I'm going to be looking at this from the Royal Navy's perspective, as that is what the sources I have available cover in most detail. Answering this is somewhat complex, since British thinking on the use of light forces changed in the lead-up to the war, and again after the Battle of Jutland. The pre-war commander of the Home Fleet, Admiral George Callaghan, was a strong advocate for the use of destroyers in an offensive role against the enemy battlefleet. His successor, Admiral John Jellicoe (who led the Grand Fleet during the first three years of the war) was more cautious, and chose to position his destroyers to protect the battleline against German torpedo attacks. After Jutland, though, his thinking returned to the more agressive role, which was continued by his successor, David Beatty. Since you want to know about Jutland, though, I'll focus on the initial period of Jellicoe's command, from August 1914-November 1916.

When he took control of the Grand Fleet in August 1914, Jellicoe was faced with a large fleet, but one that could not guarantee supremacy in terms of light units. The Germans had a fairly large destroyer force. Their torpedoes posed a great threat to the RN's battleships, as the battleships lacked effective underwater protection. The RN's light cruisers were, mostly, built to engage German destroyers, but Jellicoe felt he had too few of these to be sure of defeating the German destroyer force. As such, he chose to retain his destroyers close to the battlefleet, to fight off their German counterparts. The light cruisers were put in similar positions, while the heavier armoured cruisers were placed to support the light cruisers and threaten the flanks of the German battlefleet.

Jellicoe's tactics were described for the battlefleet in the Grand Fleet Battle Orders (GFBOs). These were circulated throughout the fleet in August 1914, and updated as the RN encountered new threats or received new ships and equipment. These describe, in detail, the role of the Grand Fleet's cruisers and destroyers, as well as the battleships. The GFBOs assume that the fleet was protected by five destroyer flotillas, and prescribed places for them when the fleet deployed into line. One destroyer flotilla would be positioned three miles ahead of the battleline. A second would be positioned level with this one, on the side furthest from the enemy. The third flotilla was to be 1.5 miles ahead of this one. The fourth and fifth flotillas would be to the rear, three and four miles behind the last ship in the battleline. They would be positioned closer to the enemy, out of the smoke of the British battleline. If the Battlecruiser Force (BCF) was in its station at the head of the battlefleet, then its two destroyer flotillas would take up positions ahead of it. One flotilla would be a mile ahead of the battlecruisers, the other 2.5 miles ahead, offset towards the enemy.

Each destroyer flotilla had one-two light cruisers acting as the flotilla flagships and in a supporting role, but there were also independent light cruiser squadrons. One of these would be positioned at either end of the battleline. The one at the bow of the line would be positioned a mile ahead of the first destroyer flotilla, the other ~2 miles behind the last ship in the battleline. One armoured cruiser squadron would be placed ahead of the bow light cruiser squadron, slightly further away from the enemy, while another would follow the last light cruiser squadron, bringing up the rear of the battlefleet. Three more light cruiser squadrons would be deployed ahead of the BCF, in front of the destroyer flotillas.

Several destroyers and cruisers were not part of any flotilla or squadron, but were instead attached to the battlefleet. Each battle squadron had a destroyer attached to it. This destroyer would take up station slightly ahead of the squadron flagship, about a mile away on the opposite side of the squadron from the enemy. These destroyers were there to provide assistance to damaged ships, or for opportunistic attacks on disabled enemy ships. Five light cruisers were also attached to the Grand Fleet, three to the main battlefleet, one to the fast battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron and one to the obsolete pre-dreadnoughts of the 3rd Battle Squadron. These were there to repeat flag signals from the flagship, ensuring that the commanders of each battle squadron and division received important messages. The cruisers were stationed abeam of the squadron flagships, again on the opposite side to the enemy.