Introduction

This section is to help you think through ‘where you are’ in terms of the involvement of children and young people in your service, and ‘where you need to get to’. In other words, we are asking you to audit your current practice against the standards we have developed, and to map the next steps your service area needs to take to make sure Waltham Forest is hitting all its targets for meaningful children and young people participation.

To do this, we advise you to adopt a tried and tested model of ‘partnership working’ with children and young people. This is where you invite a group of young people who have an interest in your service area to work with you to decide what’s good, what’s not so good and, finally, what changes need to be made to get things right.

The following information has been drawn from pilot projects of ‘partnership working’ and aims to give you guidance on how to carry out a partnership group audit and map the way forward from that. By implementing the following model, you will already be meeting many of the active involvement standards you need to meet below.

Defining partnership

Working in partnership with children and young people (or any sector of our community) is about doing things differently. It’s about working together from the start, from identifying issues to working out solutions. A partnership is when everyone has equal rights and voice - but different skills, expertise and access to power.

Inviting children and young people to join you

The partnership model works on the premise of at least equal numbers of children and young people working alongside adults and/or professionals to achieve common goals. When inviting children and young people to join a partnership group, you may want to give an open invitation or expression of interest, or you may want to do targeted recruitment (in which case outreach workers tend to be particularly efficient). In terms of selecting the staff that should be present, it is best to include as wide a representation of your different departments/areas of work as possible (both frontline and managerial posts) as each person will bring different perspectives and will take the knowledge and experience back to different teams

In terms of young people, our team of Young Advisors in the borough will support you in thinking through how to access and work with a group of young people who want to be part of your partnership group. You may wish to employ one or two young advisors who will then work with you to access other young people who use your service or are potential customers. We advise you to take the time to recruit carefully. This means speaking with any prospective members of the group about the time they can realistically commit, any upcoming barriers to their participation, any particular needs etc. It is better to discover any obstacles before the group is formed than somewhere down the line. We suggest over-recruiting initially as some drop out is inevitable

During these early stages, it is also important to consider the equalities issues raised by recruitment to the group. It is vital that all sections of our community have the opportunity to be involved in decision-making. When developing your partnership group you need to look carefully first at who your customers are and what groups they come from. You are never going to get a totally representative group but you need to start from a position of knowing who you are trying to reach. You will need to take account of membership in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and religion/faith. Targeting particular groups may raise issues for you in terms of practical, linguistic and cultural support needs and the resources section of this toolkit can point you to further advice and guidance on this. For more information please see the Equalities and diversity section on the online matrix page.

Partnership group meetings

Partnership working is about doing things differently. So, meetings, systems and structures will have to suit everyone involved. This means discussing and agreeing on venues and times that are convenient for all – this may be one set date, time and venue for every meeting. One of the pilot projects met every three weeks to begin with and then according to project demands after that

Different children and young people will want to be involved in different ways so it’s important to offer a whole range of ways they can be involved at different times, and also to discuss the time commitments they are realistically able to make

Practical key decisions should be taken as a group at the first meeting. You should also discuss roles and responsibilities, for example, where responsibility for chairing/facilitating meetings will lie. This is an important element of setting the scene for power sharing in the group and you may want to think about electing a young person to co-chair, with an adult or another young person and accepting that this may involve extra training and support needs for that young person.

Young people’s responsibilities

Issues of confidentiality: It is important that the whole group understands and takes responsibility for confidentiality. Understanding what information to keep private and what to share may be a new concept for some young people. Discussion as a whole group is required to ensure that all are clear, confident and comfortable on the boundaries

Commitment to project: Young people need to be informed of the time and work commitment that will be expected of them so that they can make an informed decision about committing to the project. It may be useful to put in writing what is expected and ask everyone to sign this as part of their commitment to the project

Representation and personal opinion: It is important that everyone in the group is clear of their role in the partnership group. Officers in general will be representing their service. Young people may be presenting a young person’s opinion or they may be representing the views of a group of young people that they are working with. It is helpful to discuss this with the young people so that they are clear of the expectations of the group and what is required of them and how they can meet these expectations

Sharing power

If partnership working is to be really successful some giving up of power from adults in the department to young people has to take place. This may mean power in decision-making, power in budget setting, access to people in powerful positions.

This may mean moving outside of your comfort zone and taking risks you would not usually take. Being creative, trying new ways of working and taking informed risks is an essential part of partnership working for everyone.

A possible way of ‘starting as you mean to go on’ would be to structure the first meeting of the partnership group as follows:

  • An introduction to, and discussion of, the project context and overall aims (to ensure that staff, children and young people all have the same information from the outset)
  • A series of ‘power sharing’ activities, for example: i) each member uses art to describe themselves/what they want the group to know about them, ii) group discussion around ‘people the group needs’ (an exercise which shows that there is a place for every personality on the group, regardless of knowledge, background or experience)
  • ‘Ask me tell me’ exercise, where the young people are each allowed to ask a question of their choice to the adults/professionals in the group that they would not normally have the chance to ask. For example, what is your salary? This is an attempt to balance the power dynamics in the group by allowing everyone access to the same information

An important part of sharing power with children and young people is re-thinking the language you use and providing information that is available and accessible to everyone. This may include avoidance of certain terms (such as reference to internal council strategies or policies), use of terminology i.e. refer to ‘minutes’ as ‘notes’ and an ‘agenda’ as ‘the list of what we will talk about’. Avoid giving out bundles of paper-based information but instead think about packaging this into a short presentation.

All ideas must be given equal value and equal consideration. Everyone’s contributions need to be valued positively and respectfully. In order for everyone to be able to contribute equally, everyone needs to have had the chance to prepare properly, so that they are making informed and constructive decisions and suggestions. This may require patience on the part of staff that are more versed in their service area than the young people. Take into account that people learn and work in different ways and at different speeds. Difference is positive.

We’ve found from experience in previous partnership groups that it is important for officers to think carefully about their role in the group, the amount of input they give and how this affects others’ participation. In order to challenge and change the existing power dynamic between officers and young people, it is vital for officers to take a step back and encourage others to speak and make decisions before offering their own opinion.

Assumptions and judgements should not be made about young people’s abilities or interests based on their age or way of presenting themselves.

Equalities and diversity

Involvement is an equalities and diversity issue. Involvement enables services to be accessible to and meet the needs of all the community. Through development of good quality involvement, we ensure that all voices are heard and acted on.

In Waltham Forest we have identified six equality areas; race, gender, disability, sexuality, age and religion/faith. There is a legislative framework for all of these areas.

What does this mean for our work with young people? When we are looking at our community of young people we need to recognise how that community is made up. For details about the figures for Waltham Forest in terms of race, gender, age, religion and disability, please visit the Waltham Forest statistics page As you will see, the young people’s community in Waltham Forest is very diverse and is made up of many different groups. It is important that we strive to include as many different voices as possible.

These figures are based on census information and therefore do not contain details on sexuality. In our society it is generally assumed that everyone is heterosexual unless they say otherwise. This places a burden on people to have to “come out” and does not create an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable to be out.

We need to take account of these issues in relation to how we ensure that young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT) are involved and how much issues relating to LGBT communities are made visible within any service review. It is crucial that the needs of this group are addressed in a sensitive and informed way and not made invisible because of a lack of information and/or confidence. Please see the resources section for further guidance.

Equality monitoring

As previously stated, in Waltham Forest we have six equality areas. When completing involvement work we need to know who we are reaching and who we are not reaching. When analysising views it is also helpful to know where these views come from. Equality monitoring forms should be completed by all those taking part in any involvement work. Visit our equalities monitoring pages for a form for your general use. In general the form should be used for young people of secondary school age and above.

Completing your involvement activity audit

After recruiting your partnership group and meeting for the first time to decide times, venues, roles and responsibilities, you will need to start thinking about the work the partnership group will need to cover and the timeframe this can be achieved in.

As a group, you will be working together to audit any current practice against the standards framework in the Online Matrix. From there you will submit evidence against the standards you are already meeting, and map a way forward to meet the others.

Here is a work plan from one of the pilot projects:

Stage 1: Recruitment
Identify your partnership group of equal numbers of staff, children and young people.

Stage 2: Partnership meetings
Initial meeting of partnership group and determination of roles and responsibilities, followed by meetings to discuss your forward plan and allocate responsibility against each of its elements.

Stage 3: Reviewing current practice
Pairs of young people work with officers to take forward different elements of the review. This may include observation sessions within your service area; in-depth interviews with staff at different levels; research with individual teams to review how standards are currently being met; and interviews with other young people who have experience of your service area. All questions or questionnaires should be developed by the partnership group.

Stage 4: Presenting the findings
Partnership group re-convenes to present back to each other all the information that has been collected through the different strands of research. This will then be used to a) fill in the Online Matrix for the standards that are being met and b) map a way forward and action plans for those standards that have not been met.

Stage 5: Agreeing completion of the audit
Partnership group makes final agreement on audit and plans for development of action plan and how it will be monitored.

Adapting to the needs of younger children

Whilst the partnership model described above has been successful when working with young people, smaller children will benefit from a variety of other opportunities to get involved.

Younger children face greater barriers to participation than most and their capacity to participate can be easily overlooked. They have valuable things to contribute about their experience of the world. Involving parents and carers is crucial in helping us to understand young children. It’s also important to challenge the belief that children’s views are exactly the same as those adults who know them best. The more opportunities younger children are given, the more competent they become. When encouraged and accepted as active participants who can contribute crucial meaning to decision-making processes, they rise to the challenge.

Some tried and tested techniques for obtaining the views of young children are:

  • Observation: This  is the crucial starting  point. Paying attention to younger children’s play and  experiences offers a valuable insight into understanding their communications, preoccupations and concerns
  • Talking: Helping younger children who are verbal to participate in conversations, discussions and interviews
  • Photography: using still, digital and video cameras with younger children can give them the opportunity to make choices and communicate how they see their world
  • Drama, play and story crafting: This provides a natural way for younger children to communicate with adults
  • Visual arts: This can include painting, drawing, modelling and map making, and offers an opportunity for adults to listen to younger children during the process of making, as well as providing a finished product

Needs of disabled and learning disabled young people

It is also important to ensure that you are including the voices of young people with learning difficulties/disabilities in your involvement work and that the work that you do is accessible to them. Some issues to think about include language, using plain English and jargon free language, using pictures as well as words for agendas and notes of meetings where appropriate (see resources section for further information).

For those young people with more complex needs, a support worker may be needed to facilitate participation in the partnership group. You will need to identify what is required to enable the participation of young people with more complex needs and also identify a budget to allow for this.

It is important to ensure that the building is physically accessible, not just in terms of wheelchair accessibility, but also in terms of available parking, security lighting inside and outside of the building and the acoustics within the room.

The person with the most information about their needs is generally the young person themselves, so have the conversation direct with them about what will enable them to be able to participate. In the case of those young people who have more complex needs, a conversation will need to be had with a relevant responsible adult or support worker in advance of any meetings taking place in order that you can pre-empt how to address their needs.

Remember it is our responsibility to make the environment accessible in the broadest sense of the word, not the responsibility of the young person to have to adjust to difficult circumstances. LBWF Specialist Children Services is available to provide more specialised information and advice if required.

Realistic resources

When deciding a timeframe for your partnership group’s project, it is important to be realistic. Factors such as the external commitments of young people, the internal commitments for staff and the general complexity of getting everyone together in the same room at the same time should be considered. As a benchmark, a timeframe set at three months within one of the pilot projects had to be extended to six months for these reasons.

To support the complexity of convening and maintaining regular contact with all members of the partnership group, dedicated resources for project administration are essential. If you can find staff resources within your department to manage the booking of meeting rooms, arranging meetings and distributing information then this will help you greatly.

Access to power

Once you have mapped your way forward and created action plans, the partnership group should then develop a monitoring role. This is essential to ensure that young people continue to be involved in the quality assurance and performance management aspects of the work and provide that vital external scrutiny.

The role of senior managers is crucial, and they will be expected to monitor what is going on in their service areas and contribute to regular reviews of the partnership work (possibly at three or six monthly intervals).

For the work of the partnership group to have any real impact within the service area it has to report to the decision-making mechanisms within the service, e.g. the senior management meeting. Progress on the implementation overall within the Council will be monitored.

Support for the partnership group

If the partnership group is to function well, and to have some influence over how teams operate, it will need the support of senior managers within the relevant directorate

The work programme of the group will be time consuming and may require particular support, for example, help in producing a newsletter or report

Communicating the toolkit

To foster the necessary support, and make sure the work of the partnership group and the implementation of the standards framework are priorities for staff across the directorate, there needs to be good communication about what is happening. You may want to think about ways of maintaining the profile of the project, such as events, awards ceremonies, team presentations etc.

In additional to the broader communications strategy accompanying the strategic rollout of this standards framework, each service area needs to disseminate information to encourage sign-up and ownership within their own service area. This should focus particularly on raising awareness of the work of the partnership group, and also feeding back any research findings to those staff and young people who have been involved in the processes.

Calculating the costs

All members of the partnership group will need to be rewarded for their efforts and contributions. This is as true for young people as for staff. However, staff are likely to be carrying out this work as part of their jobs and, so, within paid time.

Discussions should be held at the beginning of the project as to what kind of rewards the young people think would be suitable for the work they are putting in e.g. accreditation, goods in kind, vouchers. Within one of the pilot projects, £50 worth of vouchers of their choice was considered a good reward for parent partnership group members. Thanking and rewarding the young people could be in the form of

  • A certificate
  • A gift voucher or payment
  • A gift (either to the individual or the group) – e.g. a trip, art materials
  • A letter of thanks
  • A reference to include in their Record of Achievement
  • Work experience

The type of reward will depend on the children and young people involved and the nature of their involvement. In addition, Council guidance advices that any reasonable expenses be paid so as not to leave the children and young people ‘out of pocket’. This may include travel to and from location, travel during participation and meals when participating.

Policy guidance

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks

At present, certain posts within the Council require a CRB check. We envisage that some officers, who in the future will be taking on involvement work as part of their role, do not currently have CRB checks as part of their recruitment process.

In line with Bichard and other policy guidance all adults working directly and unsupervised with young people must be CRB checked. This is the responsibility of each directorate and is processed through directorate HR teams. The process usually takes approximately 3-8 weeks and at present costs £30 per person.

Health and safety

When inviting young people into the workplace, a good starting point is to audit any arrangements made with them in order to manage risks. Pay particular attention to their age, amount of experience, and anything else that could be a risk to their health and safety. Some young people may be at risk because their employers fail to take account of their lack of workplace experience, for example:

  • Limited health and safety awareness
  • Their unfamiliarity with their surroundings
  • They are physically or psychologically less suited to certain tasks
  • Limited skills and training

You can find more information about auditing your workplace and mitigating risks at:

In general we must ensure that any contact with children and young people includes:

  • A risk assessment carried out at least four weeks in advance of the event or activity
  • Appropriate action is taken to mitigate the identified risks
  • Any necessary permissions are in place from the school, local Council etc
  • Any letters/forms to parents etc have been sent out in advance, (please see templates for these forms, included below)
  • Contact details for responsible adults are recorded for each child attending without a parent or parent-nominated minder
  • There is a qualified  first aider and first aid equipment
  • Staff-child ratios and all procedures conform with the guidance in ‘A Safe Place for Children’
  • Staff supporting the event have CRB checks
  • All young people have left safely after the event

In terms of the employment of the Young Advisors in your partnership group, the law is very specific about who can do what, and when. If a young person is over school leaving age, and under 18, they cannot work more than eight hours a day, or more than 40 hours a week. They must have 12 hours rest between each working day, and two days rest per working week. They are also entitled to a 30-minute rest break when they work for longer than four and a half hours.

There are strict limits to the hours that children and young people under school leaving age are allowed to work. They must not work:

  • During school hours on any school day
  • For more than two hours on any school day or for more than 12 hours in any school week
  • For more than two hours on a Sunday
  • For more than eight hours (five hours if you are under 15) on any day which is not a school day or a Sunday
  • Before 7am or after 7pm
  • For more than 35 hours (25 if you are under the age of 15) in any week during school holidays
  • For more than 4 hours in any day without a break of one hour

Expenses and reimbursements

All children and young people who have been invited or who have volunteered to take part in decision-making or a consultation exercise will be reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses. Reimbursement is important for enabling a wide range of children and young people to be involved in participation.

The reimbursement of out of pocket expenses will be considered for the following:

  • All travel expenses, to and from the place of volunteering, or in the course of volunteering or involvement in specific participation exercises
  • Lunch or other meals taken while volunteering or taking part
  • Stationery used, postage or the cost of phone calls made from home in the course of volunteering or taking part
  • Childcare, or care of other dependents, while volunteering or taking part
  • Cost for accommodation (residential) to maximise participation

Children and young people are reimbursed the exact amount to which they are out of pocket. A limit should be set from the outset as to what is a reasonable amount for the reimbursement of a meal or a minimum time period.

Children and young people should be asked for receipts for every payment made. If the child or young person is not able to produce a receipt, a record of the payment must be kept. Also, children and young people should be asked which method of reimbursement would best suit them.

Rewards and incentives

Children and young people should be given a fair and tangible reward that reflects their effort, contribution and time commitment in certain activities. As a rule of thumb, this will range between £10 for a 1/2 day activity and £40 for more prolonged activity (such as regular meetings over a set period).

Rewards consisting of anything of economic value are given on a one-off basis only. These can include;

  • Gift vouchers
  • Being taken out for a meal
  • Tickets for an event
  • Mobile phone credit top ups
  • Group leisure activity
  • Access to other developmental opportunities

It is important to involve children and young people in agreeing what rewards will apply and what activities they would like as a reward and when they will receive their reward.

Gaining consent

All children and young people have the right to participate. However, their consent should be sought at the beginning of the participation process. It is also important to consider who else may need to give their consent – for example, a parent or a teacher.

.Whether contributing to a decision about their individual care or about the development of a service, children and young people should be provided with adequate and relevant information to be able to give their informed consent. This should be provided in an information sheet or pack accompanying the consent form. The information sheet must be provided in an accessible, child-friendly format and should include:

  • How the participants are being selected
  • Why they have been asked to participate
  • What they will have to do to participate
  • What information will be shared, with whom and how, and whether it will remain anonymous/confidential
  • The arrangements to allow participants to withdraw at any stage if they so wish

An example of the consent form, which should be printed on headed notepaper, for young people and their parents/guardians may be:

Consent form

Project title: [TYPE PROJECT TITLE HERE]

I have received a copy of the information sheet about the project I am going to be involved in. I have read and had this explained to me by [TYPE YOUR NAME HERE].

The information sheet made clear the purposes of the project and what will be required of me, and any questions I had about this have been answered. I agree to participate in this project in the way that is described in the information sheet.

I understand that my/my child’s [DELETE AS APPROPRIATE] participation is entirely voluntary and that I have the right to stop being part of the project any time.

Name: ______________________________________________________________

Signed: _____________________________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________________________

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