Safeguarding Children

1

• Safeguarding Children
• Young Researcher Network
• National Youth Agency, UK
• Dr Darren Sharpe

2
The National Youth Agency
3
Ideas behind the Network

• Wanted to support young peoples influence on
  local and national decision making.
• Wanted to increase young peoples participation
  in research.
• New requirement on local authorities to consult
  young people.
• Build stronger partnerships with local
  organisations.
• Increase our capacity to carry out quality
  research.

4
The politics of young people-led research

• Recent years have seen a growing focus on
  children's rights and in ways of involving
  children and young people more directly in
  decisions that affect their lives. In research
  terms, this has been reflected in a linguistic
  shift from talking about 'research on' to
  research with' and now, increasingly, to
  'research by' children and young people.
  (Brownlie et al., 2006) (SEED)

5
UN Convention to the Rights of the Child Right
to properly conducted research

• Article 13 gives children and young people the
  right to receive and give information through
  speaking, writing, printing, art or any other
  way.
• Article 17 gives children and young people the
  right to information, especially information that
  helps build his or her social, spiritual and
  moral well-being and physical and mental health.
• Article 12 gives every child and young person the
  right to express and have their views given due
  weight in everything that affects them.

6
Policy and legislation knowing where to link
children and young peoples rights and research

• UN Conventions of the Rights of the Child
• Children Act 1989 Children Act 2004
• National Health Service and Health Care
  Professions Act 2002
• Youth Matters 2005
• Section 29A of the Education Act 2002
• Childrens homes national minimum standards
• Disability Act 2005
• Review of Childrens Cases Regulations 1991
• Adoption and Children Act 2002
• You're Welcome quality criteria Making health
  services young people friendly

7
Research is an extension to participation

• How young people can participate
• Individual decision making
• Decisions in group settings
• Influencing policy and the development of
  services
• Involvement in organizational governance and
  change
• Political participation

8
Young people roles

• Recruitment
• Selection and appraisal of staff
• Peer inspectors
• Young trainers
• Advisors
• Panellists
• Board members
• Councillors MPs
• Young researchers, etc

9
What are we are coordinating?

• Access to training at no costs
• Access to conferences at no costs
• Access to website
• Access to regular newsletter
• Ready access to expert advice when needed
• Access to funding to support young researcher-led
  projects locally
• Capacity-building
• Brokering larger research commissions

10
Have Your Say DVD Show

• Who they are
• Group of young people who are looked after/care
  leavers.
• Based in North Tyneside
• Supported by one full time and one session
  worker.
• Meet weekly
• One of fifteen members of the YRN
• www.haveyoursaynt.org.uk

11
Have Your Say recommendations

• Raise awareness amongst looked after children and
  young people on their rights related to the
  review system.
• Make the review system more young people
  friendly.
• Encourage staff to be more consistent in the way
  they work within the review system.
• Change peoples behaviour so that they make sure
  children and young people are listened to and
  encouraged to share their views and opinions.

12
(No Transcript)
13
YRN Legacy

• Adding quality to research?
• Framing young peoples voices?
• Enhancing strengths and competences of young
  people?

14
Thank you for listening

• Tel [phone]
• www.nya.org.uk/youngresearchernetwork