A Case Study outlining the Shared Learning, Practice and Celebrations from a selection of Strategic Partnerships on improving the active participation of children and young people within Children’s Trusts using Hear by Right.

The National Youth Agency is working with 15 Children’s Trusts, supported by a DCSF Children, Young People and Families Grant to improve their participation outcomes for children and young people through the implementation of the Hear by Right (HbR) participation standards.

Through providing a common language and understanding about participation the Hear by Right standards enables Trusts who are part of the project to work together on improving participation throughout their Trusts. The sharing and dissemination of learning is an integral part of the project and includes the completion of Hear by Right map and plans and the identification and recording of the outcomes of participation for the organisation and the children and young people directly relating to the Every Child Matters outcomes.

Two events were held, one with South Tyneside CYPSP and one with Leicester City CYPSP and were designed to offer the partnerships the opportunity to showcase and share good practice and learning around participation. South Tyneside concentrated upon showcasing a selection of their participation projects whilst Leicester City concentrated upon the skilling of staff. Both offered the opportunity of extensive networking. Tracey Moore, Youth Participation Officer with South Tyneside, organised workshops, involving a large number of young people, on some of their participation projects. The young people helped to run the workshops, gave demonstrations and answered questions from delegates. Participating projects were varied and representative of the range of ways children and young people engage with the council and the wider community. The workshops varied in style from formal to participative and fun. Children and young people’s participation is regarded as central to both the Council and the Alliance (Children’s Trust) and the event was supported at both strategic and practitioner level with key staff participating including the Lead Member for children and young people who is also the Alliance Chair, Heads of Service and members across the partnership.

Leicester City’s event, ran by Julie Foster, Strategic Lead for Participation was aimed towards sharing learning and good practice and looked particularly at the strategic implication for participation across the Children’s Trust arrangements and the role of the participation officer. Attended predominantly by practitioners the event focused on participation at a strategic level and the skilling up of key staff in order to engage with children and young people at that level, particularly in relation to commissioning and the development of services. Work with children and early years was particularly well attended with the focus being on engaging the under 12’s and the mechanisms through which to do this.

Gloucestershire CYPSP held an event to celebrate the achievement of young people and recognise their contribution to the work of the Trust. Forty two young people received their ASDAN Level 1 Certificate for completing the Act by Right training course . The young people aged between 10 and 18 have contributed 2520 voluntary hours to benefit their communities. They represented a number of projects from across the County, including a young person’s HbR stakeholder group who presented a DVD, Our Voice Our Vision - HbR the Movie that they have produced and that is designed to explain Hear by Right to young people. The stakeholder group have also been trained to deliver Act by Right training across organisations in the Partnership, including schools and the PCT. Children Leeds (Leeds CYPSP) has completed a series of training workshops and worked alongside children and young people to agree their priorities within the Hear by Right standards in order to improve their lives. These have been agreed and signed off by the CYPSP and are now part of their strategic participation plan and their commissioning framework.