CAMHS partnerships select the collaborative they wish to join, creating a network of partnerships. Each collaborative also includes one or more higher education institution. The collaboratives enable local CAMHS partnerships to shape the development of course content, learn from each other to encourage good practice and avoid pitfalls as programmes develop.

The quality and pace of implementation of CYP IAPT is a responsibility increasingly vested in the local collaborative, which have a responsibility to ensure that resources given to local partnerships are deployed effectively and in a timely manner to improve clinical services and outcomes.

Each collaborative has a project manager who is the main conduit to and from NHSE and HEE. This role involves coordinating elements of the programme, circulating information, collecting monitoring data, feeding in new developments and initiatives or overall challenges and reporting on implementation difficulties sites on the ground.

The Midlands collaborative

The Midlands collaborative currently comprises the following CAMHS partnerships across the East and West Midlands:
• Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
• North Derbyshire
• Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire
• Sandwell
• Solihull
• Wolverhampton
• South Derbyshire
• South Staffordshire
• Dudley
• Walsall

The collaborative meets six weekly to oversee the programme. It also establishes steering groups to coordinate the implementation of specific work streams. For example a steering group has been established for the development and introduction of the new 30 Wellbeing Practitioner for CYP roles across the collaborative.

As the collaborative increases in size the more it can offer mentorship and mutual support, experience of what works and what hasn’t worked at therapist, supervisor and management and governance levels, and support on pathway development and partnership arrangements.

The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) University of Derby and University of Northampton provide the academic and curriculum input and Associate Development Solutions (ADS) provide the programme support/project management and site outreach programme, as well as delivering the Service Transformation and Leadership course which is accredited by the University of Northampton.