National Lottery Community Fund (HeadStart) · 2023
This qualitative study explored the perspectives and experiences of 11 young people (aged 15–22) who were involved in co-creating and delivering mental health and wellbeing activities across the six HeadStart partnerships in England. Young people reported that participation improved their confidence, resilience, social-emotional skills and sense of agency, and that it helped create more youth-friendly mental health services. Key enablers of meaningful participation included strong, trusting relationships with staff, safe and inclusive spaces, and flexibility in how young people were involved. Young people were critical of tokenistic engagement from outside organisations and expressed sadness at the end of the funded programme.