INVOLVING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

We want to actively involve local children and young people in the design, development and decision-making processes of services they access. We will build on the work set out in the Children and Young People’s Democratic Engagement Strategy 2005 – 2010 ( 124kb) which reinforces the City's commitment to the involvement of children and young people. The strategy is underpinned by the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of the Child.

The strategy aims to provide the structure for children and young people to have:

• A voice,
• Opportunities for their voices to be heard,
• Representation to ensure action takes place.

Sunderland City Council already boasts good examples of involving children and young people including:

• Two elected Members of the UK Youth Parliament and two elected deputy Members, a seat on the Children’s Trust Board for one of the elected Members of both the UK Youth Parliament and Sunderland Youth Parliament.
• Young people involved with the Culture and Leisure Review Committee, the recruitment of the Director of Children’s Service, and ongoing development of Area Youth Forums.
• Working with the Hear By Right standards and other participatory approaches through Children’s Fund initiatives.
• 4UM and Speak Your Mind groups, which work with children looked after by the Local Authority, City Equals, a group for disabled young people, and the Youth Committee at Young Asian Voices.
• Young Educators: Advisors on Health (YEAH) group, Connexions Youth Engagement Group, and the Urbact Young Citizens Project.

While many of the above practices focus on the engagement of young people, further work is happening to involve younger children. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) asked children under 12 what they thought of the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes.  They thought they were all important, but also thought family, friends, enough food and drink, fun, love, respect and being happy were equally important for all children.  Download the report ( 843kb).  

Local arrangements for the involvement of children and young people will be:

(a) A three tier structure of involving children and young people, with Tier One being neighbourhood level, Tier Two being area level, and Tier Three being Citywide and strategic level.

(b) Every Child Matters Outcome Groups will be created to reflect the issues within the outcome areas of Being Healthy, Staying Safe, Enjoying and Achieving, Making a Positive Contribution and Achieving Economic Well Being.

(c) Sunderland Youth Parliament will draw its membership from Area Youth Forums as well as Every Child Matters outcome groups.

(d) Based upon the three-tier structure of involving children and young people, a network of Children and Young People Champions will be developed representing the six areas of the City and the Every Child Matters outcome areas.

Children and young people’s involvement in the review of CYPP 2007

Our aim is to embed children and young people’s participation into all aspects of the Children’s Trust. To avoid duplication, repetition and consultation overload, the main source of evidence of children and young people’s views has been through consultation carried out throughout the city over the past 12 months. Messages from this consultation and participation work have been analysed to understand what the important issues are for children and young people. The consultation work we have drawn upon includes:

• Reply slips from booklets sent out to all children and young people through schools informing them about the Children’s Trust and CYPP
• Sunderland Youth Parliament’s We’re All Ears campaign
• The Exeter Health Related Behaviour
• Survey completed by pupils from years 6, 8 and 10, and students at City of Sunderland college
• The Tell Us survey carried out as part of the JAR inspection
• Participation work undertaken by Children’s Fund projects
• Learning is Fun conference
• Young People’s State of the City debate
• Youthinc2 conference
• Keyfund Ideas workshop
• Ideal Community workshop
• SVSYF e-voting sessions on sexual health and drugs/alcohol

This work has fed the views of about 5000 children and young people into the needs assessment process.

In addition to this, an online consultation was launched on the Children’s Trust website to get a broad understanding of how children and young people feel about themselves in respect of the five ECM outcomes.

Word Up is a magazine written about young people's participation.  Click on the links below to download it.

WORD UP Magazine
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