Skills and knowledge
Indicators
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Established
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6.1 - There is accredited capacity building for children and young people to develop skills and knowledge to make change happen, including in negotiation, presentation and finance
6.2 - There is capacity building for staff to gain skills for the safe, sound and effective participation of children and young people
6.3 - Children and young people have access to information to allow them to participate fully in issues of importance to them
6.4 - Children and young people help plan, deliver and evaluate active involvement training to staff and leaders
6.5 - Children and young people help develop the capacity of other children and young people to participate
6.6 - Children and young people help deliver training and capacity building to partner organisations
6.7 - Consultancy and mentoring arrangements that support children and young people's active involvement are in place
Things to think about...questions to ask...
- Is there capacity building for children and young people? Is material such as Act by Right used to help them make change happen? (See Top ten useful resources on the back inside cover.)
- How can adults be helped to listen to and learn from children and young people?
- What is the best way to involve children and young people in the design and delivery of training?
- How will children and young people get information they need to participate?
- How important or possible is it to reduce jargon in agendas, papers and discussions involving children and young people? Or is this the language they need to learn?
- How can decision-making be more inclusive and accessible to less confident or experienced and younger people?
- How can expectations be both realistic and challenging, without patronising or overloading children and young people?
Evidence (paper, verbal, observation)...
- Budgets for training and capacity building
- Training programmes for members, trustees, staff and children and young people
- Evaluation of training undertaken
- Children and young people involved in developing, delivering and evaluating training
- Partners involved in developing, delivering and evaluating training
- Accreditation scheme and records about children and young people's active involvement
- Policy on children and young people's access to information
- What do children and young people say about how this standard is being met? What are their priorities?
Commentary
Building the skills, knowledge, confidence and capacity of children and young people is crucial for their participation to make change happen. Access to information they can understand is also important for them to be able to make informed choices and decisions. For adults, training and support is also essential to overcome the stumbling blocks of how to begin and how to manage change, to share power and to work effectively to reduce the risks and maximise the benefits. One valuable additional result of such training will be a wider change in adult perceptions of children and young people.