Tags: The Burdett Trust for Nursing

Stronger Together: New iHV partnership with the Burdett Trust for Nursing

We are delighted to announce that the iHV has been selected as one of six nursing charities to join the new ‘Stronger Together’ Nursing Charity Partnership Programme being led by The Burdett Trust for Nursing (BTFN). This exciting new programme is founded on the Trust’s commitment to ‘supporting great nursing charities doing important work at this threshold moment for the nursing professions’.

The programme aims to strengthen the contribution of nursing charities and support long-term impact across the sector – with BTFN recognising the benefits of the selected charities’ independence, agility and potential to make a transformational difference for nurses and nursing.

The Trust has invited a small group of six charities that support nursing, midwifery and health visiting, who already have a track record of delivering excellent work with BTFN, to work together in a new collective. Rooted in collaboration, the programme focuses on innovation, leadership and health advocacy.

Each partner charity will receive three-year grant funding, alongside opportunities to participate in a community of practice that supports shared learning and collective impact across the sector.

The charities are (alphabetically):

BTFN is keen to create a relational and engaged partnership with nursing charities to develop the following areas:

  • Nursing’s future: inspiring nurses through creating nurse-led models of health and social care, that enable nurses and nursing to flourish. This includes the creative use of digital solutions to enhance relational (person-centred), sustainable care.
  • Leadership: ensuring that nurses are represented and influential in decision making and formulation of health policy locally and nationally, and that they are empowered to contribute creatively to the development of person-centred (relational), sustainable health and social care systems.   
  • Health advocacy: supporting nurses in their provision of holistic, person-centred care to respond to the needs of the individual, families and communities, facilitating the integration of health and social care, with particular focus on health equity and social justice.  

Clare Cable, Chief Executive of The Burdett Trust for Nursing, said:

“This programme reflects our commitment to working in genuine partnership with nursing charities at a critical moment for the professions. By investing in relationships, leadership and shared learning, we want to help create the conditions in which nursing can flourish and have the greatest possible impact for people and communities.”

Alison Morton OBE, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“We feel honoured and privileged to have been selected to join the ‘Stronger Together’ Nursing Charity Partnership Programme. This is a significant opportunity to work alongside fellow organisations that share our vision to drive meaningful change and deliver measurable impact for the populations we serve, and for the nursing professions, including health visiting.

“We are particularly looking forward to learning together, strengthening our collective voice, championing our wonderful professions, and exploring the many opportunities that lie ahead. We are truly excited by the potential within this partnership to accelerate innovation, support leadership, and empower the nursing family to play a leading role in shaping a stronger, more equitable future.

“We sincerely thank The Burdett Trust for Nursing for their confidence in us. We have known this news for a little while now, so it is fantastic to be able to share it more widely and get started – there is no time to waste.”

For more information about the partnership programme, visit www.btfn.org.uk

iHV awarded Silver BJN Award for Invisible film

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to share that our Innovation and Research Team won the Silver Award at the British Journal of Nursing (BJN) Awards for their work around our film Invisible, which shines a light on fathers’ mental health. This was in the ‘Nurse/Nursing Team of the Year’ category and the only entry involving public health nurses/ health visitors, so we are really thrilled!

Dr Sharin Baldwin (Senior Health Visitor Research Lead, iHV) and Hilda Beauchamp (Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Lead, iHV) attended the Awards at BMA House in London on Friday 20 March 2026. The BJN Awards celebrate excellence in research and practice while recognising outstanding achievements across the nursing community.

From left: Dr Sharin Baldwin and Hilda Beauchamp

It is such a proud moment to receive this recognition, and we are delighted to have our work acknowledged at such a high-profile event. It highlights the importance of the subject at the heart of Invisible — the often overlooked emotional and mental wellbeing of fathers during the perinatal period – and the growing acknowledgement of fathers’ mental health as an important public health issue.

From left: Dr Sharin Baldwin and Hilda Beauchamp

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to The Burdett Trust for Nursing for funding this vital work. Their support has enabled us to bring greater visibility to an issue that too often remains hidden. We also acknowledge the exceptional contribution of creative director and producer Chris Godwin (Founder and Creative Director, Inner Eye Productions), whose thoughtful and sensitive approach was instrumental in shaping the film.

The film was grounded in the research carried out by Dr Sharin Baldwin, exploring men’s experiences in the transition to fatherhood. Alongside Sharin’s research, Invisible was shaped by interviews with practitioners, researchers, fathers, and parents from diverse backgrounds, whose experiences and insights brought depth and authenticity to the film.

We will be conducting a full evaluation of the impact of the film one year following its launch, so please watch the film and complete this short evaluation form INVISIBLE Film  Feedback Form  – Fill in form.

Watch the Invisible film here

Sharin said:

“This recognition is incredibly meaningful, not only for our team but for the fathers whose experiences shaped my research. Invisible was created to bring attention to this overlooked aspect of perinatal mental health, and this award helps amplify that message, highlighting the importance of recognising and supporting fathers as an integral part of family wellbeing.”

Hilda said:

“The iHV is extremely proud of Invisible and of the growing impact it is already having. We have already incorporated it into our Fathers’ PIMH Training programme where it is reaching multi-agency audiences. We would encourage all practitioners, services, educators and partners to watch Invisible, share it within their networks, and use it as a conversation starter to support improved awareness and practice around fathers’ mental health.”

To support your practice, please enrol on a future iHV Fathers’ PIMH Training (see here) or for further details contact [email protected]

Together, we can help ensure that no father remains invisible.