Last week, the Centre for Young Lives hosted our Growing Up Well Phase Two Launch Event, bringing together leaders, practitioners, researchers and partners who share our ambition to create a more preventative, community-based approach to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

You can watch a recording of the launch below

The discussion reinforced a clear sense of momentum behind place-based approaches, early intervention and system-wide collaboration. Across the session, several key themes emerged:

• Growing Up Well is based on evidence and demonstrating how a place-based, integrated neighbourhood approach to improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing can be delivered.
• National policy and local reform are increasingly aligned around prevention, devolution and the creation of stronger local ecosystems of support for mental health and wellbeing.
• There is a growing opportunity to shift the dial on children and young people's wellbeing, with increasing consensus that early intervention must become a core priority across health, local government and communities.
• Collaboration and shared learning will be critical to accelerating progress and spreading effective practice across places.

Crucially, we do not need to wait for further permission to act. The solutions are already emerging across local areas, and the challenge now is to learn from one another, strengthen the evidence base and scale what works.

Attend our Growing Up Well online learning events

Our programme of online learning events will bring together leaders, practitioners and researchers to explore emerging evidence and what works to create solutions to deliver a preventative, neighbourhood approach to children's mental health and wellbeing.

• Tackling the NEETs Crisis - Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing to Boost Education and Employment Opportunities - 14 January 2027
• Building the Architecture for a Preventative System for Children and Young People's Mental Health - 24 June 2027

What's next? Join the Growing Up Well National Network

Alongside the learning events, we are establishing the Growing Up Well National Network - a community of practice bringing together existing Growing Up Well areas and places interested in becoming part of the movement.

Members will have opportunities to:

• Connect with peers tackling similar challenges and developing solutions across the country
• Access emerging evidence, practical tools and examples of effective practice from Growing Up Well areas
• Share learning, test ideas and solve challenges collaboratively
• Help shape the growing evidence base for place-based systems change
• Keep up to date on policy developments nationally

You can register your interest in joining the National Network below