Cumbria LINK Young People's Social Prescribing Service Evaluation Report

The LINK service, a joint initiative between Barnardo’s and several local Primary Care Networks in Cumbria, has provided support to more than 2,000 children and young people aged between 5 and 19-years-old since it began almost six years ago. The service offers social prescribing - a non-medical solution that provides a holistic approach to health and wellbeing to manage issues young people may be struggling with, including anxiety, low mood, loneliness or stress from relationship difficulties with family and friends.

Over the past three years, researchers from Edge Hill University have conducted an in-depth evaluation into the impact that social prescribing has made through our LINK service, following the journeys of children and young people from beginning to end, interviewing families, and analysing the data of more than 1,000 children.

Key findings

• Young people supported by the service reported a marked improvement in mood and self-perception over a relatively short timeframe, with key outcomes including re-engagement in life and social activities that had previously felt impossible for them.
• Social prescribing was found to be effective in preventing the difficulties experienced by children and young people from escalating into more severe mental health problems.
• Other most frequently reported outcomes were reduced anxiety and panic-type responses, improved emotional regulation and calmer household environments, increased confidence, clearer communication within families about feelings and needs, improved school participation, and young people looking to the future with hope.
• A 15-year-old told researchers the support they received had made a huge impact on their life: “I literally feel like I was born again. I feel like a different person."
• After receiving support, children and young people consistently experienced sustained positive impact to their wellbeing, not short term once the support had ended.
• Parents consistently reported benefits to their own mental health, sense of hope and family functioning, with several parents using language such as “life changing,” to express how the support reduced parental isolation and worry, as well as reducing day-to-day crisis events and improving parents’ capacity to support their child.
• Trusted relationships built with individual workers and the flexibility of children being able to choose how they wanted to meet and interact with their worker (such as walking outdoors at a park or doing fun activities together) were key in engaging young people.