Participation….Good Practice

1

Standard – INFORMATION / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • Information that is easy to understand for everyone
  • Adults working with children and young people who know what isgoing on and are up front and clear.
We will all:
  • Ensure everyone has enough information to get properlyinvolved.
  • Let children and young people know
what difference being involved will
make.
  • Inform them about who is going to listen and make changes.
/
  • A Grand Council has been established for primary school age children to enable them to have their say.
  • 18th birthday cards are issued with details about how to vote and/or make complaints. The card also contains a helpline number.
  • ‘Askbridgend’ website brings together all consultations and engagement mechanisms.
  • Twitter is used as a mechanism for promotion and is not seen as intrusive by children and young people. Facebook is also successful, particularly closed groups for sharing information.
  • A Local Participation Action Plan 2013-2016 (LPAP) sets out the arrangements for promoting and facilitating children and young people’s participation. A range of partners have worked together to develop the LPAP with the aim of producing a multi-agency document that sets out how partners intend to engage with children and young people and how theywill work together to achieve a number of key outcomes.
  • The LPAP is fully integrated into the SIP/Annex B and everything that affects children and young people across the County Borough is fully connected to the LPAP e.g. Parent Network, NYAS, Police and Crime Commissioner, Eco Schools and democratic services.
  • ‘General Youth Day’ – an annual youth conference based around themes from consultations held throughout the year.
  • A bilingual UNCRC toolkit has been developed – delivered 1 hour training exercise for children.
  • Awebsite for young people called ‘Infobay’ has been set up. This promotes the participation of children and young people, as well as providing a range of information on issues of interest to them. Young people are involved in the editorial arrangements.
  • The Learning Pathways Learners voice champion supports both the Youth Council and Schools council. Consultations with young people are arranged and facilitated through the Learners voice champion on various aspects, including Corporate Plans. Social media is being used by Youth Services to increase young people’s awareness and give them a platform to feedback directly. This then assists the learning voice champion to undertake focus groups and consultations sessions with young people. Info gathered from the session is reported to managers,which then leads to the development and implementation of any resources/training needs as required.
  • The Children and Young People’s Partnership (CYPP) has a wide database to which they send information relevant to children, young people, families and the services that work with them. Mechanisms include the Young Flintshire Website, Twitter and Facebook page and the CYPP Update.
  • Staffundertake work on behalf of other directorates to ensure children and young people are included in the development of plans that affect them.
  • A Participation protocol form has been developed that allows young people to know what they are being asked to participate in and how that process will take place. This ensures that young people’s participation is valued, acknowledged and utilised.
  • An online engagement tool ‘Flex’, has been developed which isdesigned specifically for young people. Every secondary school in the Authority is able to access ‘Flex’ when they log on in school. It is also available to any young person with internet access.
  • The Participation team has delivered PSE lessons on the topic of UNCRC and Participation Standards in several secondary schools.
/ Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent
Bridgend
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Flintshire
Powys
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Standard – IT’S YOUR CHOICE / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • Children and young people choose if
they wantto get involved or not.
  • They choose to work on things that are
important to them.
  • They choose what to do and how to do it.
We will all:
  • Give children and young people enough information and time to decide if this is something they want to do.
/
  • Advocacy is embedded in Families First and all children and young people accessing FF are offered an independent advocate.
  • A Youth Champion (Councillor) has been elected. Young people and the Youth Champion present to Cabinet and attend each of the scrutiny committees.
  • Undertook a refresh and recruitment drive of young people to the Youth Forum which resulted in 108% increase in membership.
  • In partnership with TrosGynnal and Social Services, a Junior Safeguarding Children’s Board has been established; the board comprising of young people from a range of backgrounds meet on a regular basis to represent the views of children and young people on safeguarding issues. Also looking at having TrosGynnal take over operational role for Youth Council and Children in Care Council – this would give them a degree of independence and as a third sector organisation, TrosGynnal would be eligible to source alternative funding.
  • A Viewpoint survey is conducted every year which involves over 5000 children and young people. The results of this are used to plan, deliver and renew services relating to children and young people.
  • UNCRC awareness raising workshops have been developed by young people who have been trained about the UNCRC. Resources to support the workshop have also been developed and produced.
  • A ‘Super Survey’ has been developed which will be conducted annually for the next 3 years. This is an interactive online survey, gathering views of children and young people, aged 11-19. The evidence gathered will inform and provide evidence for a range of partnership priorities and results have bees used to inform service delivery, improve services and develop strategies and workplans.
  • Big Conversations – promotes and supports children and young people to explore what matters to them and others; development of safe spaces for them to talk openly and honestly about issues that affect their lives; children and young people only expected to represent themselves as opposed to wider groups.
  • The Councilhave developed a Youth Council (all schools and youth groups actively involved throughout the process). The Cabinet and senior Council Directors were fully involved and supportive of the process and concept. They have also elected a Youth Mayor and Youth Cabinet.
/ Blaenau Gwent
Caerphilly
Merthyr Tydfil
Newport
RCT
RCT
Swansea
Swansea
Vale of Glamorgan
Standard – NO DISCRIMINATION / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • Children and young people are all
different but all have the same right to
havea say about the things that matter to them.
  • We want everyone to feel welcome and be able to get involved if they want to be.
We will all:
  • Challenge any discrimination.
  • Get in touch with children and young people in lots of different situations.
  • Get them involved in things they want to do.
/
  • There are a number of listening events held in a safe environment for Looked After Children/Children in Need to talk to scrutiny committee.
  • Resolven Building Blocks (Integrated Centre) child care uses a right based approach and children from the age of 3 are involved in the recruitment processes.
  • Young people are involved in Scrutiny/Cabinet.
  • AYoung Carers project has been developed where the young carers are trained as young commissioners, have developed specifications and consultations and will be involved in monitoring the contracts.
  • The County Youth Forum membership includes Looked after children, Gypsy Traveller Youth Forum, Young Carers, young people with disabilities.
  • A revised Equality Impact Assessment template distinguishes young people from adults under the category of age.
  • The SeneddyrIfanc was established in September 2010 and has a structure that enables young people to be represented through geographical areas as well as represented through specific groups. The Senedd feeds into a number of other forums and decision making groups, such as Scrutiny committees, LSB, and the Children’s Commissioner.
/ Cardiff
Neath Port Talbot
Powys
RCT
Torfaen
Wrexham
Wrexham
Standard – RESPECT / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • Everyone has a chance to have a say –allopinions are important and we will
respect them.
We will all:
  • Listen to children and young people’s ideas, views and experiences.
  • Take them seriously and treat them fairly.
  • Work with children and young people to do something about thethings they tell us areimportant.
  • Work with them to help change things for thebetter.
/
  • Citizen Engagement - there is full engagement with children and young people in the strategic planning and development.
  • TheYouth Council were involved in the budget consultation.
  • Children and young people have been involved with senior officer appointments.
  • Focus groups are held with young people about any future plans that may be implemented which could affect them. These focus groups help to improve services or provisions through listening to the voice of the learner and feeding back to the Senior Management Team.
  • Young people are involved in the development of Children and Young People’s Plan, Families First Programme, Youth Service Strategy, School Modernisation, Young Flintshire, Interviews etc. Partner agencies running participation/e-participation training.
  • The Merthyr Tydfil Borough Wide Youth Forum (MTBWYF) meet regularly with the Lead Director for Children and Young People and the Children’s Champion (an elected Councillor).
  • The forum also holds regular meetings with the Council Cabinet and Corporate Management Team.
  • Young people sit on the Local Safeguarding Boards.
  • The Youth and Deputy Youth Mayor inaugurations mirror that of the Mayor with a full ceremony.
  • Young people, via the Youth Forum, have direct contact with Council Members.
  • The Participation, Engagement and Advocacy Partnership (PEAP) is mandated by the Local Service Board to ensure children’s rights are taken seriously and all children and young people are involved in decision making processes.
  • The Youth Council feed directly into the Cabinet.
  • A ‘Have Your Say’ day which includes young people is held which works with programme sponsors to embed the intelligence gathered into all of the authority’s work programmes.
  • Every year as part of the Council’s budget setting process, the consultation team engage with young people in schools to ask their opinion on the council priorities, current performance and council tax setting.
  • The Authority’s Commissioning Strategy for children and young people services 2014-17 involved young people at all stages and they are also are members of the Advisory Group.
  • Representatives from the Young People’s Care Council attend Corporate Parenting Panel meetings.
/ Caerphilly
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Merthyr
Merthyr
Merthyr
Merthyr
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot
Powys
RCT
Wrexham
Wrexham
Standard – YOU GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • We want children and young people to enjoyand benefit from taking part.
  • We know that they have other things to do in their lives as well.
  • Making sure that participating is a positive not a negative experience.
We will all:
  • Work in safe, fun, and enjoyable ways.
  • Make the most of what children and youngpeople know.
  • Do positive things that build their confidence.
  • Meet in friendly places that are easy for all children and young people to use.
  • Value and respect what they have to offer.
/
  • An ‘Engaging with Children and Young People’ toolkit has been developed and rolled out across the County and is being used by schools, youth support services, early years organisations etc.
  • There is a very active and successful County Junior Forum for children aged xx-xx..
  • The Youth Council organise a ‘Rights Dinner’ each year involving MPs, counsellors and young people.
  • Annually, a ‘Young People’s Say’ project is run, where young people are trained in order to train adults in the UNCRC and participation, including the participation Standards for Children and Young People in Wales.
  • A competition called ‘Run MCC’ was held where children and young people offered opinions on what they would do if they were running the Council for a day.
  • The Councilhas piloted a Mayor’s School Pupil Initiative in 2014. The initiative has enabled pupils to shadow the mayor for a day to gain an insight on mayoral roles and responsibilities as well as gain an understanding of the wider work of the local Authority. The initiative has also enabled groups of pupils from 8 secondary schools to be invited into the chamber and make presentations on their ideas on how to improve Newport during the regeneration process. Presentations were made to the Mayor, elected members, senior officers and representatives from business in Newport.
  • A ‘UN-style’ reporting process has been established for the Authority that mirrors that of the UN, with a representative body of children and young people playing the role of the UN Committee.They meet regularly to oversee progress they have made towards achieving the pledge.
  • Children and young people were involved in developing the Single Integrated plan from the outset. Separate engagement activity was carried out with young children, and then with teenagers, to produce versions that were more suited to children and young people.
  • The Youth Forum is a constituted forum and as such, is able to raise their ownfunding via bidding processes. The forum also plays an active role in budget setting for the local authority and the youth forum itself.
  • The Unified Needs Assessment recently involved over 2000 contributions from children and young people. Data collected is used to influence priorities for the Single Integrated Plan. Children and young people were actively involved in design of the CYP consultation documentation, a county wide consultation using a young person version.
  • They also trained 36 primary pupils on consultation skills to help take forward the SIP Delivery Plan for 2014-16.
/ Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Flintshire
Monmouthshire
Newport
Pembrokeshire
RCT
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
Standard – FEEDBACK / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • It is really important that children and young people know what difference they have made and how their ideas have been used.
We will all:
  • Keep children and young people up-to-date with what is happening.
  • Give feedback as soon as possible and in waysthat are easy to understand foreveryone.
/
  • There are plans to develop a “Consultation Hub” – an online database where young people can find out more information and take part in consultations on issues important to them. It will also provide feedback to young people explaining how their views/comments/opinions were used.
  • The Local Service Board (LSB) ran survey workshops and changes were made as a result. The information was shared with children and young people. One piece of work focused around bullying and changes/improvements were made. Audits were conducted following this to ensure that all schools were following the new guidance.
  • There arevery active Facebook and Twitter accounts. These are used to inform and engage with young people.
  • There is an on-line consultation hub which includes a system for feedback, twitter, library of best practice/evaluation. They are currently developing a young persons version with young people.
/ Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Monmouthshire
RCT
Standard – IMPROVING HOWWE WORK / Good Practice / Local Authority
This Standard means:
  • We want to learn and get better at the way we work with children and young people.
We will all:
  • Look at the way we work with children and young people and how to improve it.
  • Ask them what has gone well and what needs to change.
  • Make sure their views make a difference to the way we make plans and decisions.
/
  • All members of the strategic partnership have signed up to a commitment to meet the National Participation Standards for Wales and are required to complete a protocol form prior to meeting with children and young people.
  • They have invested funds in getting a UNICEF representative to deliver Rights training in schools across the Authority.
  • There is “Young Commissioners” involvement in commissioning the Families First Programme. In procuring Families First services, Cardiff undertook an innovative approach to commissioning these services and involved a group of 21 children and young people from across the city to act as Young Commissioners. The Young Commissioners had a 25% stake of the decision-making powers to commission out £29million worth of services. This won a National Procurement award.
  • Youth Services are being reshaped around the TAF model and being protected. Youth Services/ schools/ Communities First/ Families First – trying to achieve a more co-ordinated way to engage families and children.
  • They will be using a Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) when proposing new policies or reviewing/changing existing policies and will develop a Children and Young Peoples Participation Charter supported by key decision makers.
  • Children and Young People’s Partnerships and Participation Co-ordinator is a dedicated post.
  • Support is provided to services, partners and projects to develop and improveparticipation within their settings.