Learning from Research: Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced young people during early adolescence and through transition to secondary school
The ReThink project team, in collaboration with CoramBAAF, are pleased to invite you to our upcoming free webinar on Supporting the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Care-experienced Young People During Early Adolescence and the Transition to Secondary School. This webinar will be on Thursday 26th February 2026 @ 4 – 5: 30PM.
The webinar will present key findings from the ReThink Project - one of the largest UK studies of the mental health and wellbeing needs of care-experienced young people during critical transition periods, including the move from primary to secondary school. The project provides key evidence-driven insights into the role of psychological, social, and service-level process that drive mental health and wellbeing, and the implications of these findings for schools, children’s services, and mental health; and also highlights what young people have to say about what helps and hinders their move to secondary school.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Understand the psychological, social and service factors that shape care-experienced young people’s mental health and wellbeing during early adolescence
Learn what helps and hinders the move to secondary school from young people’s own perspectives.
Identify practical implications for schools, children’s services and mental health teams to better support transitions.
PRESENTERS
This webinar will be hosted by the lead researchers of the ReThink project:
Professor Rachel Hiller, UCL
Rachel Hiller is Professor of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at University College London and Co-Director of the UK Trauma Council, a project of the Anna Freud. She leads the UCL Child Trauma and Recovery Research Group, whose work is focused on improving identification of need, and support for, trauma-exposed children and young people - particularly those with experience of the care system. Her work has spanned longitudinal studies, intervention testing, implementation, and the development of practice and policy recommendations, all aimed at improving high-quality mental health support for care-experienced young people.
Professor Lisa Holmes, University of Sussex
Lisa Holmes is Professor of Applied Social Science, in the School of Education and Social Work, at the University of Sussex. She joined in 2022, following her role as Associate Professor and Deputy Director of Research in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, where she also directed the Rees Centre. She leads a major research portfolio on children’s social care, including policy-focused studies for UK government departments. She co-founded the Children’s Social Care Data User Group and is founding co-chair of the International Work Group for Therapeutic Residential Care. Lisa is also Chair of the Coram BAAF Research Advisory Committee.
Professor Katherine Shelton, Cardiff University
Katherine Shelton is Professor in Developmental Psychopathology at Cardiff University. Her research is primarily focused on the mental health of care-experienced children and young people, with a particular interest in how family functioning influences children’s mental health. She co-leads the Wales Adoption Cohort Study with Dr Amy Paine, now in its tenth year and the largest study of Welsh adoptive families. This work has produced extensive publications and informed practice and policy, including an award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnership.
They will be joined by a panel of experts for the Q&A component of the webinar.
WHO'S IT FOR?
This webinar is relevant for anyone interested in learning more about how they can best support care-experienced young people, and is particularly relevant for those working in primary and secondary education and the broader education sector, children’s social care, and mental health services.
FEES
OPEN TO ALL
CONTACT
Telephone: 0207 520 7520 / 0310
Email: events@corambaaf.org.uk