Children and young people have experiences, ideas and opinions that by right should be engaged with, listened to and acted upon. Participation is the process of sharing power to ensure those experiences, ideas and opinions fully impact on decisions that affect children and young people's lives.
We are using the word participation interchangeably with involvement. We are referring to children and young people having opportunities to have their voice heard but also opportunities to have real influence in decision-making and being empowered to make decisions themselves. Whilst this is a council strategy, all agencies which work with children and young people will be encouraged to develop best practice in their own agencies and to promote participation opportunities. This is particularly important to enable those children and young people who need additional support, who are not engaged with council services but are in contact with the voluntary and community sector, to access opportunities to have their voice heard and to participate in decision-making.
Greater participation can produce a wide range of benefits both to children and young people, service providers and the wider community including:
- Developing skills in decision-making, communication, confidence and resilience
- Opportunities to learn, to have fun, to achieve accreditation
- Encouraging active citizenship - children as creators and not just consumers through the early involvement of children and young people in decision-making which promotes active engagement in communities later in life and opportunities to bring communities together, increasing understanding and respect
- Policy and planning based on actual rather than assumed needs which can enable greater innovation in services which are valued and responsive children, young people and their families needs
- Inclusion of vulnerable individuals and groups of children and young people
For further information, please download our Participation Strategy Action and Implementation Plan from the 'Read more' section of this page or visit the Partnership website at the 'Other websites' section on this page.