Bucks Youth Summit 2025 –
The Mental Health Space

About The Mental Health Space 2025

In The Mental Health Space, diverse organisations came together to engage young attendees in discussions and activities on mental health, including where the gaps in support are and how schools could better help young people’s wellbeing.

The Mental Health Space was hosted by young people in the CAMHS Article 12 youth forum. They worked alongside Buckinghamshire Council’s Education and Public Health teams, CAMHS MHST and neurodevelopmental teams, a youth organisation called Brighter Futures Together and their Young Mental Health Champions, and youth sports charity Leap in partnership with a researcher from the Open University.

CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
MHST stands for Mental Health Support Team – they provide young people with mental health support in certain schools.

Activities in The Mental Health Space

Graffiti Wall

Gathering young people’s ideas for Buckinghamshire’s upcoming Children and Young People (CYP) Mental Health Action plan.

Worries
Barriers
Opportunities

photo of man at graffiti wall

Mental Health Support in Schools

Exploring how to make the brainstormed ideas from the Youth Summit 2024 into a reality.

photo of young person writing

Labels

Exploring young people’s perceptions and experiences of labels like autism, ADHD, OCD.

Misinformation station
Discussion
Collaging

photo of adult and young person at table

Physical activity

Examining the relationship between physical activity and mental health.

photo of adult and young person at stall

Mental Health Champions

Sharing information about support and opportunities from Brighter Futures Together.

Mental Health Champion role
Heads Up! resource
Umbrella project

photo of umbrellas

What did young people say in The Mental Health Space?

We have so many top tips for others struggling with mental health!
Lots of us know about Mental Health support services.
Some of us are concerned about the information we share to mental health support services. We think young people should be taught about confidential services such as The Samaritans, as well as what happens to our data if we reach out to services for support so that we are clear and confident.
Some of us find it hard to understand what support is available, so we don’t reach out.
Lots of us worry about being taken out of lessons to receive support because others might judge us for it and view us differently.
It is hard for many young people to speak about their own mental health and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, like autism.
For young people with mental health disorders, it can be difficult to interact socially in school and public places.
We think young people should be educated from a young age on the reality and true symptoms of mental health disorders.
We would like to see specialist professionals coming to schools to support young people’s mental health.
Family and home are so important for building wellbeing and a positive childhood.
There can be cultural barriers to accessing mental health support.
We suggest sharing QR codes in public places where young people hang around, to help educate and engage them.
We like the idea of Buckinghamshire physical activity ambassadors to help promote movement as a way of promoting mental wellbeing.
We have found the Mental Health Space to be a really good opportunity for young people to use our voices!

So What?

Buckinghamshire Council’s Public Health and Education teams have typed up the comments from the graffiti wall activity and are now formatting them into themes. These insights will be used to help develop the upcoming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Action Plan.
This is an action plan shared between the Council, CAMHS, health services, schools and other organisations, so that professionals can work together on providing young people with mental health support.

The HEADS UP! resource that Brighter Futures Together’s Young Mental Health Champions created and shared on the day was very well-received by The Mental Health Space’s young attendees. As a result, it is being rolled out widely across Buckinghamshire.

Tionne from CAMHS, who ran the labels discussion and collaging activity, has made a presentation called “More Than A Label” with photos of the canvases and the messages. The canvases themselves have been displayed in the CAMHS Sue Nicholls centre to celebrate youth voice alongside neurodiversity week.

View the More Than A Label presentation [PDF, 1.33MB]

Bucks Youth Summit 2025 – The Mental Health Space