Living Assessment: measurement, thresholds and the health of disabled and at- risk children in England, 1989-present (360G-Wellcome-218025_Z_19_C)

This award will challenge preconceptions about children and young people with various forms of health and social care involvement including those in care, with insecure immigration status, with a disability and with mental health issues. With its emphasis on co-design and peer-to-peer outputs, the award provides opportunities for young people from these marginalised groups to tell their personal stories, to highlight the issues they feel are vital, and to engage creatively with their lived experience. The design and performance of stories developed by children and young people with creative professionals will offer an avenue into understanding children’s varied life experiences. The live theatre and filmed YouTube performances, and social media engagement will bring the stories to wider audiences. The educational packages support learning and offer points of reflection on some of the issues affecting children today to provoke discussion amongst young people and facilitate growing awareness of the challenges some of their peers face. The on-line gallery offers a legacy of some of the ways that children engage creatively with their life experiences of care, immigration and citizenship, disability and challenges to mental health including bullying. Themes devised by young people place their concerns front and centre, and provide stakeholders and the wider public more capacity to understand young people’s life experiences. Young people will benefit from training and development opportunities from in- person and online classes, being part of focus groups, engaging in the development and contribution of creative outputs, research materials, and evaluation tools.