing sessions, the struggle to keep youth clubs open is also about narrative, trust and time.
For decades, places like Knowsley have been defined by others. Generations of young people have grown up hearing a consistent story about where they’re from; one that too often focuses on what’s missing, rather than what’s possible. So, when new opportunities begin to emerge, when investment finally arrives, when organisations open their doors and say “this is for you”, we cannot expect immediate belief. Change takes time.
Over the past five to seven years, we’ve begun to see a genuine shift. National investment in arts, culture and local infrastructure is finally reaching places like Knowsley. At Shakespeare North Playhouse, we feel that shift every day – we exist because of it. But here’s the challenge: how do you convince a 14-year-old that “things are changing” when, for their entire life, they’ve heard the opposite?
The idea that “you build it, they will come” does not always hold, especially not in communities like ours. The reality is more complex. If you build it, they might come, but only with the right support, guidance, invitation and, crucially, time.
When young people are invited into buildings like ours and clubs like Toni’s, trust has to be (re-)built. Confidence has to be nurtured. A new story has to be told, and retold, until it starts to feel real.
If the narrative about your place has always been the same, then organisations like ours have a responsibility to help change it, to edit the story, and, with a little help from the world’s most well-known playwright – remembering that what’s past is prologue – invite people into a new one.
Youth clubs, cultural venues and community spaces are not just services, they are storytellers. They are where young people encounter a different version of their borough: one filled with opportunity, creativity, careers and futures rooted in where they are from. But that story cannot come with conditions. It cannot feel fragile, temporary or transactional.
We cannot say to young people: “Use it or lose it.”
We have to say: “When you’re ready, we’ll be here.”
That means free, open access. It means consistent provision across the borough. It means creating spaces where young people can explore their identity, challenge perceptions and develop pride in their place. It means parents, professionals and the press working together to shift the narrative, not just in headlines, but in everyday conversations. It’s giving young people the chance to define what it means to be from their corner of Knowsley, supported by real opportunity, resource and belief.
Because the truth is, change is happening. There are shows to see, music and comedy to experience, youth clubs to join, skills to develop and careers to imagine. There is investment and belief building in Knowsley happening right now. But for that change to take root in the hearts and minds of young people, it has to be sustained.
This is not a quick fix. It requires long-term commitment, from local and national government, from funders, from industry partners. It requires patience to let new narratives bed in and the willingness to listen to what young people want and need. Above all, it requires us to recognise that youth provision is not a luxury, it is the foundation of lasting change.
If we want young people to see Knowsley differently, we have to show them, again and again, that this new story is real, that it belongs to them, and that it’s here to stay because they are important.
(Written in early 2026 as a reaction to Jessica Murray’s article ‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley.)
