Dr Isabel Hanson is a researcher at the University of Oxford and a General Practitioner focusing on youth mental health and implementation science.
How did you approach the co-design process?
Co-design was the heart of this project. Our three Youth Engagement Co-designers Amy (Manchester), Charlotte (Isle of Wight), and Kyra (Reading) were exceptional. Each had lived experience of seeking support from hubs in difficult times, and each brought creativity, insight and fresh perspectives to the quality framework. They designed and led brilliant youth workshops, travelled across the country to meet young people, and found thoughtful and creative ways to understand what mattered most to them.
We analysed the data together, which included artworks, conversations, and survey responses. At the end of the project, we went through the entire Youth Access Quality Framework line by line to make sure every section reflected the voices and needs of the young people we’d spoken to.
We also learned a lot as a team. We held facilitation workshops to support the co-designers as leaders, and the co-designers presented back to our steering group about the project to tell us what had worked well, what could be strengthened, and how in future we could keep improving our work in partnership with young people.
Working with our co-designers was the highlight of the project for me. Their energy and commitment have been inspiring, and I’m proud of what we have built together.
Youth voice is embedded throughout the framework, because our co-designers shaped it at every step.
What did you learn from working across such a wide range of partners?
The strongest insight was how deeply everyone we spoke with cares about getting this right for young people.
Hub services of all sizes shared their time and expertise generously. Commissioners and funders helped us think carefully about clarity and usefulness. Young people shared their stories with us, even when their past experiences of seeking support may have been vulnerable or difficult, because they wanted to make things better for the next young person.
At a time when resources are stretched and young people face so many pressures, the level of goodwill, commitment and collaboration from everyone involved confirmed for me how important this piece of work is.
Was there a moment in a hub that stayed with you?
I spent more than 250 hours observing different hubs across England and speaking with staff and young people. It is impossible to pick just one moment.
I met young people who had been street homeless and who said the hub helped them find connection, purpose, and a path back into work. I met teenagers who had experienced bullying and isolation at school and found belonging and strength through hub youth advisory groups. I met young people who had struggled with their mental health, who were supported by hubs to access the right NHS services, and who then returned to the hub for ongoing community support as they recovered.
I was consistently struck by the frontline hub drop-in workers and their skill, calm, and compassion. They had an ability to connect quickly with young people, and to support them with advice and guidance drawing on extensive knowledge across housing, benefits, education, employment, and mental health in both child and adult systems. Drop-in staff mustbe able to respond safety and effectively to whatever needs young people bring through the door each day. As a practising GP, I know how hard that can be!
In the hubs I saw early intervention care at its best. Meeting young people where they are. Solving problems early. Preventing crises. And I saw staff determined to keep growing and improving.
Hubs make early intervention work by combining practical support, skilled staff, accessible services, and trusted relationships.
How will the quality framework improve outcomes for young people?
By keeping standards high while centring the youth work values that make hubs effective. We set ambitious expectations for every service area, based on the best available evidence, evaluation methods, and quality improvement literature.
At the same time, we prioritised the things young people told us they valued most. Trusted relationships. Youth voice. A safe and welcoming space that feels non-clinical. A range of high-quality services and transparency about what is available (and how long it will take to access them).
These are not small details. They are the conditions that create effective care.
The quality framework sets the bar high while centring the youth work values that makes hubs effective.
What are you most proud of in the final result?
I am most proud that the quality framework reflects the real lives of hubs and the young people who use them. In particular, the section on challenges, tensions, and variation acknowledges the everyday pressures, constraints, and complexities that services and young people are navigating. The aim is not to set abstract ideals, but to work alongside hubs to build quality in ways that are honest, achievable, and useful in day-to-day practice.
I am also deeply proud of our co-designers and what they achieved. They engaged young people across the country with creativity and care and helped translate lived experience into something that could genuinely shape a national framework. As someone trained in implementation science, I care deeply about how ideas move into the real world. It was a privilege to do that work alongside young people, and I learned a great deal from them about communication, relevance, and impact.
Now the quality framework is out in the world do you have any final thoughts?
The Youth Access Quality Framework was built with and for hubs and young people, and it will evolve as their needs change.
My hope is that it supports more hubs to develop in communities, and helps more young people have access to high quality early support so they can flourish in the rest of their lives.
It has been a huge privilege to work with hubs staff, our co-designers, and the Youth Access team to turn research into a practical tool that will support hubs demonstrate what they do well and why it matters.
The Youth Access Quality Framework is now available at www.youthaccess.org.uk/qualityframework
