The National Lottery Community Fund and #BeeWell join forces to champion young people鈥檚 wellbeing in new areas across England
- New 拢5.5 million funding from The National Lottery Community Fund will support #BeeWell鈥檚 expansion in up to five new areas across England by 2030
- Since 2021has listened to the voices of nearly 200,000 young people and worked with over 320 secondary schools, 15 local authorities and over 160 partners to drive improvements in young people鈥檚 wellbeing
- #BeeWell鈥檚 goal is to expand its reach with the aim to double the number of young people the programme reaches
Thousands more young people across England could soon have a stronger voice in shaping their wellbeing support thanks to a 拢5.5 million grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to #BeeWell. Since 2021, #BeeWell has already listened to the voices of almost 200,000 young people across an working with over 320 secondary schools.
The partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund will last until spring 2030, enabling #BeeWell to expand into up to five new locations across England. The grant will also support #BeeWell to continue its work supporting young people in its current locations and build on its ground-breakinto understand more about essential topics such as how social media use, school attendance and discipline, teenage substance use, loneliness, and the positive impact of arts, culture, entertainment and sport are related to young people鈥檚 wellbeing and its drivers.
The youth-centred programme was developed in response to a growing concern for the wellbeing of young people in England and was founded by The University of Manchester, The Gregson Family Foundation, and Anna Freud, who together with the Greater 91直播 Combined Authority (GMCA) launched the programme in 2019. Usin#BeeWell listens to the voices of as many young people as possible; publishes the results privately to schools and publicly by neighbourhood; and aims to drive action across society to improve young people鈥檚 wellbeing.
For the last five years, #BeeWell has provided a platform for young people to voice how they are feeling and what affects their wellbeing and worked with partners to act on what young people say. During this time, in #BeeWell鈥檚 two locations, there has been a modest but consistent upward trend in the proportion of young people reporting good levels of psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction, while the number reporting elevated symptoms of emotional difficulties has declined.
Meera, A young person who has been involved with #BeeWell over several years highlighted the value of #BeeWell鈥檚 approach and the impact of feeling that someone is listening.
BeeWell has been so important due to the team always prioritising young people. I had the opportunity to shape discourse around how we speak about mental health and wellbeing which has stayed with me throughout further education and as a young professional.
Young people have always been at the heart of #BeeWell, and together we were able to create something that will continue to have a positive impact on not just us, but future generations.
Councillor Roberts, Children and Young People Portfolio Lead for the Greater 91直播 Combined Authority, commented:
Through #BeeWell, Greater 91直播 has shown what is possible if we really listen to young people. We all know that many of our teenagers are struggling with their wellbeing and mental health. Our answer to that is focusing on preventing those problems arising in the first place. This new funding will ensure we can continue to provide the support to our young people that enables them to thrive.
Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, #BeeWell will expand its proven approach to measuring - and driving action to improve - young people鈥檚 wellbeing across England. The investment will help more local areas work directly with young people to understand the challenges affecting their wellbeing and take coordinated action across schools, services and communities.
James Robertson, National Director of #BeeWell, said:
Over the last five years we鈥檝e seen the power of directly listening to young people and acting on what they tell us to improve support in schools and local communities. This generous funding will enable us to expand our work, potentially doubling the number of young people across England benefiting from our approach.
We welcome expressions of interest from local authorities interested in implementing the #BeeWell programme in their area
Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
Society can benefit by listening more to young people鈥檚 views and by recognising their ability to make a positive difference. We鈥檙e proud to be partnering with #BeeWell to champion young people鈥檚 voices and respond to priorities they鈥檝e identified. This partnership builds on what we've already accomplished together and will ensure that even more young people鈥檚 voices are heard across England, their leadership is valued, and their ideas drive lasting change.
Specifically, the investment will fund:
- Expansion of the #BeeWell programme into new areas across England
- Continued delivery in Greater 91直播 and Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton
- Developing and delivering new research into the factors affecting young people鈥檚 wellbeing
- Opportunities for young people to influence local decision-making and shape the support available to them
You can find out more about the #BeeWell programme, its research and the work it does supporting young people