Healthy Brains Global Initiative UK (HBGI UK) is pleased to publish the End of Phase 1 report of the Fixing Futures Review, an operational review exploring how children and young people’s mental health services can become more effective, better coordinated and more focused on the outcomes that matter most to young people themselves.
Launched in October 2025, the Review examines how children move through the mental health support system across education, health, social care, justice and the voluntary sector, and where the system most consistently fails to deliver timely, effective support. Phase 1 has focused on building a system-level understanding of these challenges through a rapid but wide-ranging exploration of current practice.
The findings highlight a system characterised by significant commitment and effort from practitioners, but also by structural barriers that make it difficult for services to translate this effort into consistent improvements in young people’s lives. In many areas, services measure activity rather than outcomes, definitions of success are unclear, and accountability for long-term wellbeing is fragmented across different parts of the system. As a result, children and young people may experience delays, poor coordination between services, or difficulty accessing appropriate support.
Phase 1 drew on multiple sources of evidence, including a rapid review of research and policy literature, interviews with practitioners and system leaders, and engagement with children, young people and parents. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed their experiences and expertise to this work. Their insights have been essential in shaping our understanding of where the system most consistently struggles and where meaningful change may be possible.
Based on this analysis, the Review has identified six priority areas for deeper exploration in Phase 2, including challenges faced by children who fall between service thresholds, the effectiveness of mental health support within schools, emotionally based school absence, and the experiences of children outside mainstream education.
The next phase of the Review will focus on developing practical pilot approaches that can test new ways of improving outcomes, strengthening accountability across services, and making better use of existing resources and data. These pilots are intended to generate scalable approaches that could support broader system improvement in the future.
The publication of this report marks an important milestone in the Review’s progress, moving from system understanding towards practical solutions.
We welcome continued engagement, challenge and collaboration from partners across the sector as the Review progresses into Phase 2. If you would like to get involved – please email our Project Director, Chris Martin at chris.martin@hbgi.org .
Read the full Phase 1 report below
