CAMHS Partners supporting new children’s mental health project

Edge Hill University-led children’s mental health project wins huge funding boost

Liverpool Learning Partnership, Alder Hey, Merseyside Youth Association, and Mersey Care are just a few of the partners supporting a new Arts-based research project that is being led by Edgehill University. A mental health project for children and young people which has won £2.5m is one of the largest research grants of its kind ever awarded nationally in the arts and arts therapies.

Arts4Us will bring together under one digital platform the best practices in arts and arts therapies, making it easier for young people and their families to find the crucial help they need.

Professor Vicky Karkou from Edge Hill University is leading this massive collaborative enterprise with more than 50 partners from academic institutions, NHS trusts, schools and community organisations in the North West.

She said: “One in five children and young people are struggling with their mental health as they transition from childhood to adolescence. We know that the services available do not cover their needs.

“Thinking and talking about problems is not always how children choose to communicate and resolve their problems. Creative interventions, like music classes, painting sessions, drama and theatre projects or dance movement therapy groups, are an effective alternative but may not be easily accessible in mental health services.

“Arts4Us aims to change that. We want to ensure children and young people will be able to access the mental health support they need regardless of where they live.”

The project will also create 11 new jobs, boosting employability and skills in the region.

The Arts4Us interactive platform will focus on 9-13-year-olds, encouraging them to develop skills around how to access and maximise the benefits of arts activities which support their mental health. They will help co-design all aspects of the project, ensuring the content and support is user-friendly and relevant to them.

NHS services will also be able to use the digital platform to signpost patients to support, building collaborations across community partners and healthcare in the North West and, as the project can be scaled up, also nationally and internationally.

Professor Nusrat Husain, Director of Research and Innovation at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know that 50 per cent of mental disorders begin before the age of 14 years old and unfortunately, many children and young people do not have access to appropriate mental healthcare.

“Arts4Us, which is of huge public mental health importance, has the potential to change this because the intervention is engaging and builds on co-developed research with young people.”

Stephen Sandford, music therapist and Chief Allied Health Professions Officer for NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board added: “We know our children and young people recognise the positive contribution that arts and culture bring to their health and wellbeing.

“And this landmark funding award for Arts4Us is a fabulous opportunity to further integrate the value of arts, culture and creative health partnerships.”

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded Arts4Us £2.5million in the third phase of its Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities programme.

The funding boost is a record-breaking success for Edge Hill: the sum is the largest single research grant ever awarded to the University.

The team behind the successful bid and ongoing project collaboration includes Edge Hill University colleagues: Dr Helen O’Keeffe, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education; Andy Smith, Professor of Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health; Dr Michelle Howarth, Senior Engagement Fellow; Dr Shaun Liverpool, Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health; and Marcello Trovati, Professor in Computer Science.

Arts4Us will build on the success of the award-winning arts-based group intervention project Arts for the Blues, also led by Professor Karkou and academics at The University of Salford. Learning from Arts for the Blues project will be a useful blueprint to improve provision for children and young people through Arts4Us.

The project falls under Edge Hill’s thriving Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing and will create 11 new appointments, offering exciting new opportunities for graduates and boosting skills in the region:

• six creative health associates will work within NHS and community organisations to gather information about local needs, identify projects, develop an agreed evaluation framework and share good practice;
• Edge Hill will host three new roles – a postdoctoral fellow, a project manager and a research assistant;
• The University of Salford and the University of Liverpool will each create one new research assistant position.

Find out more about Arts4Us here. If you are 24 or under, and have lived experience of mental health symptoms between nine and 13 years of age, you could help to shape the project as a YoungArts4Us panel member – email artswell@edgehill.ac.uk.

ENDS

Notes to editors

This press release was sent out by Rebecca Mundy, Communications Officer. For more information or to arrange an interview with anyone quoted in this story email mundyr@edgehill.ac.uk.

UKRI/AHRC context

Arts4Us is one of several projects to receive funding as part of UKRI’s Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities programme, led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which aims to improve health through access to culture, nature and community.

The projects seek to tackle entrenched and long-standing health inequalities in Britain’s poorest communities by exploring how health systems can collaborate more effectively with communities.

Some of the projects will explore ways of addressing health inequalities in rural and coastal communities. Others will be focused on tackling systems change to support specific communities including:

• Roma communities
• refugees and migrant communities
• people experiencing homelessness
• deaf British Sign Language-using communities
• children and young people experiencing mental health challenges.

AHRC Health Inequalities Programme Director Helen Chatterjee said: “The evidence is clear – intellectual stimulation, a sense of purpose, engagement in your community and a fulfilling social life are as important as diet, exercise and medical care when it comes to living a long and healthy life. Yet often public health interventions neglect this reality.

“These projects seek to improve the length and quality of our lives by making use of the rich cultural, artistic, nature and social resources that already exist within our communities. In this way, we can shape a healthier, happier Britain.”

About Edge Hill University

Since 1885, Edge Hill University has been creating access to knowledge for those who may not have had the opportunity before. Our award-winning 160-acre campus is in Lancashire, ideally located between Liverpool and Manchester. We set out to deliver teaching of the highest standard, informed by research of international standing, in an intellectually stimulating, ideas-focused and inclusive environment.

Our significant success in achieving our mission has been recognised with awards and high rankings for teaching, student experience, research and more. Edge Hill was named Modern University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 and University of the Year at the Educate North Awards 2020/21. Most recently we were placed 35th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2024 and top 4 in the North West in the Complete University Guide 2024.