Participation: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

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Participation: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is participation?

Asking children and young people what works, what doesn't work and what could work better; and involving them in the design, delivery and evaluation of services, on an ongoing basis. The Every Child Matters (ECM): Change for children programme ensures that policies and services are designed around the needs of children and young people; and that they are involved in decisions at a local and national level. Engaging children and young people gives them opportunities to make positive contributions to their communities.

How does participation help my work?

Better outcomes for children, young people and families, and an improved policy process. Consultation offers the best long-term guarantees of ensuring services meet needs in a sustainable ways. An ongoing dialogue with children and young people is important for making sure policies and services are effectively evaluated and can evolve as needed. Involving children and young people helps to develop new skills and to promote links within communities.

Why should we bother helping children and young people participate?

Promotion of the participation of children and young people should lead to change. This can be done by ensuring involvement and opportunities for them to have a real say in decisions. It also creates benefits for organisations (better targeted services, saving money, new ideas, happy customers); young people (better services, new skills, more of what they want), and communities (engaged, community-minded children and young people, fresher democracies).

Sinclair and Franklin (2000) identified the following reasons for participation, to:

uphold children's rights
fulfil legal responsibilities
improve services
improve decision making
enhance democratic processes
promote children's protection
enhance children's skills
empower and enhance self-esteem.

I don't work with children; surely participation doesn't affect me?

Not true. Every practitioner in health, social services, education, the community and the criminal justice system has an impact on children, young people and families. All staff need to be equipped. Getting children and young people involved also helps them understand your work better.

Isn't effective participation going to make my job harder?

No, it will make it easier and more effective. Understanding those who need local services most means they're more likely to use your organisation, and recommend it to others that are in need.

What does participation cost and what are the best methods?

Depending on the specific circumstances, participation means a variety of things: quick straw polls in schools and youth clubs; extensive consultations via websites and workshops; building young people's advisory groups or youth parliaments.

Who can I ask for help to develop participation for children and young people?

There are a wide range of voluntary and community groups with a wealth of experience in this area.

National Children's Bureau (NCB)
Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE)
British Youth Council (BYC)
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
Coram Family
National Council of Voluntary Childcare Organisations (NCVCO)
National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)

There are also a wide range of publications and websites that support participation.

Building a culture of participation; this published report was researched and written by the NCB and by PK Research Consultancy.
Hear by right from the National Youth Agency (NYA) is an already tested standards framework for organisations in the statutory and voluntary sector; to enable them to assess and improve practice and policy on the active involvement of children and young people.

Children's Fund and Connexions partnerships have embedded participation in their working practices and support you in learning from their experiences.

Mapping children and young people's participation; In October 2004 the DCSF published research by the NYA and the BYC, that mapped children and young people's participation in england.

Carnegie Young People Initiative (CYPI); The CYPI runs a network of participation workers in order to share good practice.

There are also a number of examples of good practice at local level that include:

For more information about participation in national politics go to UK Youth Parliament (UKYP).

Do I need to be police checked?

Anyone working with children and young people must be Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked.

Click to for more information on the Criminal Records Bureau website.

What do young people say about participation and how it can be done effectively?

It won't happen without the right resources to support it.
Make sure there is flexibility about meeting times so they can be held at times that suit young people.
Staff with the right skills should be specifically dedicated to support young people's participation. Make sure there are enough staff to make a difference.
Make sure a range of methods are used for communicating with young people in ways they will find easy, such as text messaging.
Make sure to give good feedback to young people about how they have contributed.
Make sure to provide clear, ongoing communication about how the participation process will develop and what concrete action has been taken.
Always provide clear, relevant information.
Organisations should be prepared to take feedback about themselves from young people.
Decision makers should get to know the young people they are working with; make sure they meet them and show them they are valued.
Make sure to get the atmosphere right and use methods and approaches that don't exclude particular groups of young people.
Always be culturally inclusive.
Make sure the process is enjoyable for all.

What is the Government doing to support participation by children and young people?

Developing an infrastructure for participation

Participation practice centre
We are supporting the development of a participation practice centre. This includes a knowledge management system for good practice, standards; and a network for participation workers, led by the NCB, the NYA and the CYPI.
Ready Steady Change
Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) is leading a consortium of voluntary organisations in the development of a comprehensive training programme - Ready Steady Change - to increase children and young peoples' effective participation in making decisions.

Two core training handbooks are in production: one to increase the skills, knowledge and confidence of children and young people; the other to increase the skills, knowledge and confidence of all those working with children and young people.

Supporting mechanisms for children and young people's involvement

The Consultation Fund supports voluntary and community organisations to organise consultation events for children and young people across England; to give them a voice in services that affect them locally, nationally and internationally. In 2004 Changemakers took over the running of the fund to enable greater involvement of children and young people in assessing and awarding grants.

The UKYP helps young people develop into active citizens and is a valuable route through which their voices can be heard by local and national decision makers.
In August 2004 Children's Express was appointed to establish and run the Children and Youth Board (CYB) until March 2005. The board comprised 25 children and young people aged 11 to 19, from across the UK. It was involved in the recruitment of the Children's Commissioner and also advised the Minister for Children, Young People and Families on other Government policy developments relevant to children and young people. Options are currently being explored for the board's continuation in 2005 and 2006.

Citizenship projects

The Hansard Society is sponsored to run two projects that aim to increase young people's participation in democracy and promoting citizenship.
Y Vote Mock Elections is an informative way for young people to experience democracy. Participation in mock elections helps encourage interest and engagement in democratic processes. Learners are encouraged to stand as candidates, to form election teams and to run election campaigns that mirror real life. School members are given the opportunity to vote, and to experience the excitement of taking part in elections. Click for more information on Y Vote Mock Elections.
HeadsUp is an interactive resource for teaching political literacy with the aid of ICT. The website has online moderated debates that are delivered in schools, as part of citizenship education. Its purpose is to develop the skills and knowledge needed to actively participate in democracy. Opportunities are also provided for participants to communicate directly with politicians and opinion formers on topical issues.

Good practice

We are working with emerging children's trusts to support effective practice in participation by children and young people. As part of the national evaluation of children's trusts we work closely with children's trust pathfinders to identify good practice for embedding the participation of children and young people in local children's services; and spreading this good practice to other authorities.
The Government document Learning to listen sets out core principles for children and young people's participation in the planning, delivery and evaluation of Government policies and services. In July 2004, the report was updated to reflect changes brought about through the Every Child Matters (ECM) programme.
In 2004, 12 government departments published action plans on involving children and young people in policy, and in service design and delivery.

So you are doing this work for children and young people; how are you engaging families?

There is evidence to support the link between effective parenting and the well-being and success of children and young people. As the one constant in a child or young person's life, parents are crucial for promoting positive outcomes and ensuring children and young people achieve their potential.

There is however, evidence to suggest that some parents still do not receive the seamless support that they need in order to fulfil their roles. The Every Child Matters (ECM) green paper heralded the Government's aim to develop better universal information, advice and support for all families; available as and when it is needed. Within this universal offer, specialist services will be targeted to those families that need additional support.

Support is particularly important at times of transition, such as the move from primary to secondary school, and in adolescence. Better information, advice and support should be available to mothers and fathers, from maternity right through childhood and into the teenage years.