Turning good intentions into good outcomes

Written by:

@tim_hobbs_lab | tim.hobbs@dartington.org.uk

With a change in government and one committed to taking a “preventative approach” to social issues, more than ever, Dartington Service Design Lab’s work is needed.

We’ve not only been reflecting on what this change means for children and young people, but by harnessing the evidence and our expertise, we have identified five ways to turn government rhetoric on prevention into reality. 

Regardless of where you sit on the political divide, if like Dartington Service Design Lab you believe evidence, professional and lived experience combined can better improve outcomes for children and familles, then the new government offers hope. For the first time there is a housing minister who grew up in social housing, an education minister who went through the state school system and 242 MPs have a background in the charity sector.  

Yet, whilst the corridors of Westminster are buzzing with new faces and the government upheaval entails, the situation for children remains dire. The new government has recognised the scale of the challenge, and early signs from the King’s Speech are encouraging, but at Dartington, we know that children and young people want and need the government to go further.  

Promises on education, mental health and youth support - is it enough?

Whilst it's positive to hear that the early years are the Government’s number one education priority, the commitments need to extend well beyond just childcare to truly give children the start in life they deserve. The Education Policy Institute suggests that the most disadvantaged children are continuing to fall behind their peers at age five (with the gap widening over childhood). We need greater investment in health visiting, high-quality early years provision, community-based support, and better health, education and social care integration. 

Similarly, whilst it's encouraging to hear that young people’s mental health is a prominent policy priority, we echo calls from the sector that this must extend beyond just fixing broken mental health systems. Just recently, the Health Foundation shared 1 in 3 people aged 18-24 are reporting symptoms of common mental health issues, the poorest mental health group of any in the UK. 

We need to reimagine what mental health support for young people in their schools and communities looks like, and to invest wholesale in prevention and health promotion.  

Finally, while we're pleased about the commitment to Youth Hubs, they need to be implemented at scale if they are to tackle inequalities in outcomes. They also won't be effective in isolation — we need them to be integrated into communities and other sources of support. 

Five ways we plan to turn prevention rhetoric into reality

Despite the scale of the challenge being vast, we have the evidence, research and experience that can help turn the rhetoric of prevention and community-based integration into a reality. At Dartington we are looking forward to working with the new government, local authorities, health systems and communities to:

1. Bring together the shared wisdom and experience of all involved to focus on what matters locally: this not only includes senior health and local authority leaders and practitioners but crucially, young people and community partners. Our experience suggests that when you elevate the young people and marginalised voices, you can start to address inequalities and work where there is greatest scope for change and impact. 

2. Face the hard stuff head-on: work to identify and tackle the underlying structural causes and root problems that prevent babies, children and young people from thriving. By doing this, we will see a demonstrable long-term impact on children and young people and a reduced demand for costly services.  

3. Create place-based budgets, with existing resources redirected and ringfenced for prevention: without this, prevention will remain only rhetoric, and demand for high-cost treatment services will continue to spiral out of control.

4. Take an integrated approach to designing preventative solutions: one that blends professional experience, existing evidence about what has worked well (for whom and in what contexts and why) and lived experience of young people, families and communities.   

5. Generate and draw upon a diverse range of evidence and insight to learn and adapt: At the local level, this means building learning capabilities and communities. When you do this, you catalyse ambition, spread and accelerate learning and achieve even greater outcomes for children. Evaluating large-scale systemic change initiatives demands a next-generation approach to evidence and evaluation – one that Dartington is at the forefront of developing.

In the autumn, we'll share an open-access toolkit that helps local leaders and communities implement these five steps regarding young people's mental health (stay tuned to Kailo). We'll also expand the approach to consider poverty alleviation, early childhood development, protecting young people from harm, and supporting youth employment.  

Work of this nature takes time, dedication and partnership across many sectors of society. Dartington Service Design Lab stands ready to work with the new Government, local authorities, ICS, VRUs, partners and communities to deliver these national ambitions. We know it’s possible. Our work over the years has shown us not only how to do it but the impact it can have. As we scale our work, we look forward to you all joining us on this journey.   

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