From LOUD to LOUDEST
Our One Family Approach values embed a commitment to finding the most effective ways to understand the voice and lived experience of those we are working with, to understand what life is like for them and to work in partnership to better understand how best to support and help to enable sustained positive change.
As a partnership we recognise that everyone at has a role to play in:
- incorporating voice and engagement into our work at every level
- creating meaningful opportunities for children, young people and families to influence our work
- evidencing the difference voice makes at an individual, everyday and strategic level
North Lincolnshire has well established and active structures where children, young people and families have a voice in influencing decision-making. This includes permanent structures like the North Lincolnshire Youth Council and Get Loud Committee! (Children in Care Council) alongside the North Lincolnshire Parent Forum, a voluntary group of parents of children and young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The established structures are child, young person or family led.
Children and Young People’s Partnership
The North Lincolnshire Children and Young People’s Partnership is a stakeholder/reference group that brings together key community partners alongside children and youth representatives from the North Lincolnshire Youth Council and Get Loud Committee! with the aim of taking forward and co-producing responses to the Children and Young Peoples Challenge.
Alongside the Children and Young People’s Peoples Challenge, the Partnership continually review emerging priorities as identified by children, young people and families, taking a “we asked, you said, we did “ approach in response to challenges presented.
What we do and why
As a partnership, we want to be the champions for children, young people and their families, keeping them at the heart of everything we do.
We want to make sure that for all children and young people live in the best place and have the best opportunities and outcomes, where they:
- thrive in their families
- achieve in their schools
- flourish in their communities.
We know this might mean different things to different people, in different places across North Lincolnshire, especially those who might be need some extra help and support. We want to make sure that children and young people who might be seldom heard have a voice too.
We are not accountable to other partnerships or boards, we do have relationships and aim to influence and respond to key issues and things that are important to children, young people and families.
As a group we aim to make a difference to decision making and provide a space to talk about policies, plans and services.
Sometimes we will set up different groups to work on tasks, this might involve linking with different people and partnerships.
Our work is build around Lundy Model of Participation which considers voice in terms of:
- Space
- Voice
- Audience
- Influence
SPACE
The Children and Young People’s Partnership is a safe SPACE where everyone has an opportunity to form and express their views.
We know that everyone has their own unique needs, skills, qualities and abilities and believe that this diversity must be valued. To meet everyone’s needs, we will treat everyone as an individual and it will not unfairly discriminate on any grounds.
We will meet every three months, in school holidays or after school/college/work. We will meet face-to-face in a space that is familiar, comfortable, not too formal with room to move around.
VOICE
Children, young people and partners are able to share their views, talk about issues that matter and have an equal VOICE.
We will make sure that:
- We know why we are talking about something and agree that it is important
- We will all have time to talk if we want to, we might need different ways to have our voices heard in and out of meetings
- We will use words we all understand and explain things if we need to
- Agendas are co-produced with support from the Lead Officer Quality and Participation and the lead officer for the Youth Council. Youth Council and Get Loud Committee! reps will have a chance to meet with support workers before meetings.
AUDIENCE
Our views are listened to and we talk to the right people.
We will have a smaller group of core members and invite people to come to talk to us in our space, about our shared priorities and issues.
Core members might change and will include representatives from:
- Youth Council
- Get Loud Committee
- Family Voice
- Children and families services
- Education (schools and colleges)
- Health community
- Criminal justice
- Healthwatch
- Voluntary and community sector
Those coming to meetings will prioritise areas where they can make a difference.
People attending meetings will:
- Explain who they are, what they do and what they can offer
- Be clear what they will do before and after meetings
- Being open and saying what we can, might not be able to do or might be able to do in the future
A team of supporters will make sure that meetings happen and that members know what is happening and what we will be talking about.
INFLUENCE
Our views are acted upon, as appropriate.
We know that not every view or idea will be acted on for different reasons. We all need to understand and be clear about what can change, at what pace and how. In all meetings we will ACT:
A– ask us what’s important to us
C – create ideas and find solutions together
T– tell us what you have done, or will do
- We will take each other seriously
- We will explain what has changed,
- We will show each other how our ideas have made a difference.
Children and Young People’s Partnership Meeting Summary
The Children and Young People’s Partnership Newsletter is one way of capturing and communicating some of the discussion points, actions and decisions taken by partners across the Children and Young People’s Partnership. If you would like to see a copy of the latest summary and key headlines, please contact us.