On 29 January, YPAS attended the launch of Growing Up Well, a new report from the Centre for Young Lives setting out a neighbourhood-based model for improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
The launch took place at the House of Lords and was hosted by Baroness Anne Longfield, with attendance from Baroness Merron alongside policymakers, sector leaders and young people. The report responds to the growing mental health crisis facing children and young people and calls for a shift away from late intervention towards earlier, community-led support.
The Growing Up Well model focuses on early intervention, strong local partnerships and meaningful co-production with children and young people. It sets out practical recommendations for local systems including Integrated Care Boards, local authorities, schools and the voluntary sector to work together at neighbourhood level so support is easier to access and better connected.
YPAS was represented at the event by Grace Ward, who spoke about the need for mental health system reform while recognising that effective practice already exists. Grace highlighted YPAS’ long-standing work delivering early intervention and community-based support, and the importance of building on models that are already making a difference rather than starting again.
Many of the report’s principles closely align with YPAS’ approach. These include providing support in trusted community settings, strengthening school-based mental health provision, offering open-access and preventative services and embedding young people’s voices into service design and delivery. YPAS’ wellbeing hubs, school-based services and therapeutic support across Merseyside demonstrate how neighbourhood-level models can work in practice.
The report also calls for a rebalancing of funding towards early help and prevention, improved data sharing between services and clearer leadership for children and young people’s mental health at system level. These are areas YPAS continues to advocate for locally and nationally, drawing on nearly 60 years of experience supporting children and young people.
YPAS welcomes the Growing Up Well report and the growing recognition of community-led, youth-centred approaches to mental health. We look forward to continuing to work with partners to share learning and support the development of neighbourhood-based models that help children and young people access the right support at the right time.
You can read the full Growing Up Well report here
