the ask

The Hyndburn Way is a cross-sector partnership bringing together local government, health services, schools and voluntary organisations to reduce health inequalities across Hyndburn.

The borough experiences some of the highest levels of deprivation in England, and local partners were increasingly concerned about the mental health support available for children and young people.

The partnership commissioned this work to build a clearer picture of how the local system supports under-18s with their mental health — and where it could work better.

We were asked to map the landscape of mental health support and develop practical recommendations to strengthen coordination, navigation and early help for children and families.

what we did

• Mapped how mental health support operates across the borough — bringing together insight from health, education, local government and the voluntary sector.

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• Spoke directly with professionals across the system — conducting 80+ interviews with schools, NHS services, primary care, local authority teams and voluntary organisations.

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• Listened to families and young people navigating support — attending parent coffee mornings and informal school sessions to hear about their experiences first-hand.

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• Observed system coordination in practice — participating in cross-sector wellbeing panels exploring challenges around collaboration and referral pathways.

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• Reviewed national policy, research and best practice — analysing more than 100 sources to understand how other areas are responding to similar challenges.

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Design principle:

Understanding a system requires more than mapping services.
It means listening to the professionals delivering support and the families navigating it.

what changed

• The first comprehensive picture of children’s mental health support in Hyndburn — mapping how services for under-18s operate across the borough.

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• A practical navigation tool for families and professionals — we developed a local directory bringing together referral routes, eligibility criteria and contact details.

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• Partners mobilised to act on the findings — the work was presented to Hyndburn’s Health and Wellbeing Panel, which established a cross-partner subgroup to take recommendations forward.

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• Commissioning decisions already influenced — the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board is now commissioning additional support for primary-aged children identified as a key gap.

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I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Rosie and her team for commissions requiring the ability to understand and present complex information, fantastic attention to detail and exceptional communication with a wide-range of stakeholders: it’s been an absolute pleasure working with her.

Lucy, CEO, Maundy Relief

See the evidence in full