This section of the site is where work related to the Children and Young People's Strategic Engagement section of the Change Up project is developed and shared.
A more developed culture of children and young people’s strategic involvement and a body of evidence to support its value. And established routes for policy makers to engage children and young people.
See our notes from the Development Meeting on 16th September for more information.
Growing Up in the West Midlands Change Up Children and Young People's Strategic Engagement Delivery Group email archives
In the last few weeks people from a variety of different organisations, working in different ways have been drawing up examples from their own practice of engaging with children and young people in decision-making. They are shared here for the purpose of generating a body of good practice from which other groups and organisations can learn and develop their own good practice. These case studies will be posted here as they are returned.
Growing Up in the West Midlands
Child and Youth Participation CASE STUDY 1:
Section 1 - Background Information
|
Name of Organisation/Project: B arts/ Something for now- the children and young people’s masterplan for Chesterton |
|
| Address: 16 Barracks Square Barracks Road Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffs ST5 1LG |
Telephone: 01782 717326 Fax: 01782 717190 Email: info@pandaemonium.biz Website: www.pandaemonium.biz |
| Tell us about your organisation: B Arts exists to offer a range of arts activities that sustain, develop and enrich communities while employing artists in work that is intelligent, thoughtful and contributes to a process cultural democracy. We seek to develop and engage people, groups and communities through their participation in the arts. The company has been working for 20 years now from a North Staffordshire base and has a board of four trustees, a directorate of three (the same three who founded the company), three workers dealing with admin, finance and performance management, and employs a further 6 artists, youth workers, community development workers with skills ranging from Afghan rug- knotting to video production, theatre to punk guitar, lanterns to banners, and almost everything in between. We believe that working creatively can make a real difference to all our lives, that creativity is not confined to a talented few, that working together lifts our spirits and strengthens our souls, that there are voices that are silenced that deserve to be heard. |
|
| Why is child/youth participation important to your organisation? There are voices that need to be heard and children and young people, of all kinds, from all walks of life are amongst those often completely ignored. It is difficult sometimes to engage with gypsy and traveller children, children living in poverty, young people at risk of crime, young people adrift from their roots or their families, young people with few basic skills, low self esteem and an involvement with the youth justice system, or who are isolated just by the nature of where they live, and so perhaps for exactly those reasons we feel compelled to work with them. It is always difficult to talk about something that is at the centre of all aspects of our organisation. Participation is central to what we do in that: · we exist to create projects that allow artists to work with people · the structure of projects promote participation for individuals in a wider group · the content or theme of the work is often explicitly or implicitly about participation (e.g. celebrating where I live) · we work in teams and we rely on the full participation of our staff in the management and delivery of our project work, and our youngest worker is 21 |
|
Staffing/Membership
|
1 |
How many full time staff do you employ? | 6 |
| |
||
| 2 |
How many part time staff do you employ? | 5 |
| |
||
| 3 |
How many volunteers do you engage? | various |
| |
||
| 4 |
How many children/young people are involved in your organisation/project? | * |
| |
||
| 5 |
What age group do you work with? | 0 -20 ** |
| |
||
| 6 |
Do you operate a membership system? | Yes |
* we have worked with over 2,060 children and young people in the last full financial year (2004/05) and over 200 children and young people were involved in Something for Now
** this age range relates to the figure given above however we work with young people up to 25, but did not monitor them as a separate group in the year in question
Section 2 – Your Case Study
|
7 |
Tell us more about your organisation/project: Something for now was a children and young people’s consultation as part of a housing masterplan for Chesterton, an urban village on the fringe of the North Staffordshire conurbation. In 2003 the project was commissioned and paid for by Aspire Housing, a registered social landlord, managing a large proportion of the ex local authority housing stock in the village. B arts worked with over 200 young people and children in the village to ensure that they were able to express their opinions, ambitions and concerns for the area. Within the project we looked at all aspects of life in the village and enabled the children and young people to design streets, services and infrastructure that met the needs of the whole community, not just stuff for them. We worked in partnership with John Rose Associates, a team of urban designers who led the project. B arts ran a series of design, creative, video and discussion sessions in schools and youth clubs in order to gather the input from the children and the young people. To a certain extent the children in the school sessions were a captive audience as the workshops happened in place of lessons. However, at the youth clubs the young people were given the choice of being involved or not. At each session the artists from B arts spent time enabling the children to have a clearer picture of the context of the project and some of the processes by which local planning and urban design come about |
|
8 |
How did child/youth participation in your organisation/project come about? For Something for now the original commission for B arts was to work with hard to reach groups to engage them in the process of developing the masterplan. The definition of hard to reach groups was set by the commissioners and the urban design partners John Rose Associates, and included people for whom they felt they didn’t have the right skills to engage i.e. children and young people. We had every confidence that we could work with young people and children in the village as we had a good track record of working in partnership with local people in community arts projects previously, and a good network of schools and youth club contacts. |
|
9 |
What are your reasons for involving children/young people in decision-making within the organisation/project? B arts has an ongoing commitment to the processes of community consultation and engagement and believes that local people deserve a high quality of engagement. The company also believes that the consultation activity in itself should be both fun and educational -a worthwhile experience never mind the outcomes We would also want to emphasise the importance of involving young people in these processes for the following reasons · young people & children are often defined as part of the problem and so deserve to be part of the solution · children and young people are traditionally ill served especially in deprived communities and so should be engaged in the design and delivery of services to them · consultation can contribute to breaking the cycle of deprivation and under-achievement through raising levels of ambition · encouraging sense of ownership amongst all local residents increases the chances of a project/ scheme’s success The motivation to activate and enable youth participation is part of the company’s core beliefs, and is evidenced in the strong history of content led youth arts work the company has. It comes from a fundamental belief that young people have much to contribute, and that their opinions and contributions are ignored, discouraged and undervalued by a wider society. We also believe that a successful society engages meaningfully with all citizens, and it is the responsibility of adults to demonstrate that children and young people have a role in a developed and just society. |
|
10 |
In what ways (if at all) did you link the design of your participation process to the five Every Child Matters outcomes The project pre-dated Every Child Matters, however the underlying motivation behind the project was to engage children and young people in the design and delivery of services for them. In order to do this we encouraged them to identify which issues they felt affected them and their community most acutely. The following sets out the activities we did with each of the groups and how they link to the ECM outcomes. We didn’t do every single activity with every group- sometimes we were limited by time or adapted the programme to different situations.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 |
In what ways has child/youth participation in decision-making been related to the success of your organisation? · We can design services/ projects around genuine needs of young people · This allows us to keep the organisation “real” – in touch with issues and relevant to the communities we serve · This also means we can advocate on behalf of the sector, and our participants with authority · Enhances reputation of B arts within the community- therefore we work in closer partnership, with trust and respect on both sides · Creates effective and good value projects |
|
12 |
If adult initiated – when deciding to involve children/young people, did you consciously expect that there would be benefits for the organisation/project? What were they? Context of company · B arts motivation is to empower the disempowered; children and young people are major target group so we consciously engaged with this group · Director team also has professional training in teaching and youth and community development work so the process occurred naturally in wider context of B arts projects and work programme · Always seek to meet unmet need This project The expectations from our point of view were that there would be benefits for the project which were · challenging (negative) adult perception of young people · enabling adult population to see young people as part of the solution · establish shared objectives & actions with all residents · commitment to the actions from the people who were going to be living with them for the longest time · innovative thinking · less inhibitions in ambition and scale of change |
| 12 |
How do you make it easy for children/young people to be involved in the decision-making processes within the organisation/project? Once we have engaged with them and explained the project and the context it is relatively easy for young people to express themselves- we have lots of attractive tools (video/ digital cameras/ computers) so that means they want to engage & express themselves and they do so well- they really get their message across However, how much commitment to delivering the actions children and young people want is to be questioned. So, yes and no. |
|
13 |
How is it ensured that children/young people’s voices are heard? We do our best to frame the work in such a way as to appeal to the greatest number of people or to attract the attention of the appropriate people. However we don’t always have control. The Chesterton masterplan, including Something for now, formed part of a bid to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and so would have been considered at Whitehall. On the way it has been also used by RENEW the delivery arm of Government Office West Midlands for housing market renewal in the area. To a certain extent this is the least satisfactory aspect of the project in that we or the young people involved have had very little control over how much of what they demanded has been heeded. We also lost control of the flow of information and continued engagement with the young people and children in the village, although this week we have been asked to attend an event (for adults) to follow up on the outcomes of the study. So it is very difficult to ensure that voices of young people and children are really heard, although we presented them in a very interesting/ dynamic package that attracted attention in itself. The CD-Rom was also used as a training tool in workshops with local residents looking at attitudes within the community to anti-social behaviour, and in particular to young people. |
| 14 |
Is child/youth participation in decision-making a priority in your organisation/project? Explain. Yes, up to a point It is debatable whether it would be appropriate to have young people in positions of authority/ decision-making powers in our organisation, an adult-led charity with a turnover of over £200,000, working with a wide range of different communities and participants. However, the projects that we deliver always contain occasions in which children and young people, in fact any participant, will have control and be asked to make appropriate decisions; choosing themes, designing the delivery of projects, cooking the right food, contacting appropriate people, framing a picture, talking to someone they don’t know, picking colours of fabric. We think this is essential to developing self confidence and the ability to make good decisions in other situations in their lives It is essential in the context of project work and particularly community consultation work, that children and young people are engaged. These projects should work with the whole community, not just the usual suspects! |
|
15 |
Is youth participation formalised within your organisation/project in any way, or in the process to being formalised? (e.g. constitution, mission, policy etc.) No, not at the moment. We are exploring possibility of having youth observers from the Bridge, International Youth Project, our largest programme of work, attend meetings of our board of trustees. |
|
16 |
How do children, young people and adults work together in your organisation/ project? In our projects and activities the children, young people and artists work closely together. A good example of this is the guided video walk. In this activity for Something for now the children at Chesterton Primary School were offered the opportunity to take the artists on a guided walk to places they felt needed special attention. The necessary permissions were obtained and three Y6 pupils took two artists out to film in the area near the school. In this instance the artists were only really technicians, their job being to capture the opinions and concerns of the young people. The young people directed all of the filming, and gave a running commentary to what was being filmed. We often like to give children and young people control, and a great degree of influence over the outcomes of the situation. We also encourage them to exercise their judgement. All of this works within a set of firm guidelines and limits, so that essential the environment is relatively safe. |
|
17 |
What have been the benefits and positive outcomes of child/youth participation in decision-making to the organisation/project? as above in Q11 & Q12 |
|
18 |
What have been the challenges to the process? Past and ongoing. How have you overcome them? In the case of Something for now, there was barely any commitment on the part of the partners and the commissioning group to feedback the outcomes to the participants- they were not going to come to a residents’ meeting. We overcame this by planning our own feedback sessions where we took the work back to the individual schools and groups with whom we had worked and made a presentation, sometimes to the whole school, with the other planners. There is a concern that the real outcomes of the study with the young people were not emphasised sufficiently in the final plan for change, what the young people wanted was watered down. There was little we could do about this at the time, but have continued to work in the area when and where we can, to provide positive activities within the community and with young people. |
|
19 |
In your view, what impact does children’s/young people’s involvement in decision-making have: For them · self confidence, · increases ability to make decisions later · as above (Q12) For the organisation/ project · richer picture · more diverse input · more accurately reflects whole picture · as above ( Q11 & Q12) For the community · increased contact with adults/elders/ intergenerational activity · increased engagement with whole community · reduction in crime and fear of crime · as above (Q12) |
| 20 |
If you were to do it again, is there anything you would you do differently? Points for improvement If we had the chance to do another major piece of masterplanning with young people and children we would use the basis we have established in this project, and essentially the same principles however there are a number of things we would do to improve the outcomes and the experience for the participants. · Do a residential taking young people to see other examples of successful urban planning in other comparable environments · Spend more time doing small group video walks · Work with the young people to design and deliver more of the consultation themselves · Build in feedback- we had assumed support for it would be there and it wasn’t- negotiate this in advance with other partners |
|
21 |
What advice would you have other organisations looking to engage children/young people in decision-making processes within the organisation/project? Do not underestimate children and young people We often hear: “they won’t be able to understand planning processes” or “they’re not interested”. These views are in our experience incorrect- we have seen little evidence that once children and young people understand they really can have influence/ power that they don’t want to be involved. Therefore best practice dictates it is best to be clear about how much influence they really can have- how much can change and at what timescale. Also do not underestimate the time or the efforts you will have to put in- meet with young people where they are, do things on their terms- or at least meet them part way- do not assume that formal meetings – just because they work for the adults you work with that this will work for young people or children. There are lots of other ways to work seriously together and arrive at meaningful conclusions using fun and creative techniques – you might all enjoy it! Back all of this with quality staffing and resources. |
| 22 |
Any other comments you would like to add? As long as you have a sound methodology then the key elements to a successful project like this one are · obtaining the right level of funding; demonstrating the commitment of the partners to this process · having appropriate staff and resources · the commitment of partners to listen to what young people have to say It is essential to remember we are building for the future and to do this with any hope of success children and young people have to be drawn into this process. They will be spending more time in it than us so it better be how they want it. |
Child and Youth Participation CASE STUDY 2:
Section 1 - Background Information
|
Name of Organisation/Project: |
|
| Address: 88 Soho Road, Handsworth, Birmimgham, B21 9BN |
Telephone: 07944 093 420 Fax: Email: fcyouthnetwork@hotmail.co.uk Website: www.fcyn.co.uk |
| Tell us about your organisation: First Class Youth Network’s mission statement is to ‘empower the youth so their voices can be heard’. FCYN operates as a community-based organisation, which delivers services to young people between the ages of 13-25, living throughout Birmingham and surrounding areas. FCYN tailors its services towards the Black and Minority Ethnic community in particular. The main three services delivered are outreach & mentoring, events and signposting. |
|
| Why is child/youth participation important to your organisation? FCYN was created in order to benefit and create a positive change for young people, therefore it is imperative that young people (including children) have a strong participation and influence over the way in which the organisation is run and services are delivered. Evaluating of services, in particular, requires the majority of the input from young people as the service users, in order for FCYN to be able to shape the future for the organisation and tailor the services to the young peoples needs and desires, |
|
Staffing/Membership
|
1 |
How many full time staff do you employ? | |
| |
||
| 2 |
How many part time staff do you employ? | |
| |
||
| 3 |
How many volunteers do you engage? | 27 |
| |
||
| 4 |
How many children/young people are involved in your organisation/project? | 900+ |
| |
||
| 5 |
What age group do you work with? | 13-25 |
| |
||
| 6 |
Do you operate a membership system? | Yes |
Section 2 – Your Case Study
|
7 |
Tell us more about your organisation/project:
|
|
8 |
How did child/youth participation in your organisation/project come about? As FCYN was created by young people, in order to benefit other young people – child/youth participation has always existed and will continue to exist on an ongoing basis. FCYN originally consisted of five founders members, all of whom were and still are classed as young people. This team of managers then expanded to implementing a further team of four young managers, due to the growth of the organisation and the demand. During this process, a team of volunteers was created, which grew rapidly and was then reduced to 27, following interviews and training sessions. Young people have always been the focal point of FCYN; the events delivered are aimed at encouraging young people to collectively discuss issues which they feel are affecting them. This enables them to hear what other young people think and feel, with the opportunity to identify solutions and move forward in a harmonised manner. FCYN constantly seek to encourage young people to participate with each other, with an aim towards breaking down current barriers amongst BME young people in particular, as these barriers contribute towards violent conflict, which affects the community as a whole. |
|
9 |
What are your reasons for involving children/young people in decision-making within the organisation/project? FCYN strongly believes that when working towards achieving a positive change for young people, it is imperative that these young people are involved in the process and consulted with at every stage. Research carried out by FCYN clearly demonstrates that young people are more willing to participate and listen, when they have being involved in the decision making process. Having a significant voice, which is heard and recognised by others, enables these young people to feel more valued and powerful as individuals – which then determines better outcomes from projects, events and service delivery throughout, due to young people having a strong involvement and influence over how the organisation is run. FCYN aim to ‘empower the youth’ and the only way to achieve that is to involve them. |
|
10 |
In what ways (if at all) did you link the design of your participation process to the five Every Child Matters outcomes Each of the Every Child Matters outcomes have been addressed through debates and discussions held with young people. The ‘Enjoying and Achieving’ outcome in particular has been linked with work carried out with young people, as FCYN constantly encourage the service users (young people) to enjoy positive elements of their lifestyles and strive towards achieving their goals and aspirations through self-development. |
| 11 |
In what ways has child/youth participation in decision-making been related to the success of your organisation? The entire success gained by FCYN to date, has been related to youth participation in decision making. As described earlier, young people are the key players and service users within the organisation, each of the services provided are implemented and received by young people, therefore, without their involvement, none of this would be possible. Decisions made within the organisation, from a strategic and development aspect, are made by the directors and board members, who are all young people! Decisions made, in terms of tailoring the services, to meet the service user’s needs, are influenced by feedback and suggestions gained from the young people who are actively involved and benefit from the services delivered by FCYN. FCYN aims to empower the youth, so that their voices can be heard – this then strengthens and enables the young people to become more actively involved, in terms of decision making within their communities. |
|
12 |
If adult initiated – when deciding to involve children/young people, did you consciously expect that there would be benefits for the organisation/project? What were they? This in not applicable to FCYN as the organisation is youth initiated, due to being created, designed and delivered by young people |
| 12 |
How do you make it easy for children/young people to be involved in the decision-making processes within the organisation/project? FCYN enables young people to be involved in the decision making process in a variety of ways. Young people can apply to become volunteers; this team meets on a monthly basis and are given the opportunity to give feedback and thoughts on proposed changes and ideas for the organisations. All feedback given is considered and taken seriously. Young people, who are generally FCYN members, are able to forward suggestions and offer personal opinions based on the services provided by FCYN, in various ways – for example, via the forum/feedback questionnaire on the website, via email, in writing, by telephone, during events, by attending a drop in session (held weekly) and speaking to a member of staff in person. FCYN are always open to suggestions and general feedback, as this shapes the future for the organisation. |
|
13 |
How is it ensured that children/young people’s voices are heard? The Youth Debate Shows ‘The Struggle’ is the perfect arena in which to achieve this. The objective of the debate shows, is to ensure that young people’s voices are being heard and that positive changes are made within their communities, as well as having an influence on the shaping of government agendas and policies for young people, as a result. Other ways of documenting young people’s ‘voices’ in relation to their feelings, thoughts and needs, is achieved by compiling reports based on the discussions held and opinions captured from young people. These reports are then presented to relevant agencies and boards, such as Birmingham Youth Service & City Council etc. FCYN regularly capture young people’s thoughts and feelings, on a particular issue, and then ensure that the information obtained is given to the relevant agencies who are able to create a positive change for young people and are able to meet their needs. This is then followed up and FCYN continue to highlight the needs of young people and present documentation to confirm the need. |
| 14 |
Is child/youth participation in decision-making a priority in your organisation/project? Explain. Yes, youth participation in decision making is an extremely high priority within FCYN. As explained previously, FCYN is managed and delivered by young people, for young people, therefore decision making by young people is critical as these decisions create and shape all aspects of the organisation. |
|
15 |
Is youth participation formalised within your organisation/project in any way, or in the process to being formalised? (e.g. constitution, mission, policy etc.) Yes, it is formalised and recognised in all formal documents for the organisation, i.e mission statement, constitution, business plan, policies & procedures etc. The services provided are aimed at young BME people between the ages of 13-25, therefore, all aspects of the service delivery are directed to this group of people, all documents for the organisation reflect this fact. |
|
16 |
How do children, young people and adults work together in your organisation/ project? As the organisation is managed by young people, it is generally young people working together with other young people, as opposed to adults. Although, ‘adults’ are incorporated into the work carried out by FCYN – for example, by sitting on the panel at an event and offering their knowledge and feedback to an open forum. As FCYN is a network of organisations, when ‘signposting’ young people to other organisations, which are generally run by adults, this process needs to be managed effectively and consists of young people working alongside adults, in order to deliver an effective service for young people and achieve this process. |
|
17 |
What have been the benefits and positive outcomes of child/youth participation in decision-making to the organisation/project? Youth participation, in terms of decision making within FCYN has determined all of the benefits and positive outcomes gained. Whilst enabling young people to make relevant decisions within the organisation, these young people feel empowered and ‘part’ of the organisation, taking ownership and feeling proud to be a member and part of an innovative and positive network. This has demonstrated real success, as young people in receipt of the services provided actively engage and partake in all aspects of the service delivery, which many of them have contributed to and shaped for the benefit of other young people. This then encourages more and more young people to partake and become involved. This in itself is a very positive outcome as young people are continually encouraged to become a part of something positive and change their lifestyles, influenced by other young people. |
|
18 |
What have been the challenges to the process? Past and ongoing. How have you overcome them? The initial challenge, with regards to involving young people, was gaining the trust and confidence from them and encouraging young people to become involved. However, this was quickly overcome, due to young people recognising the fact that the staff within the organisation were of a similar age and had similar experiences and therefore able to relate to them effectively. FCYN does not feel that this is still an issue or a challenge as young people continue to engage in a natural and organic manner. The only challenge, in terms of being able to actively involve young people in decision making, is the lack of resources within the organisation, to be able to achieve this outcome in a variety of ways and perhaps offer incentives to young people, for making positive contributions to FCYN. |
|
19 |
In your view, what impact does children’s/young people’s involvement in decision-making have:
|
| 20 |
If you were to do it again, is there anything you would you do differently? The services/projects provided by FCYN are delivered on an ongoing basis, and are also evaluated on an ongoing basis. The information gained from the evaluation process is incorporated into the future planning for the organisation. |
|
21 |
What advice would you have other organisations looking to engage children/young people in decision-making processes within the organisation/project? FCYN would advise other organisations to incorporate young people’s contributions into the entire decision making process, for services directed at young people being the service users and beneficiaries. FCYN would encourage organisations who deliver services/projects for children and young people, to employ young people and provide them with relevant positions which enable them to directly engage with other young people. This is due to experience and research demonstrating the fact that ‘young people engage with and effectively relate to young people’. |
Child and Youth Participation Case Study 3
Section 1 - Background Information
| Name of Organisation/Project: SAFE Project Birmingham Youth Service |
|
| Address: 477 Stratford Road Spark hill Birmingham B11 4LE |
Telephone: 0121 464 8325 Fax: Email: Website: |
| Tell us about your organisation: SAFE is a youth led publication that offers young people the opportunity to voice their opinions, concerns and innovative thoughts about a range of issues that are pertinent to them. |
|
| Why is child/youth participation important to your organisation? Youth participation underpins the ethos of the project. The publication is driven by young people’s agendas, written by young people for young people to read. |
|
Staffing/Membership
| 1 |
How many full time staff do you employ? | 1 |
| |
||
| 2 |
How many part time staff do you employ? | 2 |
| |
||
| 3 |
How many volunteers do you engage? | 1 |
| |
||
| 4 |
How many children/young people are involved in your organisation/project? | 20 |
| |
11-18 | |
| 5 |
What age group do you work with? | |
| |
||
| 6 |
Do you operate a membership system? | No |
Section 2 – Your Case Study
| 7 |
Tell us more about your organisation/project:
|
| 8 |
How did child/youth participation in your organisation/project come about? Youth participation within the project came about because it was recognised that young people have a lot to say about society, politics, inequalities and their own lives, which they wanted to share with other people. Youth involvement in the toolkit came about because it was recognised that young people’s needs are not being met and that other organisations and workers are not doing enough to involve young people in creating change. |
| 9 |
What are your reasons for involving children/young people in decision-making within the organisation/project? Young people are involved in decision making within the project because it is important for them to have a say on issues that affect their lives. The toolkit works on the basis that young people know what they want but don’t have a means to articulate this to others because they don’t listen. Producing a written guide for organisations and workers in the form of a toolkit was the answer to this. |
| 10 |
In what ways (if at all) did you link the design of your participation process to the five Every Child Matters outcomes SAFE offers young people the opportunity to discus and comment on pertinent issues politically, socially and personally, and the stage to do this in a safe environment that nurtures and fosters better understanding of difference. SAFE offers a fully integrated FO policy that actively discourages exclusion. |
| 11 |
In what ways has child/youth participation in decision-making been related to the success of your organisation? SAFE is an award winning project that has been recognised for its outstanding youth participation by winning the prestigious Philip Lawrence Awards which would not have been possible without the hard work and decision making that was undertaken by the editorial team consisting of young people. Consequently, SAFE has received a lot of publicity. Many other people have expressed interest in the model that SAFE uses including the head of the youth service. |
| 12 |
If adult initiated – when deciding to involve children/young people, did you consciously expect that there would be benefits for the organisation/project? What were they? Although SAFE is adult initiated the ethos of the project has always been about young people’s contribution and this is illustrated in the publications content. The result has been an honest and thoughtful piece of work that is written in young people ‘speak’ and aimed at other young people. This has meant that the reputation of the organisation as ‘young people friendly’ has increased. Young people are more willing to approach SAFE with ideas and issues as a result. In producing a toolkit the group knew that there would be benefits to other organisations, and particularly to individuals. The view of one young person in the group stands out. He said that not a lot of people do stuff unless it helps the organisation, and people assume that talking to young people won’t help the organisation so they don’t, but actually young people can help. The production of the toolkit was an opportunity for organisation to get help from young people want and organisations having to do the extra work to find out their views. Therefore, the group has done a lot of the work that organisations should really be doing themselves. |
| 13 |
How do you make it easy for children/young people to be involved in the decision-making processes within the organisation/project? Young people are involved in every stage of the publication from determining some of the key themes to be addressed to editing the magazine. This has been made easier through encouraging genuine participation from the young people. Young people have been able to express their ideas in whatever form they feel comfortable with. For example with regards to the toolkit young people have been using video recordings, notes on flipchart or ideas left on the whiteboard, as well as drawing pictures, emailing and using the telephone to get ideas across on the contents of the toolkit. The group producing the toolkit are not just consulted with by workers from SAFE and bayc about what they think should be in it. Instead, the young people determine the agenda, and look at what action needs to be taken and then delegate work to members of the group and to other workers. |
| 14 |
How is it ensured that children/young people’s voices are heard? The publication is distributed to youth centres, schools, faith organisations, councillors, colleges and other youth and community organisations. The toolkit itself is a way of getting young people’s voices heard on things that they feel passionately about. Once completed it will be distributed to organisations that can benefit from it as well as ‘influential’ people who can use it as a model for change. Within the group the workers at SAFE and bayc did not assume that the young people would put across their thoughts and ideas on paper. Instead young people were asked how they would feel most comfortable abut getting their voices heard. As a result, young people have used PowerPoint presentations, video recordings, interviews, questionnaires and drawing pictures, as well as writing on flipchart paper. The young people have decided that this information will then be brought together as written document for whoever is interested in young people’s views to just pick and read. |
| 15 |
Is child/youth participation in decision-making a priority in your organisation/project? Explain. Youth participation in decision making is a priority within the project. It is envisioned that young people will actively determine the future of the project with the vision of enabling the project to be totally young people led. |
| 16 |
Is youth participation formalised within your organisation/project in any way, or in the process to being formalised? (e.g. constitution, mission, policy etc.) It forms part of the BCC unit plan. |
| 17 |
How do children, young people and adults work together in your organisation/ project? Adults within the organisation help to educate and inform young people on a whole range of issues. In turn young people educate and inform adults who are willing to listen on the issues that concern them thought the publication and the toolkit. Workers from SAFE and bayc help to support young people to highlight these concerns and to begin to rectify them in ways that young people feel it is possible. The residential about the toolkit was a clear example of working together. The whole group worked as a team to undertake the task of producing the toolkit. Everyone shared responsibilities, for example the workers provided stationery and other equipment, whilst young people came with an agenda, clear questions to ask the group and plans for the future, showcasing of the toolkit. A worker from bayc was on hand to support and advise both workers and young people during the process. |
| 18 |
What have been the benefits and positive outcomes of child/youth participation in decision-making to the organisation/project? Youth participation in decision making with regards to the publication has resulted in meeting and interviewing people like Nina Gill (MEP) and Trevor McDonald. This has been a positive experience for the young people themselves who have become more confident about what they write. Young people have been talking to other young people about the project and this has given it a reputation as a project that lets young people express themselves. Consequently, people want to read the publication out of curiosity and interest in young people’s views and more people are getting involved at all levels. The toolkit itself has given the young people the opportunities to challenge other organisations and projects to involve more young people in their decision making process. They have created a model for other organisations to follow to help them to engage with other young people. For example, the youth workers and instructors at the residential talked about how they had been inspired by the work that they had seen the young people do for the toolkit and that they would be able to take a lot of ideas away to use with their own group as a result. Working on the toolkit in this way has not only empowered each and every individual in the group but it has helped them feel good about the fact they are making a difference to other organisations and other young people’s lives. |
| 19 |
What have been the challenges to the process? Past and ongoing. How have you overcome them? Funding for the publication has always been difficult and challenging. Many funding bodies do not see printing costs as a legitimate and fundable activity. |
| 20 |
In your view, what impact does children’s/young people’s involvement in decision-making have:
Young people’s involvement in decision making has given them the opportunities to be taken seriously as free thinking, mature and conscientious individuals. |
| 21 |
If you were to do it again, is there anything you would you do differently? It would be beneficial to find ways to ensure core funding for the publication. |
| 22 |
What advice would you have other organisations looking to engage children/young people in decision-making processes within the organisation/project? It would be useful to encompass the ethos and values of the SAFE project as a meaningful way of engaging young people. It would also be beneficial to use a guide such as the toolkit created by young people which tells other organisations how to involve young people in the decision making process, if they feel strongly about it. It would be useful for the organisation to ask the young people it is trying to engage with what they feel strongly about and where they want to see changes happen – much like what is being done in the toolkit. Organisations need to show that they really want to engage young people and so need to actively seek out their opinions. We have learnt from the creation of the toolkit that trusting and believing that young people can make a difference has an impact on the end result. Allowing young people to work independently and to set the agenda has impacted on the high level of involvement and the end result. The process that the group went through to do the toolkit has shown that young people have lots of intelligent and relevant ideas. This was reflected by the extremely positive response from the instructors and the youth workers the group met on the residential, and the number of people who are taking an interest in everything that SAFE is doing and achieving. It is also important for organisations that want to engage young people in the decision making process not to underestimate the determination that young people have and the hard work they put in to complete something like the toolkit. During one the sessions before the residential, for example, the young people working on the toolkit spent a lot of time discussing what each of them wanted to change in their areas and how they would get other organisations to listen to their views. The group then decided to interview other young people to get their perspectives. They were willing to do a lot of extra work so that they could engage other young people into the process. The fact that the group of young people were determined individuals was further exemplified by their insistence to use their activity time on the residential to further develop the toolkit. It is this kind of determination that needs to be acknowledged, praised and nurtured by organisations, if they want young people to engage in the decision making processes within their organisations.
|
| 22 |
Any other comments you would like to add? |
The views and opinions expressed within the case studies are not necessarily representative of
Growing up in the West Midlands. Similarly, the case studies are presented without comment and
should not be considered to be endorsed by Growing up in the West Midlands.
Notes of the CYP Delivery Group Meeting held at the Children’s Society, Kings Norton on 10th January 2006
Present: Andy S, Bruce, Marcia, Alison & Peter
Apologies: Andy H, Rob, Priority Research
2 young people from the Advisory Group may be interested in being directly involved in G:up. If we want to broaden this out, will need to be clear what we are selling to young people. Could link in with Abi Carter at Carnegie to have an impact on strategic planning.
Peter also mentioned BREATHE a network of young people focusing on the involvement of disabled young people.
Andy H had been delayed so there was no update on the UKYP at this point.
Andy Bruce and Rob, being those present from the CYP group could feedback on what they have been doing, e.g. priority search questionnaire, c&yp involvement, and Marcia could provide input through a “video” box. It was agreed that the group would need 40 minutes for:
Feedback to date – Rob
Feedback on C&YP involved in decision-making – Marcia
Questionnaire - Andy
Also needed a revised action plan and timeline for the group.
Model of decision-making used by one of the projects
Young People involved in decision-making within orgs.
Links between this work and G:up
Bruce would introduce and connect to Spurgeon’s plans for collecting more material in the future.
It was also noted that it would be good to try and link Nathan Dennis and First Direct Youth Network into this process.
Priority Research – Noted that the research was an important element in engaging children and young people in GUiWM, but not a feasibility study for an Action Research Centre in itself.
Aiming for 100 questionnaires back. Can use 19th to distribute to those present and possibly post on the website. Distribution also through Forums. Peter to cover WMVYSF and Bruce NCVCCO. It was agreed that the commissioned work around the Regional Centre be undertaken by Andy and bayc. Need a detailed brief drawn up from PR questionnaire findings, including potential models for taking this forward, functions and roles. Andy S & Peter to produce a draft brief for consideration.
Need also to look at Children & Young Peole’s engagement in Public Service delivery plus levels of engagement in orgs. including Board level. Agreed to look at 3 levels of involvement:
Senior Level in Organisations
Children’s Services – Bruce to look at Wolverhampton
Regional/other policy levels – Andy H
Agreed to commission writing up 6-8 case studies of practice within G:up. £500 for each plus brief to included age/area/ types of involvement and link to ECM. There could be 2 pilot projects to show how Andy S to write a brief for the case studies to be approved by the group £3.5k budget.
Marcia to write up the Cjhildren’s Society work to include video and documentation £3k budget
Bruce to write up case studies of After School Clubs, Darlaston Surestart, Young Carers group, Independent Mentors Project £2k budget.
Andy H to provide brief for commission re engagement in Regional/other policy levels £3.5k budget.
The Children and Young People's Strategic Engagement Delivery group is conducting a survey on current children and young people's participation, to support their work in sharing god practice. It takes about 15 minutes to complete on a very easy online form which is right here: http://priority-research.com/wbs/941childsoc/
it would be fab if you could find the time to take part - as soon as possible!