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ANNEX C - ORGANISATIONS AND RESOURCES
Barnardo's
The UK's leading children's charity, Barnardo's supports 100,000 children and their families through 361 services in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The organisation believes that all children and young people have a fundamental right to be a part of communities, groups and activities which enrich them and works in both urban and rural communities with local people, groups and organisations. This enables the whole community, working in partnership, to identify a neighbourhood that needs help, what has to be done and how change will be achieved. Resources, research and publications area available at www.barnardos.org.uk
Carnegie Trust
The Carnegie UK Trust is an independent, not-for-profit foundation that supports research, public policy analysis and grass roots social action initiatives, dedicated to achieving practical results in people's lives.
Carnegie Young People Initiative ( CYPI), the Trust's programmes for young people, seeks to promote their involvement in public decision-making at community and national levels.
The Measuring the Magic report examines the different ways in which involving young people in decision - making could be measured and evaluated. It recommends a number of different ways of effectively evaluating work in a variety of settings. As a result of this report, Carnegie YPI is now planning the production of an evaluation toolkit.
Further details on the Trust can be found at www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/
Children 1 st
Children 1 st works to give every child in Scotland a safe and secure childhood by supporting families under stress, protecting children from harm and neglect, helping children recover from abuse and promoting children's rights and interests. In addition to trying to influence legislation, it also campaigns to change attitudes towards children and to help create a better world for all children. The Children 1 st website is at www.children1st.org.uk/
Children in Scotland
Children in Scotland is the national agency for voluntary, statutory and professional organisations and individuals working with children and their families in Scotland. The participation of children and young people in decision-making is a central area of work for the organisation which has been involved in a variety of projects including Citizenship in Practice. This two-year project aimed to promote and increase the participation of children and young people with disabilities in decision-making with a particular focus on those with learning disabilities. Results are available through the publication: Consulting with children and young people on accessibility strategies: a good practice guide.
For more details on this and for information on Children in Scotland's Participation Map and Participation Network, log on to: www.childreninscotland.org.uk/
Children's Commissioner
The first Commissioner for Children & Young People in Scotland, Professor Kathleen Marshall, took up her appointment in April 2004, with a general remit to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people. As she says, " My job is to make sure that people listen when children and young people have important things to say about their lives."
Check out the latest developments at www.cypcommissioner.org/
Children's Parliament
The Children's Parliament aims to provide sustainable and meaningful opportunities for children of 14 and under to engage in local, national and international democratic processes. The Children's Parliament has several interrelated goals:
- to allow children to develop their self-confidence, self-awareness and self-esteem and to create opportunities for them to meet and give their views on what matters to them and what is happening in the world around them;
- to develop and run specific projects and events that demonstrate ways in which the rights of the child, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, can be practically implemented;
- to encourage opportunities for children to participate in local, national and international forums and decision making processes;
- to help adults understand the meaning of children's rights and citizenship and enable them to deliver them in their day to day lives and professional practice.
For adult and children's information look at:
www.childrensparliament.org.uk/
Communities Scotland
Communities Scotland's aim is to work with others to ensure decent housing and strong communities across Scotland. The Communities Scotland website includes reference materials and ' how-to' guides to support community engagement and community regeneration. The How To Guide to Community Engagement includes links to a range of publications, techniques and case studies. The National Standards for Community Engagement offer a practical tool to help improve the experience of all participants in Community Engagement, to achieve the highest quality of process and results.
Learning Connections, part of the Regeneration Division of Communities Scotland, includes a Community Engagement Team which works with communities to help them take decisions and develop solutions for the regeneration of their local areas and a Community Learning and Development ( CLD) Team which supports the implementation of Scottish Executive policy on CLD, through development of good practice in CLD, for example through a programme of support to CLD partnerships to assist implementation of Working and Learning Together to Build Stronger Communities, supporting development of training in CLD, and promoting the use of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF). Illuminating Practice - Case Studies in Community Learning and Development was commissioned by Learning Connections. The document includes specific case studies relating to work with young people.
For further information, see www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/
Connect Youth
Connect Youth is an inclusive Network of organisations who work with young people in the public and voluntary sectors. Delegated youth work practitioners, known as connect Youth Co-ordinators represent each organisation on the Network. There is currently a wide range of field workers, policy officers and managers involved. The purpose of the Connect Youth Network is to share practice, debate and develop strategy and influence policy in relation to youth participation and the empowerment of young people in Scotland. The Network also aims to engage with young people themselves at local and national levels, bringing them together and supporting them to address the issues which affecting their lives.
www.youthlink.co.uk/connectyouth
Dialogue Youth
A partnership between Young Scot, COSLA, local authorities, the Scottish Executive and young people, Dialogue Youth is designed to give young people a real and effective say in all the services that affect them at a local level. Dialogue Youth works with young people, local organisations and council departments to gather information and carry out research into issues affecting them. The findings are then used to inform services in the future, which means that young people play a real part in the Community Planning process. Young people are also involved in the planning and management of Dialogue Youth locally, and there is a strong link with local youth forums, pupil councils and local members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
For more information on Dialogue Youth go to www.dialogueyouth.org or you can contact the Dialogue Youth National Support Unit on dialogueyouth@cosla.gov.uk
HM Inspectorate of Education ( HMIE)
By collating, analysing and publishing evidence from its evaluations, HMIE informs parents, schools, colleges and other providers of education, and Scottish Ministers about standards and quality in all areas of education including, for instance, how schools work with the wider community. The HMIE website includes examples of good practice drawn from inspections, including in the area of Community Learning and Development.
Citizenship in Youthwork (2003) - This report examines changing conceptions of citizenship, the relationship between local authorities and the voluntary sector and how services are being delivered within new planning frameworks, including Community Planning. It identifies key success factors and areas for improvement as well as key challenges for youthwork in the new policy environment.
For further information and to view examples of good practice log on to www.hmie.gov.uk
Learning and Teaching Scotland ( LTS)
LTS Scotland encourages the development of an open participatory ethos in education for citizenship, so that schools and early education settings can function as active learning communities. Education for citizenship is intended to motivate young people to be active and responsible members of their local, national and global communities. This involves building bridges between schools or early years settings and their communities to help children and young people develop knowledge and understanding of, and respect and care for, the wider world. The LTS website offers examples of good practice and ideas to encourage pupil participation, including Primary and Secondary School Council toolkits.
www.ltscotland.org.uk/citizenship/practice/participation.asp
The National Youth Agency
The National Youth Agency ( NYA) does not operate in Scotland, but there are a number of resources available from its website which might prove useful. One of its initiatives, Hear by Right, offers tried and tested standards for organisations across the statutory and voluntary sectors. These can be used, along with children and young people, to map current participation practice, create a strategic plan for improvement and then identify what has changed as a result of the activity.
Act by Right is a participation skills programme, written by young people, for young people. It allows children and young people to lead their own initiatives to effect change in their communities.
For more details on The NYA and access to resources, case studies and publications, log on to www.nya.org.uk
Participation Works
Participation Works is an online gateway for children and young people's participation issues including policy, practice, networks resources and links to other sources of information.
www.participationworks.org.uk/Home/tabid/62/Default.aspx
Save The Children
Save the Children fights for children in the UK and around the world who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence.
For the past 40 years, the organisation has been working in Scotland to help children, their families and communities to tackle the effects of poverty and inequality, helping young people build confidence, learn new skills and get actively involved in, for example, its Community Partners Programme. This initiative has used a rights based approach to target children and young people in disadvantaged urban and rural areas to help them explore their community, decide on what they want to change and develop activities to make it happen. Current issues include dangerous roads, lack of play areas and their local environment. The project has produced A DIY Guide to Improving Your Community available from the Save the Children Website.
So you want to consult with children? Re:action tool kit - This is a practical guide from Save the Children on how to consult with children and young people on policy related issues. Written for community workers, youth workers, teachers, local authority workers, facilitators and other organisations and individuals working with children and young people, it's also aimed at children and young people themselves who may be involved in organising a consultation exercise.
For further information go to www.savethechildren.org.uk/scuk/jsp/wherewework/country.jsp?group=wherewework&ukww=uk§ion=scotland
Scottish Youth Parliament
Launched in Edinburgh in 1999, the Scottish Youth Parliament ( SYP) comprises nearly 200 elected young people aged 14-25 who aim to be the collective national youth voice for all young people in Scotland. SYP works together with all organisations and groups in Scotland that have a link with young people, to ensure they do the best they can for Scotland's young people. The group meets around three times a year, discusses issues that affect young people across Scotland and tries to propose innovative and solutions to these situations. In Spring 2003 it launched its youth manifesto, Scottish Youth Parliament - Getting the Message Right. The manifesto contains a wide range of views on issues that affect people today, young and old. It aims to stir debate, make the views of young people heard in an innovative way, and is a culmination of its members' ( MSYPs') consultations with young people across Scotland.
For more information go to www.scottishyouthparliament.org.uk/
Young Scot
Young Scot offers incentives, information and opportunities to people aged 12 to 26 to help them make informed choices, play a part in their communities, take advantage of opportunities open to them and become confident citizens.
The organisation does this in lots of different ways, including the Young Scot card, website, information handbooks, magazines and phone lines. It also works in partnership with local authorities as part of the Dialogue Youth initiative.
Young Scot's consultation toolkit, 'Loud + Clear' offers both national Young Scot and local Dialogue Youth units a menu of online and offline consultation mechanisms to use when consulting with young people. These include online surveys, discussion boards, voting, e-petitions, event registration and more.
Find out more at www.youngscot.org or e-mail info@youngscot.org
Youthlink Scotland
YouthLink Scotland and its member organisations help 40,000 youth workers across Scotland to deliver a wide range of quality services to over 300,000 young people, to improve Scottish youth work services and unlock the potential of young people nationwide. Youthlink can also provide advice on and contacts for voluntary organisations have links with particular groups of young people, including harder to reach groups. The commitment given by Peter Peacock to include children and young people in guidance on Community Planning was given in response to an amendment laid on behalf of Youthlink during the Stage 3 Debate of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.
"Your Place of Mine" is a research study exploring young people's participation in Community Planning, carried out by Dundee University in partnership with Youthlink Scotland, funded by Carnegie UK Trust. The focus of the research was on whether Community Planning Partners want the involvement of young people and address the consequences of such involvement and whether young people want to be involved with formal planning structures. The research offers a discussion of models of participation and an overview of literature on citizenship in a Community Planning context as well as a geographical comparison of partners priorities and factors that influence young people's involvement in Community Planning and two case studies taking an in depth look at the perceptions and views of participants.
The Being Young in Scotland Research in 2003 explored what it means to be young in Scotland and generated information on young people to inform the development of policy. MORI Scotland surveyed 3,096 11-25 year olds across Scotland and explored their experiences of and views on a range of issues including lifestyle, living in Scotland, education and training, work, technology, attitudes towards the media, social and environmental values, volunteering, self-perceptions, citizenship and equality.
For further information access www.youthlink.co.uk/
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