Mobiles for Mental Health: Unlocking Potential Through Technology and Collaboration

Project Overview

This case study demonstrates how unused corporate technology, when combined with cross sector collaboration and academic evaluation, can deliver measurable benefits for children and young people with complex needs. Through a partnership between Every Child Online, Everyone Digital, PWFL Health, BUUK, and leading UK universities, surplus mobile devices from a corporate technology refresh were transformed into powerful tools that support engagement, wellbeing, and socio emotional development.

The project highlights the power of collaboration between organisations that would not traditionally work together. Each partner played a distinct role, contributing expertise, infrastructure, or resources to enable a vital project supporting children who are unable to access mainstream education.

The Challenge

Across the UK, many children and young people are unable to attend mainstream education due to physical health conditions, mental health needs, or special educational needs. These young people are at increased risk of digital exclusion, social isolation, and disengagement from learning and therapeutic support.

At the same time, businesses regularly refresh their technology, creating large volumes of high-quality devices that are no longer required for commercial use. Without trusted partners and clear pathways for reuse, much of this technology risks being under utilised or lost from the circular economy.

The Partners and Their Roles

BUUK

BUUK, a UK based utilities provider, played a critical role by donating mobile phones as part of a wider corporate technology refresh programme. By choosing reuse over disposal, BUUK demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability, social value, and responsible technology management.

BUUK relied on specialist partners to ensure that donated devices were handled securely, ethically, and repurposed in a way that delivered meaningful benefit to others.

Every Child Online

Every Child Online is a UK charity working to end digital poverty for children and young people. Acting as the charitable lead for the project, the organisation identified need, coordinated partnerships, and ensured the donated technology was directed to a programme capable of delivering real impact for vulnerable young people.

Everyone Digital

Everyone Digital, the charity’s sister social enterprise, provided the professional IT asset disposal, secure data wiping, and device preparation services that underpinned the project. All devices were processed using accredited data erasure methods and prepared for safe reuse.

This professional infrastructure ensured corporate grade data security while extending the life of donated technology and enabling it to be redeployed for social good.

PWFL Health

PWFL Health is an innovative organisation focused on ensuring that all young people feel engaged, included, and sufficiently supported to develop the socio emotional skills needed to thrive. Their work centres on young people who are unable to attend mainstream provision due to physical health needs, mental health challenges, or special educational needs.

PWFL Health has developed an augmented reality game, Dragons of Afterlands, designed to engage children and adolescents in hospital, community, and alternative provision settings. The donated mobile phones became the delivery mechanism for this intervention, enabling immersive, game based experiences that support engagement, motivation, and wellbeing.

PWFL Health also provides training to the professionals who work with these young people, ensuring the technology is embedded effectively and responsibly within educational and care environments.

‍

Royal Holloway, University of London

The initial academic trial of Dragons of Afterlands was led by Royal Holloway, University of London. This evaluation assessed the use of immersive, game-based learning in school settings and examined its impact on adolescent engagement, motivation, and wellbeing.

The findings from this trial are contributing to a growing evidence base around the role of immersive technologies in supporting socio emotional development, particularly for young people who may struggle to engage with traditional approaches.

UWE Bristol

Building on the success of the Royal Holloway led trial, a second and larger academic evaluation is now being planned in partnership with UWE Bristol. This study will run from January to July 2026 and will involve delivery across mainstream schools and alternative provision settings.

The UWE Bristol trial will work with a broader cohort of young people and partner sites, allowing for deeper analysis of outcomes and scalability. In January 2025, 70 mobile devices were packed up and sent to PWLF Health to support the  next study.

The Outcome

Through this collaboration, surplus mobile phones from a corporate technology refresh were transformed into tools that directly support children’s emotional wellbeing and engagement with learning. Devices that once supported business operations are now enabling immersive experiences for young people facing significant barriers to education.

The project delivered value across multiple dimensions:

·       Children and young people accessed engaging and supportive digital tools

·       Schools, hospitals, and alternative provision settings were equipped with innovative resources

·       Academic partners generated robust evidence to inform future practice

·       BUUK achieved meaningful social value and sustainability impact

·       Devices were diverted from waste, supporting circular economy principles

·       Cross sector partners created outcomes that none could have achieved alone

Why This Matters

This project shows that digital inclusion is not only about access to devices, but about how technology is deployed, evaluated, and supported through collaboration. It demonstrates how businesses, charities, social enterprises, health innovators, and academic institutions can work together to unlock the full potential of unused technology.

By trusting specialist partners and engaging beyond traditional sector boundaries, organisations such as BUUK are playing a vital role in supporting children’s development, wellbeing, and future opportunities.

Looking Ahead

Every Child Online and Everyone Digital continue to work with corporate partners to ensure unused technology is repurposed for maximum social impact. PWFL Health continues to innovate in immersive, game-based interventions that support young people who need them most.

With ongoing academic evaluation led by UWE Bristol, this collaboration provides a strong foundation for scaling evidence based digital tools that improve engagement and wellbeing for children and young people across the UK.

‍

‍