A new report from the Centre for Mental Health has recommended that the NHS commission voluntary and community sector providers to deliver non-clinical mental health support for children and young people, following the success of Barnardo’s Inner Resilience and Development (BIRD) Service.
The report, Bridging the Gap, highlights how BIRD offers timely, tailored, and holistic care to children and young people who present at emergency departments but do not meet the threshold for CAMHS crisis support.
Operating in four hospitals in the Black Country and one in Merseyside, BIRD has allowed 97% of children to report improved mental wellbeing, strengthened relationships between young people and support workers, and reduced readmission rates by nearly eightfold compared to national averages.
Parents and carers also reported significant improvements in their children’s mood, behaviour, school engagement, and social relationships.
The report recommends that Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England:
- Establish equivalents to BIRD in their regions
- Commission VCSE providers for non-clinical mental health support
- Improve coordination between NHS services, families, schools, and community organisations
Andy Bell, Chief Executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said:
“Children and young people’s mental health has been declining over the last decade, and too many reach crisis point before they can get the right help. The BIRD service demonstrates that non-clinical mental health support can help children and families, preventing or averting crises, and reducing the need for hospital care. We hope that children and young people in all areas of the country will in future benefit from services like BIRD.”
Barnardo’s support workers were central to BIRD’s success, demonstrating the value of voluntary sector collaboration in delivering child-focused mental health care.
With rising demand for youth mental health services, the report calls for a more inclusive, preventative approach that bridges the gap between clinical thresholds and real-world needs.
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