Lived-experience champions hold us to account on participation
Anna Freud Champions, Vicky and Evie were asked to interview our most senior leaders to discuss our participation work.
At Anna Freud we aim to ensure children, young people and families are at the centre of all we do. Through our participation work we facilitate opportunities across our organisation that allow us to hear and act on their voices at every stage of our work. This means their perspectives influence the decisions we make.
We’ve been using a participatory practice model known as The Lundy Model for some time. The model uses the four domains of Space, Voice, Audience and Influence as a framework to ensure those we work with play an active role in what we do.
Getting a measure of our progress
In February 2025, we celebrated the anniversary of Anna Freud’s first Participation Strategy and since then, our lived-experience champions wanted to understand the progress we’ve made by asking our most senior leaders some probing questions.
Vicky, an Anna Freud Parent Champion and Evie, an Anna Freud Young Champion led this interview with our CEO Professor Eamon McCrory, and our trustee sponsor for participation Namrata Kamdar. The questions they asked were prepared in advance with various parent, carer and young champions.
Read the full Q&AMore about our parent champion, Vicky
When the invite to help run the interview came into Vicky, a mum of three, said she second guessed herself, but quickly realised she could, of course, manage it. “How many hours have I spent trying to engage and gain insights into my children’s worlds, seeking out the issue at the heart of the current upset or distress? How often do I work at gaining the inner knowledge of their individual preferences, perspectives and priorities as they grow. Or as they experiment and expand their life experiences to become the rounded, capable young people they were always destined to be.”
This has given Vicky an inner sense of confidence to now be her “true self”. She reflected, "It was about taking a deep-dive into our participation work, about listening to different perspectives and views, about opening your heart to an alternative process and journey.”
Evie, a young champion, felt honoured
Evie is a year 12 student and has been an Anna Freud Young Champion for two years. She got involved because she wanted people to learn how important participation is and in her own words: “how it can benefit everyone”.
“At first, I was nervous. And being neurodivergent I thought I’d find it difficult, but everyone made me feel comfortable. I didn’t feel judged for needing more time to think. I felt honoured to be able to represent young people and I hope my voice can represent others within and outside of the charity.”
Vicky’s final reflection
“For me, the day was made so much more special as my daughter watched on in the room. She learnt how possible it is to be heard, and the power of your views recognised through meaningful dialogue and participation with the most senior members of Anna Freud leadership.
“On the homeward journey, whilst sharing a portion of chips came, ‘… you did good Mum’ - that’ll do for today.”
Key themes covered in the interview include:
resourcing and developing a culture of accountability
being open to thinking and doing things differently
applying the Lundy Model principles, while recognising that we need to be agile within different contexts
the importance of amplifying our work externally and reminding everyone that children have a right to impact mental health services
the link between our priorities in equity, diversity and inclusion with our participation priorities
balancing power among different stakeholder groups to shape accessible services
how we need to hold ourselves accountable and continuously sense check our decisions to move the organisation forward with authenticity.
Access the full participation Q&A available in video and transcript.