Early Discovery in Newham

We know that there has been a lot of research done already in Newham talking to young people about their health and wellbeing.  During Kailo’s early conversations led by our partners Shift, the team were asked to listen to and build on what is already known in Newham.  They have been reaching out to young people whose voices have been less heard in previous work, to build a more complete picture of young peoples’ needs.

Who have we spoken to?

So far we have spoken to 114 young people in Newham from across the borough. We have spoken to people with special educational needs, those identifying as LGBTQ+, young people who are at risk of exploitation, asylum-seeking young people, and people from racial minorities. We have done this by working with a range of community and grassroots organisations including youth, faith-based, cultural and aspiration groups, and undertaken street engagements. 

We have also spoken to service leaders across the health, education and justice teams as well as exploring different data sources to strengthen our knowledge.

Emerging Opportunity Areas

Our initial exploratory research has surfaced a number of themes with respect to issues young people are facing when it comes to their mental wellbeing. To help think through these themes for the next phase of deeper discovery we have framed them as design challenges – or ‘how might we’ questions.   

There are 8 emerging themes in total. According to what we hear, these are areas that, if pursued, could have the potential to support and improve young people’s wellbeing across Newham. 

• How might young people, their families and the wider community express how they are feeling so that they are listened to and understood?
• How might we ensure that young people experiencing discrimination as they navigate multiple identities feel supported and safe to be themselves?
• How might we help form more trusted relationships between young people and their community?
• How might we support the wellbeing of young people that are directly and indirectly impacted by the threat or presence of violence and trauma?
• How might we create and support safe spaces for young people?
• How might we support existing communities and activities that young people rely on for their wellbeing?
• How might schools and young people build support that nurtures rather than excludes students?
• How might young people work towards the future that they want for themselves and their families?

Next steps

We will now play these themes back to young people and communities in Newham to test whether they resonate, and which are most exciting and important.  We will do this by identifying which ones have interested communities forming around them around, enabling deeper research, understanding, and co-design of local solutions.  

We have always said that we want the learning and activities of Kailo to be owned and driven by the community, so we are overjoyed to have had such energy, enthusiasm and engagement from so many people and organisations so far and look forward to the next chapter.