No single organisation or individual, whatever their superpower, can solve a social issue or create a healthy community alone. Children England, as a small infrastructure body championing a large and diverse voluntary sector for children and families, knows this well. Councils, nurturing all aspects of community life, know this. The young people leading our ChildFair State Inquiry are particularly certain of it – and have peer research conducted at a time of national crisis to prove it.
‘Interdependence' is one of several truths the Young Leaders describe in their analysis of systems including health, housing, benefits and education. As experts by experience, and also now as researchers with a keen big picture view of children and young people's needs and treatment by the welfare state, they see the compartmentalisation within and between services that leaves diligent professionals ultimately prevented from seeing the whole child, or whole family, and responding to their needs in a holistic way. This, and other barriers in the system, in turn stop them building the authentic, trusting relationships that children – and indeed adults – need to grow and thrive.
Children England situates this analysis in the Human Learning Systems approach, diagnosing New Public Management as the enemy of child-centred, collaborative public services. But I'd rather offer you the Young Leaders' own views on the problems – and the solutions.
Papa, 15, analyses the school system as too cut off from the wider world – both at a curriculum and a community level: ‘Some felt that school did not teach students that the world is not as black and white as it may seem, potentially allowing for many young people to fall through the cracks created by false perceptions of life outside of school. Others noted that strengths of school are not the strengths of the real world…it does not adequately set up young people for making the transition from leaving a community you have been a part of for 18 years into the real world.'
Morgan, 17, sees fragmentation in the NHS affecting young people's mental health: ‘Alongside the issues of lack of funding, staff shortages and disjointed care that the wider NHS faces, young people face even more obstacles to obtaining adequate care, particularly for their mental health. Many feel like they are burdens on the NHS, a worry that is only reinforced when they are forced to wait months or years for help. When young people eventually receive care, they often report not feeling listened to, having to repeat themselves and being rushed.'
A young research respondent described inadequate housing: ‘If housing worked for wheelchair users there would be open plan houses with automatic doors, and Alexa to help control the lights, TV and, close the curtains. It wasn't until we got referred to "environmental services" that we found out this was even an option. I think families should be given more help and made aware of services available.'
Deborah, 20, summarises the principles the Young Leaders developed in response to their research, that they believe should be embedded across all services: ‘Young people believed that for effective change to happen values such as citizenship, love and kindness, interdependence and lived experiences being mutually valid would need to underpin all decision processes. That all services in the welfare system should have tethers which keep the service user as a whole person with nuanced experiences and not just multiple case numbers.'
It is in the fifth ‘branch' of our welfare state tree that young people see this vital connectivity and person-centredness being brought to life – at the level of the neighbourhood. The importance of local community to children and young people was striking throughout the research, and it is through community-based initiatives that the Young Leaders believe the walls between professionals and service users, needs and strengths, young and old, can and should be broken down. In their vision for a ChildFair neighbourhood, the idea of the ‘hub' encapsulates this: more flexible than our current institutions, more joined up than a single service, and free to drop in to without assessment or label.
Morgan proposes Community Health Hubs: ‘A central place in the community where all people can receive support for maintaining their wellbeing, both physical and mental, through healthy eating and exercise advice, support groups, counselling, and volunteering opportunities has the potential to vastly improve the health of our entire population.'
Schools could become more porous hubs for community activity, opening out of school hours for informal education sessions for all ages, and supporting students to spend a day a week taking social action locally.
Young people have so much energy and vision for their communities. But they don't feel included in local decision-making, and councils are leaving untapped one of their greatest strengths. The Young Leaders say now is a critical time to involve children and young people in building interdependent communities and services that are fairer and more equal. They would love to talk to council staff about how you could do this – get in touch with us at Children England if you'd like to talk to them.
Chloë Darlington is policy and communications manager at Children England
