We are the WISDOM Research Network: Working In Schools to Deliver on Mental health. We are creating a large network of primary and secondary schools, including sixth form and further education colleges, who are excited to facilitate and take part in mental health research for children, young people, families and school staff.

Our Background

Most mental health problems start in childhood or adolescence and their incidence in children and young people is increasing. We are creating the infrastructure for schools and researchers to work together to further understand the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, help prevent issues arising through early intervention, and effectively and accessibility treat them when they do.

Who We Are

We are a team of researchers from the Departments of Experimental Psychology, Psychiatry and Education at the University of Oxford, advised by a knowledgeable board of experts.

Find out more about our Team and our Advisory Board.

Mental Health in Development

The WISDOM Schools Research Network is part of a wider project called Mental Health in Development (MHID). MHID aims to deliver targeted, effective and accessible mental health interventions to meet the needs of diverse children and young people (aged 0-18 years). They are doing this through a range of projects which are developing infrastructure, research capacity, and collaborations across institutions and sectors.

You might be interested in these other MHID projects:

• Parent Carer Research Network: a research network set up to champion the voices of parents and carers in children and young people’s mental health research.
• Supporting Early Minds Research Network: a research network bringing together researchers, services, and families to develop a research agenda focused on more effective interventions to support social, emotional and cognitive development in under 5s.
• AnDY (Anxiety and Depression in Young people) Research Clinic Oxford: a clinic embedded in CAMHS focused on assessing and treating young people for anxiety, OCD and depression disorders, and doing research into these disorders.
• INSiGHTS: a project working collaboratively with young people, families and communities to develop innovative and inclusive ways to do research, particularly with groups who are currently not well represented in research.
• Adaptive Innovative Methods (AIM): a digital community aiming to build better psychological treatments for children and young people.

Our Partners

We work in conjunction with the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Liverpool, Oxford Brookes and York, the Charlie Waller Trust, and the Oxford Health, Berkshire Healthcare and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trusts.

Our Funders

MHID is part of the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth. NIHR BRCs are collaborations between universities and NHS organisations, bringing together academics and clinicians to translate research into new treatments, diagnostics, and technologies. In 2022, the NIHR awarded £816 million over five years to 20 BRCs across England.