Developing a shared vision to support children and young people’s social and emotional well-being

Written by Alice Kadri and Clarissa Sørlie

On Friday 9^th May, around 40 people came together at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) headquarters to discuss how they could support children and young people’s social and emotional wellbeing. Partners from east London, Bedfordshire and Luton, from ELFT and across the system including Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise, academia, Local Authority and NHS Integrated Care Boards were joined by Patti Harvey from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

The event opened with presentations from Laura Austin-Croft (Director of Population Health) and Alice Kadri (Specialty Registrar in Public Health) summarising the ELFT’s population health journey and a review of work toward being a Marmot Trust since 2021. Shobi Nagraj (Assistant Professor in Primary and Community Care at the University of Cambridge) then gave a presentation about creating a shared vision and a theory of change, before handing over to Patti Harvey to share stories of population health initiatives she has encountered during her time with the IHI.

Figure 1. Group discussions

Attendees then worked in groups to articulate their shared vision for strengthening children and young people’s social and emotional wellbeing and then worked to identify priority areas for action. The discussion was summarised in the sketchnote below:

Figure 2. Sketchnote summarising Population Health event

Reflecting on the session, Patti remarked on the power of bringing together partners from across the system.

Reflecting on the event, Alice said, “I think the energy in the room was palpable – there are a lot of people who are passionate about supporting children and young people’s wellbeing and working towards a shared vision and priorities is key to achieving impact”.

Attendees ideas for a shared vision and areas of priority were collected and will be written up and fed back to partners. Further engagement work will also be undertaken to enable children and young people to participate in developing a Living Theory of Change and inform ELFT’s Population Health Strategic Plan for 2025-26.

Figure 3. The session provided many opportunities for networking