The Nurture Network: Promoting Young People's Mental Health in a Digital World

Lead Research Organisation: University of Cambridge
Department Name: Faculty of Education

Abstract

Promoting improved understanding of how children's daily lives are influenced by the digital world that now surrounds them and how they experience family, peer and school life as a result represents a substantial challenge and opportunity relative to facilitating positive mental health and development for children and young people. Historically, researchers have emphasised the role of supportive parenting and positive school experiences (including peer relationships) as primary social environmental influences on children's mental health, with most interventions targeting family and school-based influences aimed at remediating poor mental health outcomes for children and young people. It is increasingly recognised that the digital environment constitutes a new dimension or common denominator to these traditional agencies of socialisation influence on children's mental health. Yet, little progress has been made in equipping parents, teachers and the professional agencies that work with families and schools with new knowledge that harnesses potential strengths while offering protection from substantial risks posed to children by the digital world. How do we equip parents, teachers, practitioners, policy makers and youth themselves with information, support and resources that promotes positive mental health in a contemporary (and future) digital age? Addressing this core challenge represents the primary objective of our multi-disciplinary e-Nurture network. While significant advances have been made in relation to highlighting and understanding the genetic and biological underpinnings of poor mental health and mental health disorders in recent years, it is recognised that the social environments children experience and interact with remain a substantial influence on their positive and negative mental health trajectories (even when genetic factors are considered). Three primary areas of social environmental influence on children's mental health have dominated past research and practice in this area. First, family socialisation processes, specifically parenting practices are recognised as a substantive influence on children's mental health. Second, peer influences are noted as an important influence on children's mental health. Third, school-based factors are recognised as a further influence on children's mental health and development. Increasingly, the digital environment is recognised as a factor that both infuses traditional agencies of socialisation for children and that can influence children directly. Policy makers have recently directed significant attention to the prevalence rates and support needs among children and young people who experience mental health problems. The digital environment and its potential for positive and negative influences on children's well-being, mental health and development has also received substantial research, policy and media attention. Building on this policy platform, the primary objectives of our network are to (1) explore how the digital environment has changed the ways in which children experience and interact with family, school and peer-based influences and what these changes mean for children's mental health, (2) identify how we can recognise and disentangle digital risks from opportunities when working with families, schools and professional agencies in developing intervention programmes to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people, and (3) identify how we effectively incorporate and disseminate this new knowledge to engage present and future practice models and the design and development of digital platforms and interventions aimed at promoting mental health and reducing negative mental health trajectories for young people. The network will engage a collaborative, cross sectoral approach to facilitating impacts by directly engaging academic, charity, industry, policy and front-line beneficiaries (e.g. families, parents, schools, teachers, children and young people).

Planned Impact

The core objective of the e-Nurture network is to engage a broad array of academic, practice, policy and other relevant stakeholders to promote greater direct and knowledge-led engagement with families, schools and peer-group engaged agencies to facilitate improved mental health outcomes for children and young people. While many research projects purport impacts, partnership and engagement in delivering the lessons of research to practice and policy contexts, few groupings actually set out to broker this partnership from the outset. Our network is broad in partnership scope and intentionally inclusive of contributors that span multiple disciplinary and practice domains. While all contributors have an interest in youth and mental health, specific areas of expertise offer a complement that joins professional boundaries in a way that a standard research project could not facilitate. Through structured collaboration across academic, practice, policy, youth-led community groups, PPI members, industry and charitable organisational domains, we will operate across disciplinary boundaries to advance a knowledge-led model that generates new impacts and that stimulates future research and further impact opportunities. We aim to put in place a strategy to ensure that partners and those working at the front line of practice and policy relating to family, school and peer influences on children are in a position to use new knowledge generated by our core and network plus activities. We will utilize the complementary skills and extensive track records of the network Leadership Team, Advisory Board and extensive Partner Network profile spanning academic, practice, policy, industry, charity, education, family and child/young person domains. This will allow us to develop a greater understanding of the positive and negative influences of the digital environment for children through their experiences of family, school, peer and wider social influences on their well-being and mental health. It will also help shape thinking about how best to harness the digital environment to facilitate effective interventions to prevent and treat mental disorders, working together with family, school and peer front-line practitioners, charities and agencies. The network will stimulate significant outreach and dissemination through its Leadership Team, Advisory Board and Partners. We bridge academic (world-leading researchers and practitioners), practice (e.g. ACAMH), charity (e.g. NSPCC, Barnardos), policy (e.g. Office of the Children's Commissioner; UK Government departments) and education sectors (e.g. Place2Be), engaging with major industry partners (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Disney, BBC and others). This will allow us to promote previously under-explored knowledge-based implementation and impact synergies. Fundamentally, this will lead to greater knowledge and access to information, resources and supports that promote the role of families, schools and other agencies (e.g. peer-based advocacy groups) in helping to stimulate positive mental health outcomes and trajectories for children and young people. Several core groupings spanning academic, practice/policy domains, families/schools/charities, as well as future generations of researchers, practitioners and policy advocates will benefit from the products of this network, its partnerships and planned activities. This will be facilitated through targeted and integrated activities that will cut-across all areas of impact relevance and will be embedded in activities from the outset of the network. Academic knowledge exchange and impacts will be facilitated through regular meetings, webinars and network linked workshops, seminar and conference events, as well as submission of academic manuscripts, blogs and media engagement.

Publications

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Woodward K (2022) Beyond Mobile Apps: A Survey of Technologies for Mental Well-Being in IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing

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Thapar Anita (2021) What has happened to children's wellbeing in the UK? in LANCET PSYCHIATRY

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Thapar A (2021) What has happened to children's wellbeing in the UK? in The lancet. Psychiatry

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Roesch-Marsh A (2020) Digital Exclusion and Care Leavers: It's time for social work to join this fight. in Social Work 2020 under Covid-19 Magazine

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Perez Vallejos E (2021) The impact of algorithmic decision-making processes on young people's well-being. in Health informatics journal

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Kostyrka-Allchorne K (2020) Children's mental health and recreation: Limited evidence for associations with screen use. in Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)

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Ito-Jaeger S (2022) Digital video interventions and mental health literacy among young people: a scoping review. in Journal of mental health (Abingdon, England)

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Hollis C (2020) Editorial: The role of digital technology in children and young people's mental health - a triple-edged sword? in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines

 
Title "Don't put that on Instagram!" how kids really feel about parents' posting: Rose Capdevila and Lisa Lazard 
Description We often think about how young people use the internet and social media - but young people are not the only ones posting about their lives. OU Psychology's Rose Capdevila and Lisa Lazard conducted research with children and their families about the content parents were sharing, where they were sharing it, and how the young people themselves felt about it. In this short video, Rose and Lisa share their thought-provoking findings. Supporting Children's Mental Health though Familial Online Relationships is a joint research project between The Open University, Keele University, the University of Northampton, University of Bedfordshire, and ParentZone, and funded by the eNuture Network. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact The animation will be launched in Spring 2024 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi0I8nKFNIU
 
Title Break The Cycle 
Description Short video produced by University of Sussex about the benefits of running on mental health. It's estimated that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem; the impact on individuals, families and friends can be immense. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact This film was produced as part of Mental Health Awareness Week in 2020 and has been viewed 605 times. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPUgQxCZ9fY&t=14s
 
Title Care leaver relationships, mental health and online spaces 
Description Short film based on findings from eNurture-funded research and made with young people. Animation by Wilfred Magnussen and Wali Hall for the Articulate Cultural Trust 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2021 
Impact The research team worked with a group of young people from the Articulate Trust to produce the short animated film capturing some of the themes of the project for knowledge exchange purposes. The film is available on the eNurture website and has been used to outline the findings to a non-academic audience. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/funded-projects
 
Title Debunking Social Media Myths 
Description A video resource developed by the eNurture Network for parents/carers, young people, teachers and practitioners on how to navigate the digital world and its impact on young people's mental health. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact Part of a film series created to disseminate the work of eNurture to an non-academic audience, the film is available to view on the eNurture website 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title Hacking the System 
Description Short animation highlighting the urgent need to have conversations with young people in schools about data collection and it how that data can and should be used. The film is an output from eNurture-funded project 'Hacking the system: Young people's views on the potential and risk of Internet of Things in their school', led by Dr Katherine Easton, University of Sheffield. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The film is available to view on the eNurture YouTube channel. It has been viewed 49 times since it was uploaded in April 2023. 
URL https://youtu.be/4Nrb6VdQ8Qs
 
Title Introduction to eNurture and the film Series 
Description Director of eNurture, Prof Gordon Harold talks about how the eNurture Network came about and the purpose of the film series. This is the first of a series of films produced by the eNurture Network to celebrate our achievements and disseminate: - Key findings from some of the exciting projects funded by the Network and; - Resources developed for parents/carers, teachers, practitioners and young people. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The film is available on the eNurture website and has been viewed 40 since it was uploaded in Oct 2023. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title Supporting Wellbeing: The Role of Pets 
Description A film featuring Prof Gordon Harold and Prof Diane Coyle (Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge) in conversation about the positive impact of pet ownership on mental health and wellbeing, particularly for children and young people. They describe the importance of their relationships with their own dogs, Sophie the rescue dog who has becomes a social media sensation (#SophieFromRomania) and lively new Border Collie puppy, Gelert. The film has been produced for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The interdisciplinary Cambridge Festival takes place every year in March/April. It is a public engagement/communication of science festival covering all aspects of the world-leading research happening at Cambridge - it is an eclectic mixture of over 350 events and activities. Over 10,000 people have already registered for the festival. 
URL https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/rudd/events/camfest2023/
 
Title eNurture Network: Our achievements 2018-2023 
Description A short animation film celebrating the achievements of eNurture from 2018 to 2023 and highlights the importance of collaborating with a variety of co-creators of research, including children/young people and third sector organisations. It is part of film series produced to disseminate and celebrate our work including the exciting research projects we funded. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact This film can be viewed on the eNurture website and has been viewed 74 times since it was uploaded in Feb 2024. It is being shown at the Cambridge Festival on 15 March. The interdisciplinary Cambridge Festival is an annual public engagement programme, organised by the University of Cambridge, to communicate science via a mixture of on online, on-demand and in-person events covering all aspects of the world-leading research happening at Cambridge. The film is one of 4 evidence-informed animations highlighting the important aspects of family relationships and youth development. The animations will be projected onto the exterior wall of the Museum of Zoology and also shown inside the museum with the research team on hand to answer any questions from the general public. 
URL https://www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/rudd-centre-how-we-are-meeting-needs-children-and-families-tod...
 
Title eNurture: Care Leaver Relationships, Mental Health and Online Spaces 
Description A short animation film outlining the key messages from eNurture-funded project 'Care leaver relationships, mental health and online spaces' led by Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh (University of Edinburgh). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The animation is part of a film series produced to disseminate and celebrate the work of eNurture including the exciting research projects we funded. It can be viewed on the eNurture website and will be shown at various dissemination events in 2024. It has been viewed 26 times since it was uploaded in Oct 2023. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title eNurture: Digital Resilience for Children and Young People 
Description A short animation film outlining the key messages from eNurture-funded project 'Exploring understandings of digital resilience to inform the development of a Digital Resilience Scale (DRS) for 'pre-teens' (9-12 year olds)' led by Dr Simon Hammond (University of East Anglia). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The animation is part of a film series produced to disseminate and celebrate the work of eNurture including the exciting research projects we funded. It can be viewed on the eNurture website and will be shown at various dissemination events in 2024. It has been viewed 109 times since it was uploaded in Nov 2023. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title eNurture: How to Support and Listen to Young People in Need 
Description A short animation produced in collaboration with the Samaritans on how to support and listen to young people in need. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact This animation is part of a series of films produced by the eNurture Network to disseminate key resources developed by the Network for parent/carers, teachers, practitioners and young people. The film is available to view on the website. It has been viewed 31 times since it was uploaded in Nov 2023. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title eNurture: Social Media Influencers and Body Confidence Among Adolescent Girls 
Description A short animation film outlining the key messages from eNurture-funded project 'Using social media influencers as a first-line digital intervention to improve mental health among adolescent girls at scale' led by Prof Phillippa Diedrichs (University of West of England, Bristol). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The animation is part of a film series produced to disseminate and celebrate the work of eNurture including the exciting research projects we funded. It can be viewed on the eNurture website and will be shown at various dissemination events in 2024. It has been viewed 48 times since it was uploaded in Nov 2023. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Title eNurture: Understanding the Impact of Digital Parenting 
Description A short animation film outlining the key messages from eNurture-funded project 'Understanding the impact of digital parenting across diverse family ecologies' led by Dr Amy Orben (University of Cambridge). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact This film is available on the eNurture website and has been viewed 32 times since it was uploaded in Nov 2023. It is being shown at the Cambridge Festival on 15 March. The interdisciplinary Cambridge Festival is an annual public engagement programme, organised by the University of Cambridge, to communicate science via a mixture of on online, on-demand and in-person events covering all aspects of the world-leading research happening at Cambridge. The film is one of 4 evidence-informed animations highlighting the important aspects of family relationships and youth development. The animations will be projected onto the exterior wall of the Museum of Zoology and also shown inside the museum with the research team on hand to answer any questions from the general public. 
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/
 
Description Substantial progress has been made in stimulating engagement from charities, 3rd sector and voluntary organisations in promoting primary objectives linked to the Nurture Network (eNurture). In addition multiple family, school, peer based advocacy agencies, UK and devolved nation Government departments have engaged with and participated in multiple eNurture events and engagement activities. We have also established an active youth panel, contributing to all phases of eNurture research and impact activities. This consists of a group of 25 independent Youth Panel representatives (up to age 18 years) and activities include Instagram takeovers and blog posts during national mental health campaigns such as Children's Mental Health Week and Safer Internet Day.

eNurture has active partnerships with 5 schools in the UK (primary and secondary levels, including devolved nation engagement) and the Republic of Ireland (based on a request to partner with eNurture in developing school guidance on youth mental health in response to Government policy initiatives). Regular in-person and online meetings take place with school partners, an example of an activity facilitated in the first phase of eNurture funding being: In December 2019 eNurture facilitated a School Council Seminar on the Impact of the Digital World on the Mental Health of Children and Young People at Ysgol Gynradd Rhiwbeina, Cardiff. Twenty-five pupils (age 8-10 years) took part in the seminar during which they were asked to consider the risks and opportunities connected to the digital world, and advice for adults concerning the digital world. As a result of the lively seminar the school is co-producing with eNurture a leaflet for parents, teachers and pupils outlining the key points and recommendations from their perspective.

Our first funding round (July 2019) generated proposals from multiple under-represented disciplines/groups - the 5 projects selected for funding are based on major new avenues of enquiry which will feed back into areas such as sociology, psychology, social work, education, media and communication, psychiatry, human-computer interaction, as well as the management of big data and complex data analytic methods, thus stimulating new academic research, practice and engagement opportunities. By way of example, an eNurture-funded project 'Prototyping TangToys (Tangible Toys to Improve Mental Health)' focuses on the development of smart devices to engage and transform the wellbeing of Children with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) who might be disadvantaged in the traditional digital environment. The project involves the co-design of a proof-of-concept prototype as a newly proposed intervention delivery mechanism for children and young adults with ID to promote positive mental wellbeing. All of our first round plus fund projects have published papers from their research (12 publications so far with more in development), which is an immensely impressive achievement https://www.enurture.org.uk/research-articles. Other outputs from the Plus Fund projects include new collaborations and further research funding, for example: Dr Simon Hammond (University of East Anglia) completed his project 'Exploring understandings of digital resilience to inform the development of a Digital Resilience Scale (DRS) for 'pre-teens' (9-12-year olds) in October 2020. The project led to new research collaborations which has resulted in a publication (Hammond, S. P., Young, J., & Duddy, C. (2021). Life story work for children and young people with care experience: A scoping review. Developmental Child Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516103220985872); and funding from NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme for project 'Improving the mental health and mental health support available to adolescents looked-after via low-intensity life story work: A realist review [LIMITLESS]'. (£141,125 August 2021 - December 2022).

In our 2nd funding round, 7 projects were selected for funding in January 2021 and were invited to present their research at a showcase event in January 2022 (See below). A number of grant recipients have written blogs about how eNurture has helped to develop their research. Most of the round 2 projects completed in Jan/Feb 2023 and have resulted in a variety of outputs such as a toolkit in a box on digital ethics of care for the schools in Leicestershire. 100 physical games and lesson plans as part of toolkit have been distribution to just under 50 schools. The schools are now using these co-produced materials in their digital citizenship education.

In addition to multiple events organised during the first two rounds of eNurture funding, eNurture organised two stakeholders webinars in September 2020 with contributions from Third Sector partners. The first webinar (14 Sept) focussed on digital based or enabled solutions to supporting and advising children and young people who have experienced or are a risk of mental health difficulties. The second webinar (21 Sept) focussed on positive ways of supporting and advising children and young people who have experienced or are a risk of mental health difficulties as a result of engaging with the digital world. Both webinars were targeted at academic researchers, practitioners and policy makers from a range of public, private and third sector organisations. Both webinars encouraged dialogue, stimulated debate and highlighted positive digital solutions for children and young people.

The third and final funding round was launched in January 2021 during a webinar showcasing the projects supported in the first two rounds. 17 expressions of interest were received and feedback sent to applicants to help develop their proposals. Seven projects were finally selected for funding after a rigorous review process which involved feedback and suggestions from our partner schools and youth panel. These projects were completed by Summer 2023. To celebrate the work of the network and showcase the key findings from some of the Plus Fund projects, a live action and animation film series has been produced which is available to view on the eNurture website and has been shared on various social media platforms.
Exploitation Route This is an ongoing and a particularly vibrant area of eNurture activity and future opportunity. The network has a focus on engaging academic and non- academic partnerships to promote eNurture objectives. This includes an emphasis on engaging with early career researchers and non-academic specialists (e.g. charity and other stakeholder partners, i.e. teachers, practitioners) to promote understanding of eNurture aligned objectives and positive youth mental health impacts.

A key component of all eNurture activities has been engagement with youth 'voices' across all phases of Network building and objectives delivery. Working with primary schools, secondary schools and independent youth contributors (across devolved nation communities) has promoted an immensely rich array of resources that we will build on and develop and make available through our website and other targeted dissemination activities.

To celebrate the work of the network and showcase the key findings from some of the Plus Fund projects, a live action and animation film series has been produced which is available to view on the eNurture website and has been shared on various social media platforms. As an important part of eNurture's legacy, the film series will continue to be used for many years after the end of the network to stimulate new collaborations, leading to new research and further impacts.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Healthcare

Government

Democracy and Justice

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/showcase-of-funded-projects
 
Description The formal launch event of the network took place in November 2018. Engagement activities linked to the first phase of eNurture activities including research findings from our Plus Fund projects have featured in several high level UK government and international policy related reports. We have facilitated major policy impacts in the area of child-adolescent mental health (e.g. contributions to new models of family intervention, submitted by UK Government to the recent Spending Review, September 2020) and throughout the duration of the network have continued to develop and build evidence-based partnerships with key policy stakeholders, utilising evidence to promote new mental health understanding and aligned practice-policy development and implementation strategies particularly in response to the escalated impacts in the area of mental health across all ages as a result of Covid-19 and other UK expected system 'shocks' (e.g. Brexit, 2021+). Plus Fund grant awardees have submitted oral research evidence based on their eNurture-funded projects to various Parliamentary Inquiries, e.g. Screen Time Impacts on Education and Well-being (House of Commons Education Select Committee, November 2023); Briefing to Secretary of State for Education about smartphone bans in schools in September 2023; Evidence review for Government on face-to-face to online offer (2021). Grant awardees have also been appointed to various national policy working groups and advisory panels such as UKCIS Digital Resilience Working Group and Internet Matters Expert Advisory Panel.
First Year Of Impact 2020
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

Policy & public services

 
Description Briefing to Secretary of State for Education about smartphone bans in schools: Dr Amy Orben
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Amy Orben's briefing to Secretary of State for Education about smartphone bans in schools informed the new guidance on phones in schools (issued in Feb 2024) which backs headteachers in prohibiting the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break times.
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-crackdown-on-mobile-phones-in-schools#:~:text...
 
Description Evidence review for Government: face-to-face to online offer
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Parliamentary Inquiry about Screen Time Impacts on Education and Well-being: Dr Amy Orben
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact As part of the Parliamentary Inquiry about Screen Time Impacts on Education and Well-being, academics, including Dr Amy Orben, were asked to consider the lack of recent academic research into this subject, and why evidence regarding a relationship between screen time and poor mental health appears to be mixed. They were asked to consider the extent to which there may be links between excessive screen use and issues such as shortened attention spans, quality of sleep, and leading a more sedentary lifestyle.
URL https://committees.parliament.uk/event/19779/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/
 
Description Simon Hammond Appointed to Internet Matters Expert Advisory Panel
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact This has led to further research applications and collaborations
 
Description Simon Hammond Appointed to UKCIS Digital Resilience Working Group
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact This has lead to further research applications and collaborations
 
Description Future Leaders Felllowship: Dr Amy Orben
Amount £1,874,606 (GBP)
Organisation United Kingdom Research and Innovation 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Improving the mental health and mental health support available to adolescents looked-after via low-intensity life story work: A realist review
Amount £141,125 (GBP)
Funding ID NIHR201963 
Organisation National Institute for Health Research 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2021 
End 12/2022
 
Description Nominet UK Public Benefit Programme
Amount £140,000 (GBP)
Organisation Nominet Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2021 
End 05/2022
 
Description Nominet UK Public Benefit Programme: Dr. Aiman El Asam
Amount £160,000 (GBP)
Organisation Nominet Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2021 
End 10/2022
 
Description BBC Radio Norfolk: Simon Hammond on eNurture-funded research on digital resilience. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This was broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk on Safer Internet Day (7 February). Simon talked about his eNurture-funded research on digital resilience. His project 'Exploring understandings of digital resilience to inform the development of a Digital Resilience Scale (DRS) for 'pre-teens' (9-12-year olds) was successfully completed in October 2020.
The project led to new research collaborations which has resulted in the following outputs:
Publication: Hammond, S. P., Young, J., & Duddy, C. (2021). Life story work for children and young people with care experience: A scoping review. Developmental Child Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516103220985872

Funding from National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme for project 'Improving the mental health and mental health support available to adolescents looked-after via low-intensity life story work: A realist review [LIMITLESS]'. (£141,125 August 2021 - December 2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description BBC Wales Live interview on forced adoption 1949-1976 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The interview focussed on the experiences and mental health impacts of unmarried women whose children were adopted between 1949 and 1976 in Wales.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00151zf/bbc-wales-live-02032022
 
Description Blog: Let's Connect: A 'how to guide' for young people wanting to make meaningful connections: Dr Ruth Sellers 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog published as part of Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week from 6-12 February 2023 which shines a spotlight on the challenges that children and young people face today, particularly in a post pandemic world facing the cost of living crisis. Let's Connect is Place2Be's theme this year and eNurture Advisory Board member and Deputy Director of the Rudd Centre (University of Cambridge), Dr Ruth Sellers, shares her essential expert tips on ways that children and young people can make meaningful connections with their families, friends, communities and with nature.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2023/2/9/lets-connect-a-how-to-guide-for-young-people-wanting-to-ma...
 
Description Blog: Supporting the mental health of young people with a long-term physical condition: Dr Angeliki Bogosian & Dr Jennie Brown 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In the 4th of a series of blog posts by eNurture grant holders, Drs Angeliki Bogosian and Jennie Brown outline the progress they have made on their project 'Delphi study with young people, families and professionals to prioritise focus, content and digital tools in the co-development of digital tools to support young people with long-term health conditions'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2022/3/21/supporting-the-mental-health-of-young-people-with-a-long-...
 
Description CRASSH webinar - Children and artificial intelligence: risks, opportunities and the future 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Gordon Harold was invited to present the work of eNurture at this workshop which was convened by Giving Voice to Digital Democracies, a research project which is part of the Centre for the Humanities and Social Change, hosted at CRASSH, Cambridge. It brought together experts from academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology, computer science and linguistics, as well as leading figures from regulatory bodies, the charity sector, and child-focused agencies. The event aims were to explore the future of online safety, and how to harness the opportunities of language-based AI for children while also ensuring that potential risks are minimised.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/32572/#description
 
Description Cambridge Festival: Promoting Positive Mental Health In A Time Of Mental Health Crisis 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This in-person public engagement workshop led by Prof Gordon Harold looked at the effects of mental health in society through short talks followed by a panel discussion with speakers from an array of relevant backgrounds. Speakers: Prof Leon Feinstein (University of Oxford), Elsa Arnold, Youth Panel member, eNurture Network and fundraiser for YoungMinds.The aim of the workshop was to promote improved understanding of the topic of mental health and to highlight how we can all work together to promote positive mental health and reduce poor mental health outcomes by focusing on this increasingly important area of public health relevance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Cambridge Public Health Annual Showcase 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This event was aimed at introducing new research and innovations aimed at supporting young people's mental health, with an impressive programme of speakers and contributors who seek to influence the nation's approach to promoting mental health for children and adolescents. It has led to new research collaborations and partnerships.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/current-events/2021/5/18/cambridge-public-health-annual-showcase-2021
 
Description Children and Young People's Mental Health Early Career Researcher Forum: Ask The Expert - What do funders look for in a research grant application? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact The Early Career Researcher (ECR) Forum is a collaborative event led by TRIUMPH network and organised together with the UKRI Mental Health Networks including eNurture. The forum is open to all working in the field of youth mental health, but it is specifically targeted at ECRs to provide a space for support, networking, and collaborations. This inclusive event welcomed anyone who considered themselves to be an Early Career Researcher from a variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to, those working in the third sector, educational settings, a health related or NHS service, as well as people working or studying at universities. The Ask The Expert Q&A session focussed on what funders look for in a research grant application and generated a lot of questions from the ECRs attending. A follow-up blog has been published on the eNurture website.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2021/9/24/what-funders-look-for-in-research-grant-applications-top-...
 
Description Collections-Connections-Communities/Cambridge Public Health: Public Mental Health I: Children and young people 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The meeting was an opportunity for CPH researchers and non-academic participants from Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle's Yard and the Museum of Zoology to share information about their work, programmes, partnerships and consider ideas for future research collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Conference presentation: "You could have asked": Negotiating family online sharing: Dr Rose Capdevila 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Paper presented to British Psychological Society (BPS) Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Windsor (28-30 August 2023) which generated lots of questions at the end and requests for further info.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Conference presentation: Connecting online mental health services to schools: Stakeholder perspectives of the risks and opportunities: Beth Bell 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Cyberpsychology Section of the British Psychological Society, Newcastle, July, 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Conference presentation: Don't let me be misunderstood: Young people and their parent's social media posting. Dr Rose Capdevila 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Paper presented to British Psychological Society (BPS) Psychology of Women & Equalities Section Annual Conference, Windsor (5-7 July 2023).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description DWP Reducing Parental Conflict Programme - Community of Practice Webinar: How the inter-parental relationship affects children and young people's mental health: an update on the implications for practice and policy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The conference was attended by approx 1400 people including those from local authority children's services, government departments, MP (Miriam Cates), voluntary sector including SMEs, counselling services, education settings, Cafcass, solicitors/mediation/advocacy and police service.The presentation generated a lot of the questions from the audience. As a result, the DWP RPC programme will be keeping young people's mental health and the links to parental conflict on their agenda.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description East Midlands Reducing Parental Conflict Conference 2022 keynote presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The conference was organised by the East Midlands Regional Task Group on behalf of the many frontline practitioners and service leads across the region. The the aim of the conference was to raise awareness of conflict in families, and support professionals in identifying and responding appropriately to parental conflict.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Event: Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education - Education, University of York 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact On the 27th of June 2023 researchers came together at the National STEM Learning Centre to share research outputs with the wider education community and generate new collaborations. The showcasing event was expertly hosted by Beth Bell (Department of Education - Lecturer in Mental Health and Wellbeing) and Lina Gega (Director of the Institute for Mental Health Research at York -IMRY), and was co-funded by the Nurture Network (Research Council Grant Ref: ES/S004467/1) and IMRY. Ongoing discussion and engagement with key stakeholders in the education sector is essential, including young people. We hope this showcase is the first of many similar events where research knowledge is shared and new research questions are co-created.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.york.ac.uk/institute-of-mental-health-research/ourtempleevents/eventreportmhandeducation...
 
Description GameSym: Gaming, Livestreaming, Esports & Youth Mental Health Symposium 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This international symposium was organised by eNurture Plus Fund recipient Dr Matthew Hart (University of Leicester) and was aimed at showcasing research and promoting discussion investigating how digital environments, specifically live-streaming video games and esports, are changing the nature of the risks that children and young people face in their everyday digital lives. The symposium, which brought together leading academic researchers, young gamers, specialised practitioners, and industry leaders, included research papers from a range of disciplines such as sociology, education, media and communication, internet studies, feminist theory, human geography, psychology.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/current-events/2021/6/2/gamesym-gaming-livestreaming-esports-amp-youth-m...
 
Description Helping parents to help children during a mental health crisis 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Following on from World Mental Health Day on 10 October, this first of two blog posts by Prof Gordon Harold and Prof Leslie Leve describes the scale of the challenge in understanding what contributes to mental health and the need for policy to help parents to help their children.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2021/10/12/helping-parents-to-help-children-during-a-mental-health-...
 
Description How eNurture funding has helped to develop my research: Dr Aiman El Asam 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Dr. Aiman El Asam, senior lecturer and researcher at Kingston University London (Psychology Department), was one of the recipients of an eNurture grant in our first funding round in 2019 for his project 'Vulnerability, Online Lives and Mental Health: Towards a New Practice Model'. In this blog post, Aiman outlines what his team has achieved with the support from eNurture.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2021/8/9/how-enurture-funding-has-helped-to-develop-my-research
 
Description How eNurture funding has helped to develop my research: Dr Simon Hammond 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact In the 2nd of a series of blog posts by eNurture grant holders, Dr Simon Hammond (University of East Anglia) outlines what his team has been able to achieve with the funding from eNurture. His project 'Exploring understandings of digital resilience to inform the development of a Digital Resilience Scale (DRS) for 'pre-teens' (9-12 year olds)' was awarded a grant in our 1st funding call in 2019 and was successfully completed in October 2020 despite COVID restrictions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2022/1/24/how-enurture-funding-has-helped-to-develop-my-research-si...
 
Description How eNurture supported the Digital Ethics of Care project with pre-teens: Dr Michelle O'Reilly 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact In the 3rd of a series of blog posts by eNurture grant holders, Dr Michelle O'Reilly (University of Leicester) outlines the exciting progress made so far on her project 'Empowering pre-teens online through a digital ethics of care framework'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2022/2/9/how-e-nurture-supported-the-digital-ethics-of-care-project...
 
Description Keynote presentation for Precarious Lives 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact This public event was organised by CRASSH (Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities) and focussed on the development of the social realism film genre over the last century, in interdisciplinary studies of inequalities in health and a commitment to policy development and action. The event included a screening of Ken Loach's 2019 film "Sorry We Missed You" which explores the current zero hours gig economy and its effect on families. The target audience included people with lived experience of these circumstances; academics from across the arts and science- including film makers and historians, sociologists, educationalists and psychologists and policy makers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/precarious-lives-inequalities-in-health-through-the-lens-of-the-film-...
 
Description Newham College Family Forum: The promise and peril of social media in the family. Parenting children in the age of technology: Dr Amanda Ferguson 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Dr Amanda Ferguson who is a co-I on Amy Orben's e-Nurtured funded project gave a talk on the research at the Newnham College Family Forum in Cambridge. The Newnham College Family Forum is a discussion forum for all those interested in contemporary issues affecting families, in particular mothers. The forum title for 2023 was 'The promise and peril of social media in the family. Parenting children in the age of technology.' Dr Amanda Ferguson shared their knowledge and experiences, offering practical tips on how to harness the benefits and mitigate the risks, followed by a panel discussion with questions from the floor.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://newn.cam.ac.uk/alumnae/alumnae-events/newnhamfamilyforum/
 
Description Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust: Mental Health and You Podcast: Simon Hammond 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In this podcast Simon is talking about a new project he is leading called LIMITLESS that will examine life story work as a possible intervention to address the mental health needs of children and young people with experience of being 'looked-after'. It turns out if Simon was to write his own life story then life story work would feature large - having been a passion of his since he took a job as a residential worker working with kids in care soon after finishing his first degree. He tells us all about his pHD and other work which has led to him now leading this realist review (he explains what that is), how life story work can be digitised and how he would love a world where every young person is given a digital repository online which follows them through the care system.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://shows.acast.com/mental-health-and-you/episodes/research-limitless-enthusiasm
 
Description Policy approaches to support parents to support their children's mental health 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Following on from World Mental Health Day on 10 October, this second of two blog posts by Prof Gordon Harold and Prof Leslie Leve suggests some policy approaches to support children's mental health in the long-term by supporting parents.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2021/10/12/policy-approaches-to-support-parents-to-support-their-ch...
 
Description Presentation at 2022 Annual Conference of 'The South East Asian School Counselling Network': Laura Cariola 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by Plus Fund grant holder Dr Laura Cariola (University of Edinburgh) of the initial results and best-practice recommendations of project 'Third Culture Kids' Digital Environments and Mental Health'. Attendance by 50 school counsellors working at international schools in South East Asia.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.seascn.org/conference-2022
 
Description Presentation for Specialist Children's and Young People's Services, East London NHS Foundation Trust: Angeliki Bogosian 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by Dr Angeliki Bogosian (City, University of London) on the results of the meta-review of psychological themes reported by adolescents with a long-term condition for the Specialist Children's and Young People's Services, East London NHS Foundation Trust on the 3rd of February 2022. The meta-review was conducted as part of the eNurture Plus Fund project 'Delphi study with young people, families and professionals to prioritise focus, content and digital tools to support young people with long-term health conditions'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation: Influencer Culture x Sex Education Forum: Robyn Muir 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presented at Influencer Culture x Sex Education Forum, Tuesday 20th February 2024, 90 people participated online with lively discussions
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual conference: The UKRI E-Nurture Network 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The presentation contributed to RCP aim of securing the best outcomes for people with mental illness, learning difficulties and developmental disorders by promoting excellent mental health services, training outstanding psychiatrists, promoting quality and research, and setting standards.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/events/conferences/2021/faculty-of-child-and-adolescent-psychiatry-confere...
 
Description Sesame workshop New York: Understanding the impact of digital parenting across diverse family ecologies - Dr Amy Orben 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The sesame workshop is the research arm of Sesame Street which focuses on how media can educate children. Dr Amy Orben gave a talk to the Sesame Workshop in New York about her eNurture-funded work in January 2024.
25 people were in audience and it led to discussions and potential new collaboration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Showcase of eNurture Plus Fund Projects 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The aim of this webinar was to showcase some of the exciting projects funded by eNurture and to launch the third and final funding call. Researchers supported in the first funding call completed their projects in 2020 and outlined their key findings and outputs during the webinar. The most recent awardees described projects started in the past 6 months and progress made so far. Participants welcomed the opportunity to hear about eNurture funded projects and to obtain information on what makes a successful Plus Fund application.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.enurture.org.uk/showcase-of-funded-projects
 
Description The Family Mediation Trust annual conference: Young People's Mental Health in Mediation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The event drew together some of the sector's leading mediators, professors and judges, to provide attendees with the knowledge and tools they will need to take on the challenges we will be seeing over the next 12 months.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.thefamilymediationtrust.org/the-centre-for-excellence-conference
 
Description Unpacking Nature from Nurture: Understanding how Family Processes Affect Child and Adolescent Mental Health 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact As an Interdisciplinary Research Centre, Cambridge Neuroscience links principal investigators from over 60 different departments and institutes across the University. Connecting biologists with computer scientists, psychiatrists, social scientists, epidemiologists and neurologists has led to life-changing discoveries. The recording of the seminar has been viewed approx 300 times and has led to potential interdisciplinary research collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuETkdppwoA&t=2s
 
Description Workshop at the International School in Helsinki, Finland: Laura Cariola 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Plus Fund grant holder Dr Laura Cariola (University of Edinburgh) delivered a workshop for parents at the international School in Helsinki, Finland (Consultancy) on 29th November 2022. Dr Cariola presented the initial results of her eNurture project on Third Culture Kids' Digital Environments and mental health, and encouraged parents to reflect on their own parenting practices. Attendance by approximately 12 parents.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Workshop with staff of military family support charity 'Forces Children Scotland': Laura Cariola 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Workshop delivered by Plus Fund grant holder for staff of military family support charity 'Forces Children Scotland' (23rd February 2023). It included a presentation of the initial results of Dr Cariola's eNurture project on Third Culture Kids' Digital Environments and mental health, and critical round-table discussion with armed forces family support workers. Attendance of approximately 12 members of staff.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Workshop: Social Media and Mental Health: Conceptualising a Digital Ethics of Care, Amsterdam: Michelle O'Reilly 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Aa workshop to students in Amsterdam about the digital ethics of care framework and presented some of the initial findings from the e-Nurture project. This was a two-hour event and was attended by approximately 30 students from Holland.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Workshop: Using design-based methods in sensitive topic qualitative research with teens: Examples from the COMS Project. Beth Bell 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Workshop delivered at the Annual Conference of the Cyberpsychology Section of the British Psychological Society, Newcastle, July, 2023. Generated lots of questions and request for further info.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023