The celebration marking the conclusion of the Living Assessments project saw researchers, academics, children’s sector professionals, government representatives, and young people and parents, gather for two days of talks, discussions, and, to cap it all, a theatre performance.
Living Assessments, which is coming to an end in March, is a five-year project by the National Children's Bureau in partnership with the University of Kent and the University of Cambridge, in conjunction with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children and the British Association of Social Workers.
The project looks at the decision-making process for providing health and social care support to children and families, the impact of offering (or not offering) particular support, and the lived experiences of the children and young people who are subjected to assessments.
Over the course of five years, the project has produced a wealth of research and insights, which were presented at the academic conference taking place on the first day of the two-day event.
A series of talks and presentations held at the British Library illustrated the process of starting and carrying out this ambitious project, as well as findings from its research. This included important work that showed that children with social work involvement are turned away from mental health treatment more often than their peers.
Professor Robbie Duschinsky presents his research to the audience.
Young people and parents from the ‘Experts by Experience’ groups, which have been an essential part of the project, also talked about their experiences of partnering with NCB for Living Assessments, sharing their reflections on how the system needs to change to work better for children and families.
Their contributions were at the heart of the second day, which was led by the young people and parents. After their presentations, young people asked participants to engage in a creative session populating ‘idea trees’ with their own thoughts about what they had heard – and their ideas for improving the system.
The last part of the day saw participants travel to Chickenshed Theatre, which – as part of a Living Assessments creative project called Changing Narratives – has been working with a group of young people who had lived experience of disability, social care or insecure immigration status, co-producing a series of ‘presentations’: dance routines, monologues, music, songs, and other creative forms that the performers used to express their thoughts on their own experiences of disability, social care involvement or migration and asylum.
Young people performing the final show at Chickenshed Theatre.
Although Living Assessments is coming to an end, the programme will have a lasting legacy in our work to influence policy and practice. Furthermore, a separate project in partnership with the University of Cambridge, Kingston University, King’s College London, NCB, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Care Leavers Association will continue exploring the children’s social care system. The CAMHS Referrals and Outcomes for Adolescents and Children with Social Workers (COACHES) project will shed light on the effectiveness of the mental health and wellbeing support and treatment received by children and young people who have involvement with social workers.
At the same time, many of the Experts by Experience who have worked with us so far will continue campaigning for a fairer system for disabled and care-experienced children, so every child can thrive.