New mental health pilot for young people supported by social care

Young people supported by social care in Greater Manchester are set to benefit from a new mental health pilot.

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board has been selected as a pilot for a new mental health programme
Care Together will cover up to 7,000 children and young people as well as their parents, carers, and/or guardians
Mental health professionals from existing NHS services will be embedded in children’s social care teams, giving greater access to mental health support Children and young people supported by social care, and their families in Greater Manchester, will benefit from faster, simpler access to mental health and social care support under a new Government pilot.

Care Together will test and evaluate a new model of care, embedding mental health professionals from existing NHS services into children’s social care settings. The pilot aims to replace fragmented provision with faster access to expert, needs-led mental health support, including family therapy and support for parents and primary caregivers.

The Government is investing up to £9.4 million over three years in the Care Together pilot, which will be run by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB), working with Stockport, Tameside, and Rochdale local authorities.

The pilot follows Professor Fonagy’s independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, which recommended better integrated mental health support.

The latest figures on children in need, children on protection plans, children in care, and care leavers, including adopted children, across the three participating local authority areas show up to 7,000 children and young people, as well as their parents, carers, and/or guardians, will be covered by the pilot.

By bringing social care and mental health professionals together in one team, children, young people, and their families will have faster access to support tailored to their needs, reducing the need to navigate multiple services.

Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Public Health and Patient Safety, said:

For too long, fragmented mental health services have left young people in care, care leavers, parents, carers, and guardians not knowing where to turn for support.

We are committed to change how we support young people, and this exciting and innovative pilot will see thousands more children across Greater Manchester get specialist mental health support based on their personal needs and in quicker time, before they reach crisis point.

Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister said:

Every child deserves people in their corner, and we know that children supported by social care often face severe mental health challenges because of the trauma and adversity they have faced.

As well as this important pilot scheme we are expanding support for children leaving care, including through the national rollout of our Staying Close programme and corporate parenting duties for public bodies. We are also investing £2.4 billion in early, targeted intervention and reform to children’s social care to get families the help they need and keep them together wherever possible.

All of this is intended to help some of our most vulnerable young people feel supported into adult life and have enduring, loving relationships into the future.

The pilot is set to launch in early 2027 and run until 2029. An evaluation will be carried out during the pilot to assess the potential to scale the programme to other areas across the country.

Professor Manisha Kumar, Chief Clinical Officer at NHS Greater Manchester, said:

NHS Greater Manchester continues to make significant progress in transforming children and young people’s mental health services. Our focus remains on creating a system that provides support earlier, improves access, strengthens integration across services, and delivers better outcomes for children, young people, and their families. To this end, and as part of our wider transformation, we’re really pleased that NHS Greater Manchester has been chosen to pilot Care Together. Over the next three years we will work with partners in Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside to provide innovative support those children and families who are known to children’s social care.

We know that mental health outcomes are often impacted by a range of issues. Children who are known to social care have often experienced a range of adversity. By meeting needs earlier and in a joined-up way, we will provide trauma informed care and holistic support to ensure this vulnerable group have the right support at the right time. Bringing mental health professionals into social care teams will help us provide better support and learn what works for families here, and to help shape national changes.

This follows this government’s progress to improve children’s social care, including:

More widely we are reshaping children’s social care so more children can grow up in loving families and communities, backed by £2.4 billion through the Families First Partnership Programme and our commitment to create 10,000 new foster places this Parliament.
We have passed the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act which is transforming how public agencies safeguard children, work together and share information.
The Act also expands support for young people leaving the care system, including expanding Staying Close support up to the age of 25 to provide dedicated assistance with employment, housing, education and health.
We are funding a £500 million expansion of children’s homes delivering an increase in care placements in the right places to meet children’s needs while cracking down on excess profits and illegal, unregistered children’s homes.