Open Children and Young People’s Research Advisory Panel (OCYPRAP) - addressing children’s wellbeing, supporting their rights and tackling inequalities.

Our vision is for improved and more equitable wellbeing for children and young people (CYP) facilitated by improved and equitable wellbeing policy and practice underpinned by CYP-voices. CYP wellbeing is complex and multiple-dimensional (Casas & Frønes, 2020) and not commonly understood . ‘A growing body of research highlights the importance of increasing children’s involvement in the measurement of their wellbeing’ (Solllis & Edwards, 2022) and in defining what is important to them. Those living in disadvantaged circumstances are disproportionately impacted regarding health, educational and other outcomes. National policies have had negligible impact upon CYP wellbeing for instance successive short term project funded initiatives to increase CYP physical activity to a level of optimum wellbeing have failed for over two decades. New CYP informed policy and practice approaches are needed to address these challenges. Across the Open University (OU), a diverse range of research Centres and groups have been established with a specific commitment to participatory approaches (for example: The Children’s Research Centre; Centre for Children and Young People’s Health and Wellbeing; Open Psychology Research, other research groups, programmes and Open Learn modules; and the development of the OUR VOICES site by CCW and CRC). This sets the OU’s work aside from much CYP research putting it in a strong position to establish an observatory for CYP-advised wellbeing research and inform the Four Nations Governments/Parliaments policy development. This will be sustained through a CYP advisory board and a framework of CYP research, increasing the involvement of CYP in the formulation of wellbeing policy. This will lead to more relevant and improved strategic wellbeing practice and the realisation of our vision of achieving long term improved and more equitable CYP wellbeing.