Ygam

🏆 We are delighted to have won the Making an Impact Award at the Esri UK Customer Success Awards 2026.

We’ve been recognised for how we’ve used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to transform the way we map and measure our reach, helping us understand where our programmes are supporting young people, how this aligns with local risk, and where we can target our work to achieve the greatest impact.

By combining data and insight in this way, we’re strengthening how we plan, deliver, and evidence our work to better support children and young people.

Congratulations to all the other winners and finalists! 🎉

📣 We have been awarded £3 million in Government funding under the prevention strand of the new statutory levy, covering the two-year period from 2026 to 2028.

The funding, allocated by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), will enable us to continue building on the impact of our gambling harm prevention programmes over the past decade.

Working alongside schools, families, and communities, our work centres on education and early intervention to safeguard children and young people across England.

👉 Read our press release: https://ow.ly/1x7A50YY9LN

🩺 Happy International Nurses Day! We’re proud to train and support nurses every week and to play a part in the work they do with children and young people.

Whether you’re working in a clinic, school, or wider healthcare setting, our evidence-based training equips you with the knowledge and practical tools to:

✅ Identify early signs of gaming and gambling-related harms
✅ Apply strategies for intervention and support
✅ Confidently support conversations with children and young people
✅ Make effective referrals to appropriate support pathways

👉 Access our specialist training today: ygam.org/training/health-social-care

🧠 This Mental Health Awareness Week, the theme is all about taking actions to improve mental health. It’s a reminder that we don’t need to do everything at once, even small, everyday actions can make a real difference to how we feel and how we support others.

Let’s turn awareness into action this week. Here are 10 small actions we can all take 👇

🏖️ 1. Plan something to look forward to.
🍏 2. Eat well
🌳 3. Get closer to nature
🛌 4. Get good sleep
🎨 5. Get creative
🏃‍♂️ 6. Move regularly
💡 7. Try mindfulness
📞 8. Make time for friends
💜 9. Be kind
🗣️ 10. Talk things over with someone you trust

Discover more information and free resources here: https://ow.ly/qKfT50YXvFh

📣 We’re recruiting for two key leadership roles to join our team and help shape the future of our work as the UK’s leading charity dedicated to preventing gaming and gambling harms among children and young people.

🌟 Director of Income Generation
🚨 Closing date: 18 May 2026 at 9am

🌟 People and Culture Director (part-time)
🚨Closing date: 18 May 2026 at 9am

If you have the expertise, skills and experience to help advance our social purpose, we would love to hear from you!

👉 Apply now: https://ygam.org/join-our-team/

↗️ Scale matters, and we’re proud of it. But what matters more is what that reach represents.

It means millions of young people now have the knowledge, understanding and confidence to lead safer digital lives and build resilience to gaming and gambling harms.

Behind that number is an incredible, supportive network of schools, colleges, universities, community groups, sports clubs and many others who help deliver our shared social purpose.

✍️ GUEST BLOG: Megan, one of our Volunteer Student Ambassadors, explores the influence that social media has on student gambling behaviour, including the insidiousness and impact of gambling advertising on students.

🔗 Read Megan's blog here: https://ygam.org/blog/the-influence-of-social-media-on-student-gambling-behaviour/

✍️ GUEST BLOG: Maya, one of our Volunteer Student Ambassadors, takes a closer look at the intersection between the current cost of living crisis, mental health, and student gambling behaviours.

🔗 Read Maya’s blog here: https://ow.ly/q8Fb50YMPpH

📵 We join leading voices from the education sector in welcoming the Government’s plan to introduce a legal ban on smartphones in schools in England.

While mobile phones clearly have value for young people outside of school, teachers and parents consistently report that they are more disruptive than beneficial within the school environment.

This is not about resisting technology. It is about getting the conditions right during the school day so that learning, focus and social development are prioritised.