Participation Network - Supporting the Public Sector to engage children & young people

What we wanted

Outcomes for care-experienced young people are poorer than their peers across a range of indicators.  In line with the objectives of the OFMDFM Children’s strategy, DHSSPS sought to develop a comprehensive strategy to better enable this group to achieve their potential and deliver improvements in the health, educational, social, and economic outcomes of young people who have experienced care.

How we did it

In developing the strategy, the Department drew from the principles of “Our Children and Young People – Our Pledge” (OFMDFM, 2006), which seeks to achieve the following outcomes for all children and young people;

• Being healthy
• Enjoying, learning and achieving
• Living in safety and with stability
• Experience economic and environmental wellbeing
• Contributing positively to community and society
• Living in a society which respects their rights

It identifies that not all children have an equal start in life and that targeted support should be available to particular groups to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.  It proposes a ‘whole child’ approach, reflecting these key areas.  To address this spectrum of issues for care-experienced young people, it was evident that a cross-Departmental and multi-sectoral approach was necessary.  The Department therefore liaised with the Department of Education (DE) on proposals to improve the educational achievements of young people in care, with the Department for Education and Learning (DEL) on proposals for education, training and employment, and the Department for Social Development (DSD) on homelessness and addressing the accommodation needs of care experienced children and young people.  Voluntary sector organisations also provided key input.  

The Department was also mindful of the UNCRC principle that children and young people should have a voice and a role in the development of any policies or legislation that directly affects them.  Care Matters was therefore informed by research on the views, experiences and aspirations of care experienced children and young people, which drew on consultations with care experienced children and young people between 2002-2005.

The consultation was launched at a multi-sectoral seminar on improving the educational outcomes of care-experienced young people and was attended by a cross-section of stakeholders.  As the strategy covered a wide range of interests, the response pro-forma was designed to ensure responses were as focussed as possible and gain detailed feedback on individual proposals.

A young person-friendly version of CMNI and response pro-forma were also produced in association with a voluntary sector organisation to maximise the extent to which children and young people were able to participate.  These were launched at a consultation event targeted at care experienced young people, attended by Cool FM DJ Pete Snodden.  Staff from DHSSPS attended the event to hear the opinion of children and young people directly.

What they said

By its nature, Care Matters NI is very broad in scope and its implementation will necessarily be an incremental and long-term term process.  Co-operation across a number of Departments is therefore necessary along with continued engagement with stakeholders to fully realise the outcomes of the strategy. 

It has provided the mandate for relevant Departments and agencies to work together to be progress a number of initiatives which will make a practical difference to the lives of young people in care, e.g.:

• DHSSPS and DEL have co-operated in the development of an employability scheme to facilitate the participation of young care leavers in employment and training;
• DHSSPS and DE have jointly funded the delivery, by a voluntary sector organisation, of revision courses for care-experienced young people undertaking GCSE’s and ‘fun learning’ summer schemes for younger children;
• DHSSPS and DSD are working on initiatives to address the accommodation needs of young care leavers.

The consultation also produced some very helpful insights and suggestions into how other proposals could and should be achieved.  The views expressed will continue to inform the manner in which proposals are taken forward in the coming months and years.

• Whilst it can be difficult to manage relationships with numerous stakeholders and other Departments, it is important to involve them from the earliest stages in order to bring the greatest range of knowledge and experience and secure buy-in.

• Appreciate that your priorities may not equate with those of others.
• Exercise caution in considering some views as representative.  Care experienced young people, for example, are not an homogenous group and have differing views on the issues that affect them.
• Need to be creative in approaches to facilitate children and young people to effectively participate in the policy-development process.  This could be achieved through production of policy documents in a wider range of formats, e.g. comic strip, audio formats etc. or facilitating children and young people to voice their opinions and views with support from an advocate.  There are particular challenges in engaging in a meaningful manner with younger children, ie. under 10, and further work is needed generally to consider how best to access the views of this group.

Summary of Key Features of Policy Process (as identified by public authority)

CMNI impacts on a wide range of interests and the policy responsibilities of other Government Departments.  The strategy needs their buy-in and commitment to fully realise its objectives.  A joined-up, inclusive approach has therefore been essential in the development of the policy and will continue to be critical in its ongoing implementation.

Care Matters Consultation Summary Report