Contribute to the Review

a group of young people sat in a circle having a discussion. You can not see their faces

“There’s going to be a lot of listening – listening to those who have experience either as a young person, a family member, or a professional in the field”.

Dr Hilary Cass

The Review will take an investigative approach, which means that outcomes will not be developed in isolation or by committee but rather through an ongoing dialogue aimed at building a shared understanding of the current situation and how it can and should be improved for children and young people.

The recommendations of the Review will be based on evidence, including lived experience of children, young people and adults, parents and professionals. This evidence will be gathered in a number of different ways, including through formal research and a literature review, work stream discussions, a consensus development process and one-to-one conversations and listening sessions. We will develop and adapt the approach to evidence gathering as the Review progresses.

The Review has held over 150 listening sessions with individuals with lived experience, clinicians and associated professionals, Royal Colleges, charities and advocacy and support groups, statutory bodies and other interested parties to gain a fuller picture of the current challenges and begin to map out what future services should look like. We have also undertaken some more structured engagement with primary and secondary care clinicians and with specialist clinicians.

Following publication of the interim report, we will build on our engagement to date and, alongside the academic research programme, will continue informal and structured engagement with service users, their families, support and advocacy groups and professionals to test emerging thinking, provide opportunities for challenge and further develop the evidence base.

We thank those who have participated in the Review to date and welcome engagement with us as work progresses towards final recommendations.

We would encourage you to subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date with how the review is progressing and of live opportunities to contribute.

Engagement principles

The following principles will underpin all our engagement.

  • The Review will develop recommendations through an iterative process of facilitated discussion and consensus building, based on the evidence available, that places the interests of the children and young people at its centre. 
  • The Review will take a “no surprises” approach, keeping stakeholders involved and informed throughout the lifetime of the review through regular updates and engagement opportunities.
  • The Review will employ different methods to engage with stakeholders in a manner that makes them feel safe and supported and allows quieter voices to be heard. 
  • The Review will balance open access methods with more targeted engagement with those closest to / most affected by the services.
  • The Review will clearly define the purpose of different engagement activities and how evidence and learning generated will be used to inform the recommendations. Engagement conducted by the Review team will compliment, but not duplicate, the work of the Review’s academic researchers.
  • The Review will be mindful of other research being conducted in this field and take account of this research where appropriate.
  • The Review will be informed through on-going dialogue with a broad range of stakeholders. When conducting engagement activities, the Review team will acknowledge and allow expression of the different views and opinion across the spectrum of stakeholders, but will not tolerate disrespectful, threatening or abusive behaviour. See our Terms and Conditions page.