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Youth Voice and
Participation Toolkit
Page 3 - Introduction to the Toolkit
Page 4 - What is Participation?
Page 5 The Ladder of Participation
Page 7 - 4 Key Principles of Participation
Page 8 - The Benefits of Participation
Page 10 - The Checklist
Page 14 - Acknowledgements
Contents
What is Participation?Participation is about ensuring that children and young people are given opportunities to be involved in processes for decision making on issues that affect them. This means listening to what matters most to them, and taking their views seriously.
Participation is not just about working with children and young people on matters that are high on adults' agendas. Children and young people should have opportunities to and set and decide their own agendas. They must be given opportunities and support to share their views.
A vital part of the participation process is telling children and young people what the plan is, and what is going to happen as a result of hearing their views, and why.
Participation is NOT: Participation IS:
a 'token-gesture' towards involving children
'ticking the box' to impress Ofsted or to help secure funding
always formal
always about groups of children and young people
an 'added extra' to work with children and young people
the same as consultation (this is just one method)
always about children and young people having to engage in adult structures in order to be heard and taken seriously
sharing opportunities with those affected by them
a fundamental right
different for each group/person involved
an opportunity for everybody involved to develop skills, knowledge and ideas
REMEMBER.. Participation is not always easy and it should
not be rushed. Some children and young people require more time to say what they feel, and some may need more support and different methods to choose from and use.
LADDER OF PARTICIPATION
8. Young people and adults share decision making.
7. Young people lead and initiate action.
6. Adult-initiated, shared decisions with young people.
5. Young people are consulted and informed.
4. Young people are assigned and informed.
3. Young people are tokenised.
2. Young people are decoration.
1. Young people are manipulated.
Roger Hart's
Man
ipu
lati
on
C
hild
ren
an
d y
ou
ng
pe
op
le d
o o
r sa
y w
ha
t a
du
lts s
ug
ge
st th
ey
do
, b
ut
ha
ve n
o r
ea
l un
de
rsta
nd
ing
of th
e is
sue
s O
R, yo
un
g p
eo
ple
are
ask
ed
wh
at th
ey
thin
k, a
du
lts u
se s
om
e o
f th
e id
ea
s b
ut d
o n
ot te
ll th
em
wh
at
influ
en
ce th
ey
ha
ve h
ad
on
th
e fin
al d
eci
sio
n.
Dec
ora
tio
n
Ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
ta
ke p
art
in a
n e
ven
t, e
.g. b
y si
ng
ing
,
da
nci
ng
or
we
arin
g a
T-s
hirt w
ith lo
go
s o
n it
, b
ut th
ey
do
no
t re
ally
un
de
rsta
nd
th
e is
sue
s.
To
ken
ism
C
hild
ren
an
d y
ou
ng
pe
op
le a
re a
ske
d to
sa
y w
ha
t th
ey
thin
k a
bo
ut
an
issu
e b
ut h
ave
little
or
no
ch
oic
e a
bo
ut th
e w
ay
the
y e
xpre
ss th
ose
vie
ws
or
the
sco
pe
of th
e id
ea
s th
ey
can
exp
ress
.
Yo
un
g p
eop
le a
re a
ssig
ned
an
d in
form
ed
Ad
ults
de
cid
e o
n th
e p
roje
ct a
nd
ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
vo
lun
tee
r
for
it. T
he
ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
un
de
rsta
nd
th
e p
roje
ct, a
nd
kn
ow
wh
y th
ey
sho
uld
be
invo
lve
d a
nd
wh
y. A
du
lts r
esp
ect
th
eir v
iew
s.
Yo
un
g p
eop
le a
re c
on
sult
ed a
nd
info
rmed
T
he
pro
ject
is d
esi
gn
ed
an
d r
un
by
ad
ults
bu
t ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g
pe
op
le a
re c
on
sulte
d. T
he
y h
ave
a fu
ll u
nd
ers
tan
din
g o
f th
e p
roce
ss
an
d th
eir o
pin
ion
s a
re ta
ken
se
rio
usl
y.
Ad
ult
-in
itia
ted
, sh
ared
dec
isio
ns
wit
h y
ou
ng
peo
ple
A
du
lts h
ave
th
e in
itia
l id
ea
bu
t ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
are
invo
lve
d
in e
very
ste
p o
f th
e p
lan
nin
g a
nd
imp
lem
en
tatio
n. N
ot o
nly
are
th
eir
vie
ws
con
sid
ere
d b
ut th
ey
are
als
o in
volv
ed
in ta
kin
g th
e d
eci
sio
ns.
Yo
un
g p
eop
le le
ad a
nd
init
iate
act
ion
C
hild
ren a
nd y
oung p
eople
have
the id
ea a
nd d
eci
de h
ow
the p
roje
ct is
to b
e c
arr
ied o
ut. A
dults
are
ava
ilable
but do n
ot ta
ke c
harg
e.
Yo
un
g p
eop
le a
nd
ad
ult
s sh
are
dec
isio
n m
akin
g
Ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
ha
ve th
e id
ea
s, s
et u
p th
e p
roje
ct a
nd
com
e to
ad
ults
fo
r a
dvi
ce, d
iscu
ssio
n a
nd
su
pp
ort
. T
he
ad
ults
do
no
t
dire
ct b
ut o
ffe
r th
eir e
xpe
rtis
e fo
r th
e y
ou
ng
pe
op
le to
co
nsi
de
r; t
he
re is
a s
en
se o
f p
art
ne
rsh
ip.
A y
ou
th fo
rum
se
t p
rio
ritie
s w
ith a
ctio
n p
lan
s a
nd
ap
pro
ved
sp
en
din
g fro
m th
eir o
wn
bu
dg
et. A
n a
du
lt
sup
po
rts,
offe
rin
g a
dvi
ce o
n h
ow
to
ta
ke p
roje
cts
forw
ard
.
Ch
ildre
n a
nd
yo
un
g p
eo
ple
wa
nte
d a
n in
form
atio
n p
ack
for
a s
erv
ice
th
ey
rece
ive
. T
he
y w
rote
so
me
of th
e
con
ten
t w
ith a
dd
itio
na
l he
lp a
nd
info
rma
tion
fro
m
pro
fess
ion
als
.A
loca
l co
un
cil d
eci
de
d th
at a
n a
rea
of th
eir b
oro
ug
h
cou
ld u
se r
eva
mp
ing
an
d a
ske
d a
gro
up
of yo
un
g
pe
op
le w
ha
t sh
ou
ld b
e in
clu
de
d. T
he
y b
oth
ag
ree
on
a
fam
ily n
atu
re a
rea
fo
r lo
cal p
are
nts
an
d c
hild
ren
.
A lo
cal c
ou
nci
llor
ask
s yo
un
g p
eo
ple
wa
nt ca
n b
e d
on
e
to s
top
th
em
ha
ng
ing
on
str
ee
t co
rne
rs, a
fte
r lis
ten
ing
to
wh
at h
ey
wa
nt a
nd
co
ntin
uo
us
up
da
tes
ove
r m
an
y
mo
nth
s a
ne
w y
ou
th s
he
lter
is b
uilt
.
Th
ere
is a
'De
sig
n a
Mu
ral'
com
pe
titio
n fo
r yo
un
g
pe
op
le, th
e w
inn
er
will
ha
ve th
eir m
ura
l pa
inte
d o
ver
gra
ffiti
, w
hic
h is
an
eye
sore
, a
nd
giv
en
gift
vo
uch
ers
.
Th
e lo
cal c
ou
nci
l ha
ve in
vite
d 4
loca
l ska
teb
oa
rde
rs to
the
ir n
ext
te
am
me
etin
g to
ask
ab
ou
t in
mp
rove
d
faci
litie
s. T
he
me
etin
g is
on
at 2
:30
an
d a
ll in
vite
d a
re
still
in s
cho
ol.
Th
e C
rim
e P
reve
ntio
n P
an
el h
as
ask
ed
a h
ea
d te
ach
er
to v
olu
nte
er
6 p
up
il to
ha
nd
ou
t le
afle
ts o
n c
ar
crim
e o
n
a S
atu
rda
y m
orn
ing
.
Th
e m
an
ag
er
of a
tra
in s
tatio
n h
as
sen
t o
ut a
qu
est
ion
na
ire
fo
r yo
un
g p
eo
ple
to
fill
in o
n m
aki
ng
th
e
sta
tion
sa
fer.
Th
e m
an
ag
er
too
k th
e id
ea
s b
ut to
ok
cre
dit
for
the
mse
lve
s.
4 Key Principles of Participation
children and young peoplehave equal opportunity to
be involved
children and young people are valued and taken seriously
the involvement of childrenand young people is
monitored, evaluated,reported and improved
the involvement of children and a visible commitment which is properly resourced
children and young
people have a real say
in shaping their own
lives
children and young
people have
opportunities to achieve
accredited training
children and young
people get services that
can meet their changing
needs and hopes
children and young
people are valued in
their communities
the good things that
children and young
people do are shared
children and young
people are seen as and
are valued as citizens
children and young
people have
opportunities to share
their views
children and young
people get better and
more relevant services
children and young
people feel better about
themselves, and their
abilities
children and young
people build on existing
skills and develop new
ones
The Benefits of Participation
Participation can help children and young people to develop important and useful skills and feel valued and included.
for children and young people
The Benefits of Participationfor organisations and services
learning from children and young people as citizens
and customers about their:
- attitudes
-needs
- aspirations
- barriers to accessing services
-views on what makes a quality service
demonstrates a commitment to children and young people in
line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC) and current legislation and guidance
services designed, delivered and evaluated based on actual
wants and needs rather than perceived ones
makes a significant contribution
to making the best use of limited
resources
fresh perspectives
and new ideas
The ChecklistThe checklist has been developed to:
> help you self-assess youth voice and participation in your service, in a
service you are using, have used or plan to use
> help you to develop better youth voice and participation
How to use the checklist
You can use this checklist to rate youth voice and participation in
services or use it as a tool to plan improvements or changes to youth
voice and participation.
You can use this at any time, on any service - on your own or as a
group. You may need to ask questions of others to find out some of the
answers to the checklist.
What does "Now-Soon-Later" mean?
Now = this is in place at the minute
Soon = there is a plan to develop or start this
Later = this is not in place and there are no current plans
(this is an opportunity for development!)
Why and How?
We have included a page that has reasons why involving children and
young people effectively is important and beneficial. The page also offers
some examples on how we can involve children and young people.
Governance
People
Values
Activities and Access
Diversity
sharing ideas and
information
sharing views and
experiences
sharing decision making
sharing leadership
fomal adult meetings
youth parliament
public speaking
communicating with peers
sharing ideas and
information
sharing views and
experiences
sharing decision making
sharing leadership
WHY? HOW?
sharing information on how things work
sharing ideas for future products and services
giving feedback
looking at how things will
change
discussion
performing and creative arts
talks, exhibitions and demonstrations
'you said,we did' activities
community events
fact finding visits
enabling children and young people to:
share experiences of using
services
explore aspirations and barriers
share ideas for change
involving children and young people in monitoring and
reviewing services
focus groups
creative group activities
forums and councils
involvement in developing, delivering and reviewing:
strategies
plans
products and services
co-production groups
involving young people in commissioning
involving children and young
people in recruitment
involvement in:
leadership activities
formal structures
We would like to express our appreciation to the following
organisations and groups, who have helped in making this Youth Voice and Participation
Toolkit an effective tool that will hopefully encourage youth voice and participation across
Sefton. Without your support and valuable assistance, this work would not have been
completed.
Thank you.
MAD Group
Merseyside Youth Association
Sefton's LSCBSefton Emotional Achievement
Service
Youth Offending Team, Sefton
Sefton CVS
Alder Hey CAMHs
South Sefton College
Brighter Liviing
Merseycare
Sefton Care Leavers Centre
YMCA Sefton
Liverpool John Moores University
NHS
Sefton Women's and Children's Aid
(SWACA)
Liverpool Children's Hospital
Sefton's Members of Youth
Parliament
Sefton's Youth Council
Citizens Advice Sefton
Sefton Coast Landscape Partnership
Buddy Up, Sefton
Young Advisors, Sefton
Sefton Council
Acknowledgements
