Born in Bradford’s exciting new research project ‘Age of Wonder’ has completed a successful first year of data collection with 15 Bradford secondary schools, surveying more than 5,000 young people across the city.
Now it’s time for them to be heard. November 22 marks the launch of the BiB: Age of Wonder Data Dashboard, when all participating secondary schools level up and gain new insights into the mental health of their student population.
Access to this data will ensure schools in Bradford are able to identify the needs of their students and act accordingly. Participating schools will be able to see how they compare to other schools in Bradford, and nationwide, across the broad spectrum of measures which include clinical markers and determinants of mental health and wellbeing.
With the ability to group and filter on the key demographic characteristics, schools use to routinely report their own data, Age of Wonder yields a new age of cutting-edge collaboration between schools and scientists, with data-driven mental health provision at the forefront.
The team will be hosting an online seminar to mark the launch of the dashboard, with a team of experts giving a live demonstration of its capabilities, including an overview of what the data can and can’t tell us. There will also be a case study on how researchers might use the tool to identify and tailor suitable school-based programmes to promote and improve the mental health and wellbeing of students.
Dr John Pickavance, Senior Research Fellow and Data Dashboard Lead, said:
For the first time, schools will have a scientific, evidence base describing the mental health needs of their students.
In this way, we hope Age of Wonder data will become as useful to school leaders as academic assessment data, allowing them to track their students’ wellbeing at the group level, and allocate resource where support is needed.
Professor Rosie McEachan, Director of Born in Bradford, stated:
Age of Wonder is powered by young people living in Bradford.
It is a turbulent time for young people who are dealing with multiple pressures including the cost-of-living crisis and the aftermath of the pandemic.
Understanding more about the mental health of our young people is hugely important; we hope that schools will find the information we collect useful to help plan how best to support young people growing up in Bradford.
The Age of Wonder: Data for Senior Leadership seminar will be held on Microsoft Teams on 22 November at 4-5.30pm. Schools will be sent the link to access this meeting via email from a member of the research team. During the session, school leaders will be given their school’s login details for their own dashboard.
The team have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from schools and young people throughout its first year.
One young person involved in the project said:
I think it is good to give the next generation voices because we’re going to be leaders and politicians in the future, so I think by letting us speak now it kind of gives people the courage and helps spread young people’s ideas so that they can expand and change our world one day.
Age of Wonder is now embarking on its second year of data collection with the hope of working with more secondary schools to ensure more young people’s voices are heard across Bradford.
To join the Age of Wonder project this year and give your school the chance to track your students’ health and wellbeing, with access to this revolutionary data dashboard, please email: ageofwonder@bthft.nhs.uk
For more information on the study visit www.borninbradford.nhs.uk.
You can follow the team on social media @bibageofwonder.