Anglia Ruskin University

The Institute strives for the production of high quality research that helps to shape and influence the development and implementation of policy and practice and responds to the cultural, social, emotional and health needs of children and young people. Our work combines research expertise from the fields of the arts, social sciences, education, health and social care, social policy and law.

SUPREME Project

Suicide Prevention through Internet and Media Based Mental Health Promotion (SUPREME)

SUPREME is a Europe wide project which aims to develop, implement and evaluate an Internet- and Media-based, multi-language, culturally adapted, peer facilitated Mental Health promotion and Suicide Prevention intervention programme. The intervention will comprise of a highly interactive website targeted at adolescents and young adults in the age group 14-24 years, and a set of published guidelines, aimed at Media that targets young audiences, such as newspapers and magazines.

The content of the website will be based on knowledge from Europe's scientific and professional communities, accessed through literature reviews and focus groups. The website design will be based on youth preferences obtained through focus groups and interviews, which in the UK have been organised through the Childhood and Youth Research Institute (CRYI) at ARU.

The SUPREME project started in September 2010 and will run for three years. The project is funded (60%) through the Health Programme of the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) and additional resources (40%) are provided by the participating centres.

Partners
The SUPREME Project comprises of a partnership of countries from different regions of Europe. This includes leading centres in the field of mental health in the Northern Scandinavian area (Sweden), the Baltic region (Estonia, Lithuania), Western Europe (England), Southern/ Mediterranean Europe (Italy, Spain) and Eastern Europe (Hungary).

Associated partners:

• The Swedish National Prevention of Suicide and Mental Ill-Health (NASP), at Karolinska Institutet
• Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute (ERSI)
• Vadaskert Foundation Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic (VAGLE)
• University of Molise (UNIMOL)
• Vilnius University (VU)
• Hospital Del Mar, Barcelona (PsMAR)
• Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)

Recognition and telling: developing earlier routes to safety for children and young people

An action research project with young people as participants and researchers being jointly run by CYRI and the University of East Anglia's Social Work and Psychology Department, this study looks at groups of young people deemed to be at risk but who may not have been involved in the formal child protection process.

Activity / Methodology: The research explores young people's views about help seeking through:
content analysis of Child Line message board; in depth interviews; 2 workshops involving children and young people; 2 sets of focus groups for professional helpers and family members.

Supporting organisations: Kids Company in providing support services to vulnerable young people in schools and the community; Suffolk County Council in providing access to young people and professionals in community settings: Child Line as a counselling service for young people.

Commissioned by the Office of the Children's Commissioner

ArtZone Project (Evaluation of Zinc Arts)

The ArtZone is an interactive art mental health programme for young people with mental ill-health within secure units and local Community Mental Health Teams. The programme involves working with young people aged 11-25 with mental health problems through engaging them with a wide range of arts activities.

Activity / Methodology: People over eleven years of age who have a mental health need (or are at risk of poor mental wellbeing) are eligible for the programme. 80 service users will be involved in this evaluation. Qualitative data will be collected via focus groups with participants, by CYRI and SE-SURG (South Essex Service User Research Group).

Supporting organisations: SE-SURG (South Essex Service User Research Group) - experience of mental health service evaluations.

CYRI are involved in the evaluation of the project, which is being run by the South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT).

Funded by Comic Relief.

Research Ethics: Young Person Research Ethics Panel

The aim of this self funding CYRI research project was to pilot a young persons' research ethics panel. The pilot tested the effectiveness of a public engagement strategy comprising of a group of young people trained and supported to effectively scrutinize past and 'live' research proposals submitted to Anglia Ruskin University's Faculty Research Ethics Panel (FREP).

The objective of the first stage of the pilot was to establish partnerships with at least two local secondary schools; secure access from FREP to past and 'live' research proposals and undertake desk top research. Stage two involved four timetabled visits to a group of young people (n =10-15). The four visits focused on building awareness and knowledge on how to effectively assess research proposals with the aid of RESC research ethic panel guidelines. Participants were encouraged to put their learning into practice and assess past and 'live' research proposals.

The results have been compared and contrasted against the documented decisions made by FREP. Stage two will seek to develop with the young people an intergenerational friendly model of public engagement to support the 'voices' of young people in FREP's decision making

Supporting organisations: Hertfordshire and Essex High School for Girls

Towards ending gang and youth violence: identifying positive approaches to strengthen communities

The project involves a two-way exchange between the Caribbean Child Development Centre in Jamaica and CYRI in the UK to scope and develop a cross-cultural research project aimed at better understanding the issues of gang and youth violence and gain a new evidence-based look at international best practice.

Project Partners: Caribbean Child Development Centre based at the University of the West Indies

Activity / Methodology: Structured observation and dialogue combining site visits, practitioner workshops, public lectures, and participation in departmental activities and planning/write-up of research proposal.

Supporting organisations: University of the West Indies.

An international exchange promoting Children's Rights and Citizenship sponsored by the British Academy International Partnership Mobility Scheme.

Children and Young People's Voice Research Group

Contact: Prof. Tim Waller or Dr Darren Sharpe
Email: tim.waller@anglia.ac.uk or darren.sharpe@anglia.ac.uk

The focus of the Children and Young People's Voice Research Group (C&YPVRG) is to undertake, support and promote research concerning the 'voice' of children and young people, and to engage in training children and young people to undertake research promoting their 'voice'.