Barnardo’s

The Mental Health Foundation Scotland, alongside the University of Strathclyde, were commissioned as the evaluation and learning partner for the Mental Health and Wellbeing Core Priority Programme (MHWB CPP) funded by Barnardo’s. 

This work formed part of Barnardo’s Corporate Strategy 2016 – 2025, which aimed to take a more strategic approach to creating better outcomes for children.  

Three place-based strategic partnerships were formed, each bringing together partners from Barnardo’s, local authority, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, education and the third sector. The overall aim was to improve the mental health and wellbeing of babies, children and young people through a whole systems approach. Through this programme, Barnardo’s aimed to redesign services for children and young people and support the transformation of whole systems in local areas, primarily through encouraging new ways of working. 

With significant investment into each of the three partnerships, Barnardo’s sought to reduce the number of babies, children, and young people requiring Tier 3 or 4 mental health support by focusing on early intervention and prevention, while driving systemic change for a long-term impact. 

Locations

1. North Tyneside Strategic Alliance

  • Partners: Barnardo's and North Tyneside Council
  • Focus: 5-15-year-olds and the transition between Tier 1, 2 and 3 support; neurodiversity

2. Renfrewshire

  • Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategic Partnership
  • Partners: Barnardo's and Renfrewshire Council
  • Focus: 5-15-year-olds and the transition between Tier 1, 2 and 3 support

3 South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

  • Attachment, Bonding and Communication Parent Infant Partnership (ABC PiP)
  • Partners: Barnardo's, SET, Tiny Life and Parent-Infant Foundation
  • Focus: Infant mental health and supporting relationships in the first 1001 days
A map of the UK and Ireland showing three locations, numbered 1 (on the east coast of northern England), 2 (on the west coast of Scotland) and 3 (in Northern Ireland)

Key timeline

Phase one

The initial phase of our evaluation involved engaging with stakeholders who were integral to the formation of the strategic partnerships. This phase focused on understanding the development process, the goals within each local partnership, and the baseline mental health and wellbeing outcomes for infants, children, and families, as well as the ways in which children, young people, and parents were involved.  It was also informed by a situational analysis of each of the partnership areas.  

Key outputs

  • Scoping reports for three partnerships published: June 2020  
  • Theory of Change workshops conducted: February – August 2020
  • Systems change seminar (online): January 2021
  • Baseline evaluation report published: May 2021

Phase two

The second stage of the evaluation involved exploring the work of the partnerships over the 18 months following Phase 1. During this period, we examined the barriers and enablers to systems change that emerged across each partnership. A crucial element of this stage was the alignment of the Theory of Change among stakeholders within each local partnership, presenting how programmes or interventions’ short- and mid-term outputs were expected to influence long-term outcomes.

Key outputs

Phase three

Our final stage of evaluation planned to engage directly with children, young people, and families to better understand the impact of programme developments and explore what systems change means and looks like for young people.

However, funding for this phase concluded early, in mid-2024, which impacted the implementation and completion of these activities. Consequently, Phase 3 involved closely engaging with the strategic partnerships to undertake final Theory of Change workshops, additional interviews, analysis of all previous primary research, and the collection and analysis of monitoring and evaluation data from services and programmes across the local partnerships.  

Key outputs

For more information, please contact Julie Cameron, Associate Director at [email protected] .

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