Strengthening Community Partnerships to Boost Engagement at Coborn Day Service

 8th April 2026

Written by Gladys Bozorgisaran (Advanced Social Worker), Catherine Peasah (Clinical Nurse Manager), and Lucy Brewer (Improvement Advisor) 

Over the past few months, the Coborn Day Service team has been taking part in the Improvement Leaders’ Programme, which has been a really valuable opportunity to build our skills and confidence in quality improvement. Through the programme, we’ve been learning more about the Sequence of Improvement and how to use it to structure our work in a clear and purposeful way. It’s also helped us think more carefully about what we measure, why it matters, and how small, safe tests of change can help us try out new ideas before scaling them. This learning has played a key role in shaping how we approach improvement across our service.

This learning has been put straight into practice with one key challenge: how do we make the Coborn Day Service more accessible, better understood, and more confidently used by our community partners and families?

We know the Day Service has huge potential. It offers intensive support, prevents unnecessary admissions, and provides a vital stepdown pathway to help young people transition back into home, school, and community life. But despite its value, the service has been under used; referrals have remained low, and occupancy hasn’t been consistent. So, we set out to explore what’s getting in the way and what partnerships, processes, or communication gaps we could strengthen to make a real difference.

We set the following aim: Increase access to Coborn Day Service from an average of 2 to 6 young people on the caseload each month, by June 2026.

How We’re Measuring Progress

To make sure we’re genuinely improving things, not just changing them, we’re measuring:

• Young people on the Day Service caseload
• Days attended at the Day Service
• Attendance at multi‑agency huddles and drop ins
• Average length of stay on Nova Ward

What Change Ideas We’ve Tested So Far

🚕 Exploring Transport Options
Testing whether taxi transport removes barriers to attending the service.

🤝 “Porch Meetings”
A 30‑minute multi-agency huddle to support shared planning and earlier referrals.

👨‍👩‍👧 Family Engagement Drop‑ins
Monthly informal drop-ins to help families understand the pathway and feel more involved.

📦 Creating a Welcome Pack
A digital pack to help teams and families navigate the pathway with more clarity and confidence.

Results and Next Steps

We’re already starting to see real, sustained improvement. Over the past few months, the Day Service caseload has grown from an average of 2 young people to around 5 per month, showing that the changes we’ve tested are genuinely making a difference (fig 1).

Fig 1: Control chart showing number of young people on the day service caseload

Looking ahead, our next phase of work will focus on boosting day-to-day attendance—particularly by continuing to tackle transport barriers—and strengthening referral pathways from the acute ward, so that young people who could benefit from the Day Service are identified earlier and supported to step down safely and smoothly.

The Bigger Picture

This project is about more than increasing numbers — it’s about building trust, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring young people get timely, community based support that keeps them close to their lives, their families, and their goals. Through the Improvement Leaders Program, our team is building the skills, structure, and confidence needed to lead meaningful and sustainable change.