Manchester Young Lives

Manchester Young Lives Manchester Young Lives is a registered charity that works with children & young people in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Manchester.

About Us

Our work was originally centred on the development and management of adventure playgrounds in Ardwick, Moss Side, Hulme, and Wythenshawe. In recent years we have successfully developed a number of youth work and educational/training programmes, particularly targeted at children and young people at risk of social exclusion. The culmination of these efforts was the establishment of Manches

ter Young Lives Independent School in 2010. We believe the integration of play, confidence building, and education within an informal and supportive environment provides a genuine opportunity for early intervention with children and young people who are at risk of falling outside mainstream services and becoming involved in anti-social and risky behaviours. Our work includes
•Adventure playgrounds – Providing year-round after school and holiday open access play facilities for 5-14 year olds. A safe and supportive environment for children and families.
•Independent School – The A6, Moss Side and Wythenshawe Education Centres provide full time education provision for 14-16 year olds not attending mainstream school. Offering a broad and balanced curriculum and qualifications (including GCSE and Functional Skills), the school aims to support young people in the completion of their secondary education, and in taking the next steps to further learning and employment.
•Youth engagement projects – Based at four of our centres, these projects offer a range of centre based and outreach provision aimed at developing personal and social skills and supporting young people into education, training and employment
•A purpose built youth fitness centre in Ardwick. Funded by Sport England.

Meet the first of our Tough Mudders! 💪💪💪On the 10th of October, Caleb, alongside a team made up of MYL and Palatine sta...
08/09/2026

Meet the first of our Tough Mudders! 💪💪💪

On the 10th of October, Caleb, alongside a team made up of MYL and Palatine staff will take part in a 5k sponsored Tough Mudder challenge!

Every pound raised will support our Stepping Stones Appeal to redevelop the adventure playground at The Addy, our Wythenshawe centre.

Caleb has shared with us how he's getting on with the preparations for the big day, and even if he does feel a little underprepared, he seems quietly confident!

If you would like to sponsor Caleb as he takes on the Tough Mudder, and support the redevelopment of the Addy's beloved adventure playground, scan the QR code or follow the link to access our JustGiving page!

Link to our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/myl-campaign?utm_medium=CA&utm_source=CL

Our after school play sessions begin today at St. Paul's Church in Higher Blackley!🗓️ Sessions will now run every Monda...
07/09/2026

Our after school play sessions begin today at St. Paul's Church in Higher Blackley!

🗓️ Sessions will now run every Monday during term time from 3:30-5:30pm.

✨ Activities, games, arts & crafts, and a meal will be all be included.

Our play sessions at Higher Blackley are for children and young people aged 6-13, and are completely free of charge.


Summer playscheme in Wythenshawe! Here are just some of the activities that the children and young people in Wythenshawe...
03/09/2026

Summer playscheme in Wythenshawe!

Here are just some of the activities that the children and young people in Wythenshawe got up to over the summer. From den building to slime making, there is always something to get stuck in with!

Thanks so much to the children and young people who attended this summer, and to the amazing staff who made each session run smoothly.

Our term time play sessions will be running as normal in Wythenshawe from Monday to Friday (4-6pm)

Bridge Building in Wythenshawe! Equans made one last trip to our playscheme in Wythenshawe with their bridge building se...
01/09/2026

Bridge Building in Wythenshawe!

Equans made one last trip to our playscheme in Wythenshawe with their bridge building session. Children and young people, through trial and error, figured out the best way to build a tall tower, and create a bridge capable of supporting a tin of beans!

A huge thanks to Equans for their visits to our different centres, our children and young people really enjoyed the experience!

Throwback to playday! 🎉🎉🎉On the 5th of August, all of our adventure playgrounds celebrated national play day with their ...
27/08/2026

Throwback to playday! 🎉🎉🎉

On the 5th of August, all of our adventure playgrounds celebrated national play day with their own community days. Children, young people, their families and their carers were invited to our playgrounds for a day filled with games, DJs, bouncy castles, hot dogs and face painting.

Here are just some of the activities that went on at our Ardwick adventure playground that day!


A throwback to what our young people got up to over HAF!Last week, the children and young people at our A6 centre celebr...
25/08/2026

A throwback to what our young people got up to over HAF!

Last week, the children and young people at our A6 centre celebrated their last week of holiday playscheme with a paddling pool, a water fight and a specially created A6 Adventure cake!

A huge thanks to the staff who helped to run the play and youth sessions in Ardwick over this summer, your hard work and careful planning allowed sessions to run smoothly, while also being a lot of fun.

Thanks also to all of the children and young people who attended this summer, we hope to see you back again soon for our after school sessions!

Face painting at Wythenshawe 😊Take a look at what the children and young people got up to at our Wythenshawe centre duri...
24/08/2026

Face painting at Wythenshawe 😊

Take a look at what the children and young people got up to at our Wythenshawe centre during their last week of playscheme!

We've come to the end of summer playscheme ✨Here are just some of the best moments that have come out of a summer full o...
21/08/2026

We've come to the end of summer playscheme ✨

Here are just some of the best moments that have come out of a summer full of play!

Thanks so much to the children and young people who came to our sessions and thanks, of course, to the staff and volunteers that worked so hard to make everything happen!

Our termtime play sessions will resume from next week across our three centres. For more information, please visit our website.

Group 2 on yesterdays trip to BeWILDerwood, as you can see nothing but big smiles and summer fun!
21/08/2026

Group 2 on yesterdays trip to BeWILDerwood, as you can see nothing but big smiles and summer fun!

Fantastic trip to BeWILDerwood with young people from our Wythenshawe site. Thank you as always to Wood Street Mission w...
20/08/2026

Fantastic trip to BeWILDerwood with young people from our Wythenshawe site. Thank you as always to Wood Street Mission who continue to support our charity and help make these days happen.

Young people have made new friendships this summer and lasting memories, today they were able to create more memories through adventure play and we are always so grateful to share these experiences.

Address

Woodhouse Lane
Manchester
M229TF

Telephone

0161 437 5923

Website

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