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About Us

Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision
Every young person is supported and empowered to reach their potential

Our Mission
To provide a safe, fun, inclusive and nurturing space for young people to grow in confidence, develop skills and build resilience
 
Our Values

Respect – we listen and always act as role models
Teamwork – we communicate to connect and connect to communicate
Integrity – we are honest and hold each other to account

Our Strategy
Our 2025-2027 Strategy, “Young People at the Centre”, can be found here.

Who We Are

Unitas Youth Zone is part of a national network of youth zones built by the charity OnSide. Named by young people as “Unitas”, Unitas Youth Zone is an independent charity, with a purpose-built facility, located on Montrose Playing Fields in Burnt Oak, near to Grahame Park and Colindale, providing a safe and inspiring place to for Barnet’s and North London’s young people aged 8-19, and up to 25 with disabilities.

We run open access Youth Work sessions, six days a week, with over 20 activities on offer every single day. For £5 a year membership and 50p a visit, young people can access our whole range of activity and support, facilitated by our team of passionate and skilled Youth Workers.

As an OnSide Youth Zone, Unitas is built on the following foundations:

  • A private sector-led Board, heading up an independent local charity
  • A sustainable funding model
  • A four-way partnership between the private sector, local authority, young people and the community
  • A functional, inspirational building design based on how young people engage, socialise and participate

Every three months, we produce our Quarterly Update, highlighting events at Unitas, spotlight stories on our young people and our staff, and general updates. To view the latest Quarterly Update, click here.

Milestones

1889 Bolton Lads Club (later Bolton Lads and Girls Club) established and formed the earliest model of a Youth Zone

2006 Serial entrepreneur Bill Holroyd founded OnSide Youth Zones and spearheaded the development of the Youth Zone ‘model’ across the country

2011 The first Youth Zone, Carlisle Youth Zone, threw open its doors for young people

2015 A young people’s development group was formed by OnSide to lead on some key decisions of Barnet Youth Zone’s development

2016 Following a branding process and a borough-wide vote, the name ‘Unitas’ was chosen by young people. Unitas was founded as a charity and work began to raise the money to build the amazing building

2018 Construction began as part of a wider regeneration of Montrose and Silkstream parks

2019 On 23 June, Unitas Youth Zone opened as London’s second Youth Zone. Later in the year, young people from Unitas met with Prince Harry. Within our first six months, Unitas had supported over 5,000 members

2020 Unitas offered a digital ‘Youth Zone at Home’ offer while opening a food bank to support the local community during the pandemic

2021 Unitas is featured on CNN, focusing on how we support young people and their mental health

2022 Unitas is honoured to host a visit from Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England

2023 Unitas Youth Zone wins ‘Voluntary Sector or Charity of the Year’ at The Barnet Group Community Awards

2024 Unitas accredited with the Bronze Quality Mark from London Youth