Participation at Anna Freud
Our participation strategy is our commitment to listen to and learn from the voices of children, young people, parents and carers in all aspects of our work.
Our participation strategy
Our participation strategy, launched in 2024, has children and young people at its heart. It explains how our work is strengthened by adopting the Lundy model of participation. This rights-based approach creates a framework for us to hear, listen to and act upon the voices of those we work with.
By strengthening opportunities for children, young people and families to have a voice, and influence what we do, we’ll increase our knowledge and understanding, achieve scientific breakthroughs and continue to be at the forefront of innovation.
Contact participation@annafreud.org to learn more.
The Lundy Model of Participation
In line with our adoption of the Lundy Model of Participation, we aim for participants to gain meaningful value from their involvement across the four domains of Space, Voice, Audience and Influence.
Space
Children, young people, parents and carers must be given safe, inclusive opportunities to form and express their views.
Voice
Children, young people, parents and carers must be given the right support to express their views.
Audience
The views must be listened to by a professional with the power to make decisions.
Influence
The views must be acted on, as appropriate, and outcome fed back to children, young people, parents and carers.
How we embed participation in our work
We involve children, young people, parents and carers through:
participation: supporting them to shape decisions about the services they or others receive.
co-design: working together to define a problem and create solutions
co-production: involving them in the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of a process or project in its entirety
consultation: asking for their views on a piece of work or at a certain point of policy or strategy development
leadership: training them to lead on project or programme delivery.
The Lundy Model Network
We are proud to lead the Lundy Model Network on LinkedIn, a growing community that brings together people committed to understanding, sharing and developing practice around the Lundy Model of Participation. The network provides a space to exchange ideas, experiences and learning, while building connections across different sectors and contexts.
A particular highlight is our annual gathering, which gives members the opportunity to come together, strengthen relationships, share practice and reflect on how we can continue to support meaningful participation and ensure that children and young people’s voices are not only heard, but given due weight.
Who we work with
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Anna Freud Champions
Volunteer parents and carers and young people (aged 14–25 years) from across the UK with experience of mental health services. Some have received services from Anna Freud before, some have not.
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Participation Programme Assistants (PPAs)
Paid lived experience posts. Young people, parents and carers support projects across the centre for medium to long term, providing lived experience insight to planning, practice and evaluation.
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CallOnMinds Network
A network of young people, parents and carers who engage in one of our flash opportunities only. This can involve completing surveys or questionnaires, and standalone focus groups.
Making the Lundy Model work in practice
The Lundy Model helps ensure children and young people’s participation is meaningful and rights-based. To do this, you do not need to be an expert, but you do need to make clear design choices in your work.
We've developed a simple guide to making the Lundy Model work in practice.
Celebrating participation
Our champions' reflections through art and poetry
The image on the right is a work of art titled ‘Reaching out’ made by Naz, a Young Champion.
Join the Lundy Model Network
The Lundy Model Network is a growing community that brings together people committed to the Lundy Model of Participation.
Join todayYou may also be interested in
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Young Champions
Our team of Young Champions work with us to ensure that their experiences of mental health and as young people, help shape the work we do.
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Parent and Carer Champions
Our Parent and Carer Champions support us to ensure that their views and experiences help shape how we deliver our mental health services.
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About Anna Freud
Anna Freud is a pioneering mental health charity transforming care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation.
