We at YPAS have welcomed a major parliamentary inquiry into children and young people’s mental health, with our frontline practitioners highlighting the critical role of community-based Early Support Hubs – and the urgent need for proper resourcing.
The Education Committee and Health and Social Care Committee jointly launched the inquiry to investigate mental health support for young people aged 0-25 across education, health and community settings. The written evidence phase has now closed, with oral sessions underway.
Grace’s story: “I am an example of what a young person can achieve”
Grace Ward, a Trainee Children and Young Person’s Wellbeing Practitioner here at YPAS, submitted evidence – both as a practitioner and as a young person with lived experience of the mental health system. She first accessed support from a Liverpool Early Support Hub a decade ago, aged 12.
Grace describes the hub’s “open-door nature” and the importance of self-referral, but also acknowledges the reality of waiting lists:
“I recognised even then that this was not the fault of the organisation but the wider system in which they were and are still working in”.
She stresses that staff knowledge can be transformative: “If the practitioner I was seeing did not know about the Young Ambassadors group, I doubt I would have been able to access this space”. She argues that hubs need proper resources to promote what they offer, because young people are often referred by GPs with “unclear or incorrect information” – including about diagnoses and access to psychologists – leading them to be “passed from service to service trying to find the right support, all the while their problem may be getting worse”.
Grace also champions having “a range of support under one roof” – covering LGBTQ+ needs, parenting, domestic abuse support, criminal justice involvement and group interventions – because “young people do not experience mental health difficulties in a vacuum”. Crucially, she notes that “rooted within the ethos of Early Support Hubs is a commitment to participation from service users to help shape the organisation”. That participation led her to a Young Ambassadors group, then to a trusted adult, and later to paid roles as Peer Researcher and Peer Mentor.
Her conclusion is direct: “I like to think that this demonstrates what is possible when Early Support Hubs are given the resources they need to work well in the community. I am an example of what a young person can achieve when given the right support at the right time”.
Colleagues across the sector raise similar concerns
YPAS Wellbeing Practitioner Jenna highlighted the need for more funding to increase early intervention services, noting that rising service thresholds due to limited resources mean problems escalate before support is provided. She also pointed to the impact of social media, school pressures and the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health.
Lauren, another Wellbeing Practitioner here at YPAS, described Early Support Hubs as “lifelines for families”, but warned that shortages are driving up waiting times and pushing more children towards crisis services. She also raised concerns about SEND services, arguing that the referral process gives too much authority to schools and fails to account for masking – calling for parents to have greater influence and for home observations to be considered.
The responses from our staff and colleagues across the sector paint a consistent picture: Early Support Hubs work, but they are stretched. As Grace puts it, her own success story is possible only “when Early Support Hubs are given the resources they need to work well in the community”.
The inquiry’s oral evidence sessions are now examining the causes of growing demand and why too many young people still fall through the gaps. We remain engaged with the process, ensuring that the voices of young people, families and our frontline practitioners continue to inform the debate.