By Efua Poku-Amanfo, 12 February 2026
It’s Children’s Mental Health week and a month since I started my new role as Head of the Children & Young People’s Coalition. I’ve been reflecting on this year’s theme ‘This is My Place’ – themes of belonging, identity and community.
It’s no secret that the systems that we policy makers and advocates work with are often siloed, fragmented and operating on different paradigms. This week is an opportunity to remind ourselves that not only are they connected, but our ability to collaborate across sectors will shape the very belonging, community and strong sense of identity that are so integral to the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
The Coalition is made up of over 400 members, working across institutions and systems all with a unifying purpose. We know that this growing need among children and young people’s mental health is one of the greatest challenges facing society.
As I begin to flesh out the priorities for the Coalition’s work in 2026, there are four areas that we will be focusing on as priorities to improve children and young people’s lives:
1. Schools – Whole school approaches
18 months into a new government, with a manifesto commitment to embed a mental health professional in every school, it’s undeniable that schools will be a key lever used in bringing out better mental health outcomes for children and young people.
The shift to move away from off-site exclusions is a first step in ensuring that young people who may already be struggling in their education are not further put at risk by being sent off-site. However, on-site provision will vary from school to school. Removal from class while at times necessary, must be accompanied by whole school approaches that centre children’s wellbeing first.
2. Digital spaces – Social media ban for under 16s
The Coalition is still developing our position on raising the age that young people are allowed on social media. However, what has become clear over the past month is that this conversation can quickly become tiresome if we continue to focus on what we must take away from young people, without exploring what it can be replaced with. We should be focused on opening up more offline opportunities i.e. expanding enrichment experiences to improve the quality of life for every child and young person.
I don’t discredit the concerns raised over social media and we welcome an investigation into exploring the link between social media and the prevalence of some conditions. However, removal of social media for 13–16-year-olds won’t be a quick fix if it is not discussed alongside the social, political and economic drivers of mental ill health as outlined by Andy Bell last week.
As we begin to develop our work in this space, we want children and young people’s rights as a key component alongside the safeguarding and wellbeing. This means involving them in these discussions from the start and championing their agency and autonomy that is so integral to this issue.
3. Care in the community – Fund the Hubs Campaign
Following the launch of National Youth Strategy at the 2025 and as the roll out of the first pilot areas for Young Futures Hubs commence over the year an – there are substantial opportunities ahead to enrich children’s and young people’s lives outside of school and home and thus prevent the on-set of what could be acute mental health needs.
The Coalition wants to see the roll out of a hub in each local area as per the government’s manifesto. However, funding announced so far falls short of what we estimated (at least £150m total per annum) and much less than what was outlined in the manifesto. The Coalition will continue to work with our members in the #FundtheHubs campaign, with the aim to increase this initiative to age 25 for the most effective early intervention. Raising the age to 25 will follow the model of existing hubs around the country and enable integral transitional support.
4. Specialist and crisis care
Just over two weeks ago, The Coalition alongside Centre for Mental Health, YoungMinds and Centre for Young Lives and the Prudence Trust launched the Future Minds Campaign Policy Roadmap. As the implementation of the NHS 10 Year plan is underway and significant reforms are happening across health services, we want to see:
- Increased funding for children and young people’s mental health services to meet 70% of diagnosable need by the end of this Parliament.
- Increased long-term local government funding for prevention and early intervention.
- The development of a comprehensive children and young people’s mental health workforce plan to support young people’s mental health.
- The implementation of the Mental Health Act to expand the rights of children and young people.
We have many more asks of the Government which you can read about here.
The above areas are just not campaigns or policy positions. They are integral to fostering the sense of belonging that every child and young person deserves. Whether a young person may be struggling due to factors at home, at school/college, in the community or in hospital – I’m hopeful that collaboration across this eco-system could turn the tide for good.
Efua Poku-Amanfo is Head of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
