The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states:
‘When adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account.’
Children and young people have the right to be consulted in decisions about what is best for them (for example, the development and delivery of services that affect them). In this space, it is critical to move carefully and remember that children must be kept safe. Refer to your organisation’s relevant policies and procedures, consider if all the adults in a room with children have appropriate checks and clearances, and consider what appropriate steps should be taken if a child discloses something requiring action (such as abuse or neglect).
No matter how small, the voices of children and young people are important. Children and young people have a right to:
- comment about what is important to them
- be provided with the infrastructure and sounding boards for their experiences and thoughts to be heard
- be actively listened to
- be given clear objectives and limits of their influence – what can they expect to happen from their involvement?
- be provided with appropriate remuneration
- participate in a way that interests them (this may include sensory expression, music, art, play or creativity in theatre).
Paramount in the participation of children and young people is the wellbeing of participants: they must be supported throughout their involvement (before, during and after). It is important that confidentiality is discussed and respected. To ensure this, participants should be made aware of how what they contribute will be used and by whom.
Your organisation may contact children and young people via their parents/caregivers or support programs and services they are already engaged with. If they are contacted via their support programs and services, all participation activities may be done in conjunction with the support workers known to the children. This allows children to feel more comfortable and supported.
Clear information and opportunities to ask questions need to be provided to parents/caregivers and children and young people prior to any involvement. Consider how you can make communication pathways clear for everyone. You may consider having two ways of explaining the activity: one for parents/caregivers and one in age-appropriate language for the children or young people you are engaging with. Remember to obtain any important health information as well as an emergency contact number for participants. Parents/caregivers will also be required to give consent for the participation of their children under 18 years of age.
Consider how to plan participation activities for children with their wellbeing as a priority. It may be useful to ask parents about the best ways to engage their children. Think about using a variety of age-appropriate activities as different people will have different strengths and interests, for example: art, music, drama, writing, small discussion groups, games and brainstorming. Be strengths-based, promote positive identity and social and emotional wellbeing.
At face-to-face activities, make sure participants know they can take a break from or leave the activity at any time and that a staff member is available to talk to them if required. Getting to know children and young people and their goals in life can often help with creating partnerships. Some children and young people may feel socially isolated, therefore, ensure participation strategies have a social element (for example, providing food during meetings), keep meetings relatively informal and promote social interaction.
Consider that it may be easy to identify children and young people who are struggling with their family situation, due to their behaviours or openness about what is happening for them. Pay attention to these children, but equally, identify and engage with children living with adversity who appear to be thriving. Engage with children who do not display any behavioural difficulties, who excel at school, who ‘hold it together’ and ‘don’t rock the boat’. What are their experiences? Do not assume they are resilient and unaffected, often they are profoundly affected.
Do your best to respond quickly to feedback, questions or suggestions to gain children and young people’s respect and keep them motivated. Be proactive in communicating, for example a reminder text message for upcoming meetings and follow up phone call to thank them for their time and check-in with how they are going. Make sure participants know who to contact after the activity if they need follow up support. You may also consider staying connected with young people outside of formal meetings, to maintain a positive, meaningful relationship with the organisation.
Where possible, involve children and young people in the planning of partnership strategies. In addition, children and young people should be informed of what their input helped to create once the project is complete. This enables a greater sense of ownership and a genuine partnership as they are involved from beginning to end.
If you intend to use creative or theatrical methods as engagement strategies, consider using professional theatre companies with expertise in working with children and young people. Aside from face-to-face activities, other participation techniques include surveys, wikis, emails and phone calls. Remember different methods will suit different people.
Remember that all the key elements of partnerships that apply to adults, also apply to children and young people: cultural, social and economic diversity; thoughtful engagement; thoughtful orientation; equal remuneration; clear communication; thoughtful relationship building; support; quality improvement; and capacity building.
Finally, this document Principles for Trauma-Informed Child Participation in Research and Resource Development by the Australian National University provides some valuable information for organisations engaging with children.
Socially and economically diverse backgrounds
Representation from diverse social and economic backgrounds is important as it allows your organisation to gain insights into particular social and economic situations and the impacts these have on people’s lives and the lives of their families.
Consider that children and families are not a homogeneous group and it is ideal to have representatives from a range of social and economic backgrounds.
When discussing social and economic issues it is important to create a curious, non-judgemental, supportive, safe and secure environment. Primarily this is to ensure safety, avoidance of harm, non-exploitation and respect, but also to facilitate open and honest dialogue.
To facilitate engagement, it may sometimes be helpful to provide extra support to these children and families, for example, by providing travel vouchers, monetary remuneration, or visiting them in their homes (where appropriate).