The budget measures growth in GDP. We measure growth in young people

On Wednesday, Rachel Reeves stood up with the famous red box and set out how she plans to grow Britain’s economy.

The numbers matter. But the leaders I speak to in schools, colleges and businesses are wrestling with a different question:

Are the young people in our care growing in confidence, skills and hope – or shrinking back?

She spoke about a “Budget for growth and fairness”, freezing income-tax and NI thresholds, raising the National Living Wage and promising more investment in skills and public services. There was welcome news for young people and employers too – including extra support for SME apprenticeships and a new Youth Guarantee for 18–21-year-olds out of work. But for the young people we see every week, these changes sit alongside something more immediate: rising costs for families, tighter wage bills for employers, and tough choices in school and college budgets.

The other budget that matters

Over the past year, we’ve seen young people arrive at our centres carrying more than rucksacks. 

They bring the weight of the cost of living crisis at home and the quiet worry that opportunities are shrinking. In schools and colleges, leaders tell us they’re cutting back on trips and enrichment because budgets simply won’t stretch – recent Sutton Trust polling suggests around half of school leaders are now reducing spending on trips and outings, the highest level since records began.

In workplaces, HR and Learning and Development Managers are under pressure to trim “non-essential” development, against a backdrop of employers cutting around £6 billion from their training spend compared with 2022.We also see the strain on the adults themselves – teachers, tutors and managers trying to hold young people up while juggling their own wellbeing.

Families are feeling it too. Surveys show that the vast majority of parents have cut back their spending because of the cost-of-living squeeze, with around two thirds now struggling to afford school trips or similar experiences for their children.

So while the Chancellor sets the national budget, there is another, quieter budget that belongs to you – whether you’re running a school, a college or an early careers training programme.

Three smart moves for 2026

1. Protect one real-world experience for every year group

When money is tight, residentials and training trips are often first to go. Yet for many young people, those are the moments that change the story: the first night away from home, the first time navigating a lake or a hillside, the first time someone says, “We’re trusting you with this.”

In 2026, could you make a simple promise?

Every year group, every apprentice intake, gets at least one sustained experience that takes them beyond their comfort zone.

Call it a residential, a project week, a journey – but protect it in your plans before it disappears.

2. Budget for confidence, not just qualifications

Reeves has rightly made growth, productivity and skills central themes, with new commitments on apprenticeships and a future Growth & Skills Levy. But those ambitions rely on something harder to measure: confidence, character and connection.

Teachers and employers tell us:

• “They know more than they think – they just don’t believe it.”
• “They struggle to work with people who aren’t like them.”

Those gaps don’t close with another worksheet. They close when young people face real challenges, fail safely, try again – and discover they are more capable than they thought.

Independent analysis of Outward Bound’s work shows that every £1 invested generates around £9 in social value – through better wellbeing, engagement, attainment and employability. In other words, developing confidence is not a luxury. It’s one of the smartest investments you can make.

3. Make every pound work twice

The young people who most need powerful experiences are often those least able to access them – whether they’re in school uniform or on an apprenticeship wage. Young people from lower-income families are still more likely to miss out on trips, residentials and enrichment because of the cost of travel, kit or time away from home.

If you’re in education:

• Blend core spend with Pupil Premium / Pupil Equity Funding and other targeted pots so residentials aren’t left to parental contribution alone.
• Use bursaries and match funding – from charities like ours and other partners – so cost isn’t the barrier for the pupils who would benefit most.
• Plan a multi-year cycle of experiences so families, funders and senior leaders can anticipate what’s coming and plan ahead.

If you’re an employer or early careers lead:

• Treat residentials and outdoor programmes as part of your learning, retention and wellbeing budget – not an optional away day.
• Look for ways to combine budgets – apprenticeship levy, early talent, CSR or community investment – so a single programme delivers value for people, performance and grows and enhances your ROI.

When you do this, every pound works twice: once for the young person who grows, and again for the wider community and economy that benefit when they thrive.

After the red box

Yesterday’s Budget contained real opportunities – extra support for SME apprenticeships, a Youth Guarantee for young adults out of work, and moves that should lift some children out of poverty – alongside real pressures: frozen tax thresholds, rising wage bills and continued strain on public finances that will be felt in school offices, college finance teams and HR departments across the country.

As a charity, we will keep making the case for outdoor learning and residentials to be part of the fabric of education and early careers, not an afterthought.

But the most important decisions for young people this week won’t be made in Westminster. They’ll be made in staff rooms, offices and HR meetings, as you sit with your own spreadsheets and ask:

Have we truly budgeted for our young people’s growth?

If you’d like to explore how residentials and behavioural development could be part of your 2026 plan – for a year group, an apprenticeship scheme or a graduate programme – my colleagues and I would be glad to help.

The government’s budget measures growth in GDP. You measure growth in young people. And when we put young people at the heart of our ambitions, anything is possible.