Listening to and acting upon the views of children and young people is crucial to providing better services.
Young campaigners at an Its Our Care event
We want to engage even more children and young people in the decisions we make.
Our Participation Strategy ‘Nothing About Me, Without Me' helps us to do this. It sets out the steps we need to take to amplify young people’s voices. We aim to increase the level of influence they have on the decisions that affect them both now and in the future.
I need to be more than a place at the table. Don’t just invite me because it feels like the right thing to do.
One of Action for Children's Young Ambassadors
We want all young people to feel involved in the decisions that affect them, and to have the chance for their voices to be heard.
One way we do this is through our Young Ambassador Board.
The board is made up of young people aged 13-25. It plays an integral role in representing Action for Children and the wider views of the young people we support.
Find out more about the board, from recent events to how to get involved
To make sure you have the best possible experiences with us, we'll follow a set of six guiding principles. They've been created by young people, and all staff across Action for Children follow them.
Young Ambassador Rachel at an Its Our Care event
We should be involved in decisions that affect us, so we can feel in control of our lives.
We've answered some commonly asked questions from young people below:
To us, youth participation means that children and young people have every opportunity to take part, be heard, and see real change in the decisions that affect them.
Yes! Your right to participate in decisions that affect you is listed in a legal document called the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, also known as the UNCRC.
One of the things the UNCRC does is make clear that human rights apply to children and young people as much as they do to adults.
This means that every child and young person has the right to express themselves and have their views considered in everything that affects them.
Meaningful participation benefits everybody. We can learn so much from you. Your participation can help us to identify new opportunities and shape our way of thinking for years to come.
For children and young people, you'll:
For us, your participation in our work helps us get a deeper understanding of your wants, needs, wishes, and feelings.
By working collaboratively with you, our services and programmes will meet real needs, rather than just the ones we feel are important.
Your views and lived experiences will help us make better decisions. Working with you will keep us better connected to children and young people, so we'll have a better understanding of what you want and need.
This will also make our practice more inclusive. And help us to spend the money we have in better ways.
There are lots of different ways you can get involved and have a say in what we do.
This includes (but isn't limited to) invitations to attend workshops and meetings with decision makers, speaking opportunities at events, campaigning for change, and more.
If you’re interested and want to find out more, get involved.
The most important thing we can do is listen to you. With the help of other young people, we’ve created seven guiding principles to participation. They've been set by young people, and all staff across Action for Children will follow them.
They are: empower, respect, equity, recognition, safety, and fun.
If at any point you don’t think we've followed these guiding principles, it’s important that you hold us to account. You can feedback on your experiences at any time; be that good or bad, we want to hear from you!
We’re happy to hear from all young people, whether you use our services or not. We're particularly keen to hear from young people who have lived experience or knowledge in one or more of the following areas:
You'll be fully supported by our participation team to ensure you get the best possible experience when working with us.
All young people's ideas should be considered and adapted to fit wherever possible.
We want you to get involved. Your voices matter and must be heard!
We're always looking to hear what you think, especially on ideas of how we can do better. But we know that sometimes it can be hard to know where to start.
To find out more about the ways you can get involved, email us at [email protected].
