The National Youth Agency - Participation News, September 2008

Participation News, September 2008

3 Oct 2008
This issue includes the information pack for Youth Work Week 2008, guides to children’s rights by CRAE and details of a photography competition for young people ran by BYC.

Policy

The government is to remove the UK’s two remaining reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The reservations, made in 1991 when the UK ratified the Convention, permitted the UK to continue to lock up children with adults and to put immigration concerns ahead of the human rights of child asylum seekers and refugees. The UN committee will also be publishing its recommendations on how the UK can improve on the human rights of children on 3 October 2008.

Also of interest...

The Department for Communities and Local Government has launched a consultation on time off entitlements for people taking on civic duties. It is one of a series of consultations following on from the Communities in Control White Paper (July 2008). The closing date for responses is 19 December 2008.

A report has been published focusing on Public Sector Agreement 21, in particular on indicator 4 which measures the number of people who feel able to influence decisions in their local area and on community empowerment. It examines how individuals feel able to influence local decision making and looks at the barriers, facilitators and strategies for increasing empowerment.

Practice

The information pack for Youth Work Week 2008, Promoting the Voice and Influence of Young People is available to download. The pack opens with a message from NYA chief executive Fiona Blacke and goes on to explain more about the week and provide ideas for activities.

The NYA Youth Action team is embarking on a new six month project developing materials on community cohesion for use in youth work and other informal education settings and would like to hear from front-line practitioners about their experiences. Are there distinct approaches you have found useful? Have you used or developed particular resources? How have you tackled emotive issues like preventing violent extremism? We are keen to hear from practitioners willing to share their experiences and to contribute their perspectives to new resources and guidance for use in youth work. Please contact Emma Shuttlewood to find out more about the project and how you could contribute.

ITV Fixers is a campaign in the ITV Meridian, West and Thames Valley regions supporting young people aged 16 to 25 to take action that helps other people on issues they feel strongly about. Young people are encouraged to identify a problem, fix it and make a film about it for ITV Local.

A report produced by IDeA’s Healthy Communities programme and written in conjunction with NICE explores the importance of engaging communities in health promotion and health services, and the health benefits that this can bring. It includes a range of case studies covering a variety of health areas and builds upon an earlier report on community engagement and health produced by NICE.

The European Commission has launched a consultation to discover young people’s views on the future of youth policies within Europe. It provides young people with the opportunity to tell decision makers what they think the future challenges and opportunities are for young people in Europe.

Research

A report covering the mapping of children and young people’s voluntary and community sector has found that involving children and young people is taken very seriously in a number of areas and argues for greater investment in participation training and accredited skills development for children and young people.

Ofsted has published the first annual report of what children and young people living away from home or getting help from children's social care services feel is important to their lives. The Children’s Care Monitor 2008 provides children's own evaluation of the state of social care as they experience it.

Funding and Awards

The Grassroots Grants scheme offers grants of between £250 and £5,000 to support community activities. The grants are open to small, local voluntary and community groups with an annual income below £20,000 and the programme will run from 2008 to 2011. The scheme includes an endowments programme designed to enable local funders to build their capacity to provide long term funding for frontline community organisations.

The Princes Trust Community Cash Awards is offering grants of between £250 and £5,000 to help young people to set up a project that will benefit their community. The Awards are open to anyone aged 14 to 16 who is in school but struggling, or those aged 16 to 25 who are unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week. Funding of up to £1,000 is available for 14–16 year olds; 16–25 year olds can obtain up to £5,000.

The Community Development Foundation (CDF) has launched Faiths in Action, a £4 million grants programme open to faith, inter-faith, voluntary and community organisations and groups in England. The fund aims to bring communities together, promoting positive relationships and collaborative social action between people of different religions and beliefs. Particular consideration will be given to projects involving young people in planning the activities. The first round is now open, for grants of up to £12,000 to be spent over two years. The closing date is 1 November 2008.

The BYC has launched a photography competition, Snapshop 60 for young people to demonstrate, through a photograph what it is that they find inspiring, empowering or worth campaigning for. It is open to young people aged 26 and under and the prizes include the opportunity to visit or take up a work placement with a UK style magazine. The competition is open throughout October 2008.

Nominations are now open for the UK Youth Parliament Awards 2008 (sponsored by MWH). The awards are open to MYPs, Deputy MYPs and Procedures Groups Representatives and are designed to recognise and highlight how their work with UK Youth Parliament is making a difference. People are able to nominate themselves or another person to receive an award. The closing date is Friday 10 October 2008.

Resources

The NYA has published an online toolkit aimed at young researchers and those working to support them. It is intended as a guide to each stage of the research process, from finding and defining a research interest to sharing findings and making change happen.
Young people taking part in Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Fund panels have seen their confidence and social skills soar, their behaviour improve and their standing in the community increase, according to the second phase evaluation report. Key findings show 100 per cent of local authority staff agreed that panel members had benefited socially; 99 per cent thought that panel members team working and decision making skills had improved; and 98 per cent said that the young people involved in the decision-making panel had done a good job. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has also published a Good Practice Guide which provides a range of ideas from different local authorities on how to operate the Funds and engage young people most effectively.
A report by The NYA into how positive activities for young people are being commissioned in local authorities in England has identified three main areas in which children and young people are participating. These are within planning and making decisions about commissioning and service procurement, in stimulating the demand side of the market by being enabled to make informed choices to access services and in monitoring and evaluating the quality and outcomes of service provision.
The first issue of Youth Policy Quarterly is now available from The NYA website. YPQ is a quarterly resource and replaces The NYA journal Youth Policy Update. Each issue will cover the latest policy news and developments relating to a number of themes including crime and youth justice; education and employment; volunteering and the third sector; positive activities; and health.
CRAE have produced a series of guides to children’s rights for children and young people. The guides cover rights in the areas of law, education, health and services and are free to download.
A new online toolkit for teachers to encourage pupils to play an active role in community projects has been produced by the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) and Community Service Volunteers (CSV). It includes a range of resources and ideas and teaching aids to raise awareness, inspire young people to get involved and teach the skills and knowledge needed to participate.
A report by the Young Foundation examines the role of neighbourhood and community empowerment as a means of improving the wellbeing of residents and communities.

Events, Jobs and Training

The National Youth Agency is looking for a new chair, following the retirement of Bishop Roger Sainsbury. The Agency needs someone with a proven commitment to young people who is passionate about improving their lives. Applicants will have a track record working at the highest levels in the public, voluntary or private sectors, sharp political acumen and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people. They will also have knowledge of the charity sector and experience of quality assurance, risk management and audit processes. The position is voluntary and the closing date for applications is 14 November 2008.
The Young Researcher Network (YRN) is holding a conference on 14 - 15 November 2008 at Warwick University on young people conducting research as a tool for change. The conference will showcase young people led research projects and findings from across the network.
The National Youth Agency and the Community Transport Agency are holding a day of debate on developing safe, reliable transport for young people including exploring young people’s involvement in the planning and delivery of public transport. The event Access to positive activities: transport solutions for young people will be held in Manchester on Wednesday 29 October 2009.
A one day conference, Design, Develop, Deliver - Young Leaders in Practice, by Participation Works will be held on 13 November 2008 in Birmingham. The conference will focus upon young people's empowerment and leadership and is aimed at all those actively engaged in participation work.
CRAE will be holding its annual children’s rights conference, Who’s afraid of children’s rights on Thursday 20 November 2008 in London.
Participation Works is an online gateway to the world of children and young people’s participation. It includes access to information, resources, training and networking opportunities.
If you would like to find out more about The NYA’s work on participation, The NYA Participation Newsletter is available from the Participation Team webpages It is published direct to the web every two months.