Longford Westmeath Children and Young People’s Services Committee (LW CYPSC) Child and Youth Participation Project

• Because of the wide age range, two workshop styles were developed and there were two age categories.
• The 3 – 12-year-old workshops consisted of visual consultations incorporating art, dialogue and self-expression. These workshops took place in their familiar settings of creche/ primary school and were completed by creative means to fully allow the children to express themselves over a number of workshops.
• The 12 – 24-year-old workshops were facilitated fully by the young people themselves in an agenda-style format using the World Café style consultation. The youth workers were available on site but were not part of the consultations, so this provided a safe space for the young people to openly discuss and record their feedback.

• Children and Young People engaging with the various CYPSC member organisations were invited to participate in the consultation.

• As this was a general consultation based on the five national outcomes for children and young people from Better Outcome Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People the invitation to participate was fully inclusive of all young people.

• Longford and Westmeath Comhairle na nÓg (child and youth councils) were involved in designing the older age group workshops by developing a series of questions under each of the five national outcomes.
• Using a World Café Style, the Comhairle members facilitated the workshops, and the questions guided the young people’s discussions on the strengths and gaps under each of the national outcome areas.
• The Comhairle also assisted in deciding what icebreaker games would be used during the event and what was needed to make the space inviting and a place for the young people to feel safe.
• The music chosen by the young people was played through speakers, the young people were MCs for the workshops and a photo booth was used at the initial consultations and subsequent events with the young people so as to bring an element of fun whilst also capturing the day.

• The LW CYPSC established a Child and Youth Participation multi-agency subgroup to oversee the active participation and consultation with children and young people.
• The subgroup comprises of representation from the following agencies: Family Resource Centres (FRC) Longford/Westmeath, Tusla, Longford County Childcare Committee, Foróige, Barnardos, Youth Work Ireland Midlands, Longford and Westmeath Comhairle na Nóg, Westmeath Local Community Development Committee and Westmeath County Council, Longford Community Development Committee, Longford County Council and Longford Women’s Link (Domestic Violence Service).
• The wide range of services directly involved in engaging with the young people and overseeing the project ensured a wide reach of young people were included and involved in the consultation.

• The workshops were based on the five national outcomes from Better Outcome Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People.
• The consultation was developed using age-appropriate questions posed in the workshops.
• We used the assistance of an Art Therapist for the younger age group and the youth facilitators were provided with guidance and training by the youth organisations prior to the workshops.

• The consultations influenced the development of the CYPSC Children and Young People’s Plan.In addition, immediate changes were made by the local services based on the feedback of the consultations.
• For example, some of the younger age group expressed how important pets and animals were to them, so the local Family Resource Centre arranged to have a pet farm visit the centre and invited the young people along to spend time with the animals.
• Another example was that the young people said that they would like CYPSC Youth Forums established in Longford and Westmeath which the CYPSC promptly developed.
• The young people knew their views were taken seriously because they saw real and tangible results from the feedback they provided during the consultations.

• The role of the young people and that of the CYPSC was explained with the assistance of the local youth services and organisations.
• In recent years the young people themselves have made videos for other young people in the two counties to explain what the CYPSC and CYPSC youth forums are, this video was shown at youth events to inform other young people joining the youth forums what CYPSC is and the level of influence the young people have on decision – making by engaging with the CYPSC.

• For the younger age group, two workshops took place with an Art Therapist, who introduced the concept of the CYPSC and the national outcomes in an age-appropriate manner and the wish to hear the children’s voices and opinions.
• The first workshop explored questions about the children:

1. Who are you?
2. What are your interests?
3. What do you like best – play, hobbies, art etc.?
4. What do you like most about your community?
5. What do you not like about your community?
6. What would you change if you had a choice?

• The second workshop explored the issues below:

1. Who is in your family
2. Where do you live? Why is it a good/not-so-good place to live in?
3. What are you good at? What are your dreams?
4. What would you like to do when you grow up?
5. Who or what will help you reach your dreams?
6. Do you feel you have a voice in your community and why is that helpful?

• For the older young people’s consultations, the youth facilitators developed their own questions at the planning stage, which explored the positives of their home county and what needed to change or improve.
• Some of the questions were as follows:

1. What makes Co. Longford/Westmeath a good place for young people to live and grow up in?
2. What does not make Co. Longford/Westmeath a good place for young people to live and grow up in?
3. What services or facilities would you put into Co. Longford/Westmeath to make it a better place for young people to live and grow up in?
4. What can be put in place in Co. Longford/ Westmeath to ensure that the five national outcomes for children and young people can be achieved?

• Stars were given to the young people to prioritize their identified issues.

The methodologies outlined above ensured that children and young people had opportunities to raise and discuss issues and concerns that mattered to them.

A full report containing all of the Information and Topics raised is available HERE

Some examples of topics/ issues raised include:

3 – 12 Years:

• Family, grandparents, siblings
• Pets
• Teachers
• Environment
• Clean water
• Me
• Neighbours
• Sports
• Community
• Playing
• The earth
• Friendships
• Love

12 – 24 years:

• Increase in the number of youth activities that will enhance the health of young people
• Increase in the number of youth mental health services.
• Increase and improve education relating to healthy eating, nutrition, cooking and diet.
• Increase the opportunities for young people to engage in life skills and volunteering programmes
• Increase Garda’s presence on streets and give Gardaí more power.
• A safe community and environment for young people to grow.
• Increase focus on teaching young people practical skills which are transferrable to careers including money management.
• Increase the availability of information for children and young people on services.
• Increase opportunities for children and young people to participate and be represented on relevant committees.
• Increase education and awareness of different cultures.

• An Art Therapist compiled a report based on the consultations and artworks completed by the children.
• The information gathered at the World Café style workshops was collated and a report containing the information from all workshops was collated and is available here.

In addition to the written report, a videographer visited a number of the workshops (both the younger and older age groups) and compiled a video for the CYPSC capturing how the consultation took place and the outcomes. This video can be viewed here.

• Before the report was finalised, the draft report was shared with the older age group 12 – 24-year-olds to ensure that the information captured reflected the information provided in the workshops.
• The video also provided a truly accurate “voice” of the children and was viewed by the CYPSC.

• From the very beginning, this project was a collaboration in the truest sense, with input from the CYPSC and multiple agencies throughout every phase and stage of the participation project.

• This participation project was initiated at a CYPSC meeting during which we decided that we wanted to get the views of children and young people to inform the children and young people’s plan. The CYPSC is comprised of the main statutory, community and voluntary service providers and Senior Managers of Child, Youth and Family Services in Longford and Westmeath.

• During the initial consultation process, the CYPSC Coordinator attended workshops. She informed the young people how important and valued their opinions are by the LW CYPSC, and how the CYPSC will include their input in the future planning of services and projects in Longford and Westmeath.
• Initially, this consultation was planned to be a once–off consultation to provide a voice and input from children and young people into the CYPSC three-year strategic plan. It became apparent during the consultations that the children and young people were keen to continue working with the CYPSC and youth forums were established.
• At a follow-up consultation event, Shout Out 4 Youth 2018, the young people who participated in the 2017 consultations were invited to meet with CYPSC members.
• The CYPSC Chairperson addressed the young people at this follow-up event, thanking them for their contributions and highlighting some of the changes that had already begun to take place because of their participation in the 2017 consultation.
• An initiative called “Our Voice Our Wellbeing” was conducted in the summer of 2021 and the CYPSC Youth Forums participated.
• The actions taken by the CYPSC in the years since the initial consultations (establishment of the CYPSC youth Forums, further multiple youth events and CYPSC consultations with children and young people, and changes within local services) have shown the children and young people that the service providers have heard what they have said and that the children and young people are in fact bringing about change and enhancing youth services.

• LW CYPSC supported the children and young people to play a role in communicating their own views to decision-makers by compiling the information gathered by the young people into a report which was reviewed by the CYPSC and used to inform the development of the LW CYPSC Children and Young People’s Plan.
• We also had a videographer present at all of the workshops (younger and older age groups), and a short video was put together highlighting both the process but also capturing some of the main key points.
• This video was shown at the CYPSC meeting and assisted the children in communicating their views to the CYPSC members.
• At the follow-up event in 2018, the young people were invited to speak at this event, where CYPSC members were also present.
• The young people spoke about their experiences of the consultations and about the changes they would like to see in their local child and youth services.
• Finally, through the establishment of the LW CYPSC Youth Forums (which are hosted by CYPSC member organisations).

• Following the initial consultations, a number of further events were organised to bring children and young people together with CYPSC members, where continued planning and consultations have taken place.
• The formation of the CYPSC Youth Forums in Longford and Westmeath (hosted by local services) also provides young people with regular updates on the work of the CYPSC.

The views greatly shaped and informed the development of the CYPSC three-year Children and Young People’s Plan and the development of numerous actions under the Five National Outcomes.

• The children and young people were initially kept updated by the local services and youth groups in which engage.
• Once the CYPSC Youth Forums were established, the young people were updated at forum meetings.
• The CYPSC Child and Youth Participation Subgroup oversaw the Forums and acted as a direct link with the Forums.

• Verbal and written age-appropriate feedback was provided to children and young people by the services that they were engaged with prior to the consultation and through the CYPSC Youth Forums.

• The young people have maintained a high level of active participation with the CYPSC since the initial consultation.
• The CYPSC has continually evaluated how we consult with the forums and continue to work towards enhancing the youth forums further and their work with the CYPSC going forward.

• The LW CYPSC Child and Youth Participation project was evaluated by the Investing In Children Award.
• In the evaluation, the young people spoke about how they were able to act as peer facilitators and discuss the outcomes with lots of children and young people.
• One young person said: “It worked really well with young people leading on the discussion about things as young people felt more comfortable talking to other young people and more could be done”.
• They said that children and young people could speak openly with other peers and felt supported by the CYPSC and its partners to achieve this.