Involving Children and Young People - Commissioner for Children ...

Involving Children and Young PeopleParticipation Guidelines1

Welcome tothe seminar InvolvingChildren and YoungPeopleTuesday 9 April 2013Presenters:Marketa DreslerLorilee Gale

Program Outline• Goals for today’s seminar• Role of the Commissioner• Participation Guidelines• Guest presentation – Kate Pitt and Nola Broughton,NgalaBreak• Guest presentation – Lianda Gibson and NatashaAnnan, City of Subiaco• Sharing session• Evaluation

Goals and expectations for today’s seminar• Reflect on CCYP’s participation guidelines and otherparticipation resources• Hear from guest speakers about their participationexamples with a special focus on younger children –up to 12 years of age• Share past experiences with participation

Commissioner for Children and Young People• Commissioner for Children and Young People Act2006• Priority and special regard to:- Aboriginal children and young people- Children and young people vulnerableor disadvantaged s.20(1)(a)• Independent statutory office that reports directly toParliament.• Convention on the Rights of the Childs.20(1)(b)

Participation - Commissioner’s responsibilities• Promote the participation of children and youngpeople s.19(b)• Encourage agencies to seek the participation ofchildren and young people s.19(b)• Develop participation guidelines to be used byagencies s.20(1)(d)

Involving children and young people –ExamplesHigh-level consultation with children and young people:• Federal Inquiry into Cyber Safety (2010)• National Fly In Fly Out-Inquiry (2011)Involvement in local projects and on committees:• New Children’s Hospital Project YAC• Review of the Commissioner for Children and Young People Act• Advisory Committees• Participation examples published on the CCYP website – from arange of agencies

The Participation Cycle

The Participation Cycle in action: Review of theCommissioner for Children and Young PeopleAct 2006 consultationsStep 1: DecidingHave a clear idea of what you want to achieve. The scope forinvolvement is enormous and should consider things such as:– Are you looking to improve a program?– Do you want to consult with children and young people toinform policy development?– Are you looking for a creative or innovative perspective?– What sort of timeline or budget do you have?

Step 2: PreparingConsider:– Which children and young people will you involve –thosedirectly affected by your services? Future members? Anorganised pre-existing group (such as a sporting team orschool class) or an opportunity that’s open to all children of aparticular age group?– Do you have the support of adult coordinators that work withthese groups? And do they have the capacity to assist you?– How will your methods and activities be appropriate to theage, background, interests of the participants?

Step 3: Doing itConsider:– Being very clear about timeframes and expectations– Tell children and young people what will happen as a resultof their participation and what their actual influence will be– Ensure that all your paperwork is done – permission forms,photo consent forms– Make sure all participants know who will be looking afterthem, and who to go to if they have a concern– Make it challenging but achievable and ensure there isopportunity to give them appropriate celebration andrecognition

Step 4: Following up– Ensure that there is adequate resources to review andevaluate the project for your own purposes– For the participants, acknowledge all the elements of theirparticipation – attendance, contribution, achievements,outcomes– Acknowledge young people personally, but also publiclythrough your newsletters or websites if possible– Ensure you know and they know what you’ll do withfeedback – how will you respond or address their ideas?– Take on board any other feedback or concerns fro the youngpeople involved

• Architecture students reported that they had never expected tolearn so much from young children, and were now more awareof the capacity children had to contribute to both creative andpractical aspects of the built environment• “Through iBuild, I discovered that children have an entirelydifferent way of thinking and through them we have the abilityto redefine our methods of design, opening new doors.” –architecture student

720 ABC Perth Bright Young Reviewers – 2011AWESOME Festival• Eight young reviewers aged between eight and 12 attended theAWESOME Festival for a behind-the-scenes tour, guided by AWESOMEand 720 ABC Perth staff.• Afterwards, they were given a deadline to deliver written reviews to720 ABC Perth to be published on its website.• As well as being AWESOME’s target audience, this age group waschosen because at this age, children are able to write critically andanalytically.• Several local papers in areas where the young people live wrote storiesabout their involvement.

Guest presentationKate Pitt and Nola BroughtonNgala

Involving young children in decision making

Involving young children indecision makingNgala Early Learning and Development Service (ELDS)Play is the foundation of our curriculum. Play, wheninterwoven with intentional teaching, provides a contextfor learning. Through play, children make connectionsbetween prior experiences and new opportunities tolearn as they discover, create, improvise and imagine.Our play environments encourage and engage childrento create social groups, test out ideas, challenge eachother’s thinking and build new understandings.

Involving young children indecision makingThe play environments cater for differentcapacities and learning styles, and invitechildren and families to contribute ideas,interests and questions. These welcomingspaces provide a supportive environmentwhere children can ask questions, solveproblems and engage in critical thinking.

Involving young children in decision makingKey factors of Ngala’s Early Learning and DevelopmentService (ELDS) philosophy includes:Respecting, valuing and trusting children.Seeing children as capable and active participants intheir own learning.This belief is embedded in all our practices, and these beliefs arealso an important part of the National Early Years LearningFramework.Ngala ELDS had the opportunity to be a trial site for the EYLF.

Involving young children in decision makingDecision making skills used by theeducator involving the child:• Secure base/safe and secure relationship with educator.• Listening and observing carefully.• Respecting child’s play and conversation.• Open-ended questioning to gain child’s perspective.• Open ended resources to allow child freedom to exploreown interests.• Problem solving and engagement.• Presentation of all resources at child’s level.

Involving young children inPlay Areas:decision makingToys are displayed on shelves, baskets,mats and tables, within a child’s reach, in aninviting and attractive manner; to stimulatecreativity and imagination.

Involving young children in decision making• Children are offered choices throughout the day. Thisincludes where they would like to play, such as indoorsor outdoors (as the door adjoining the two remain openall day).• Children also have choice of when to join morning tea,lunch and afternoon tea. All routines and play areoffered individually and in small groups to ensure thechildren are listened to, engaged with and learning issupported.

Involving young children in decision makingDecision making skills used by theeducator involving the child:• Respect for importance of child’s play, interests andlearning.• Valuing children, listening and following child’s lead.• If child chooses not to come inside we would put herlunch in the fridge and offer again later.• Time. Long periods of time to engage in play.• Reminding children that choices do haveconsequences.• Explaining.

Involving young children in decision makingDecision making skills used by theeducator involving the child:• Knowing the child, knowing the child’sbackground/home life.• Listening intently to child.• Following child’s lead.• Problem solving.• Individual play.• Intentional teaching.• Scaffolding.• Emergent curriculum (reflecting and extending child’splay in the moment).

Involving young children indecision makingDecision making skills used by the educator the child has beeninvolved in:• Open-ended questioning• Problem solving• Trust and respect• ScaffoldingTime out is not used as a behaviour guidance technique atNgala ELDS. We educate and teach the children acceptablebehaviours.

ScaffoldingScaffolding involves educators working withchildren firstly by identifying what childrenalready know about something and then byusing intentional teaching strategies likedemonstrating, modelling, questioning,problem solving, planning and explainingso the can help children move to a new levelof understanding.

Examples of scaffoldingBrief examples include:• Babies: At mealtimes the child is given a spoon to feedthemself with, the educator has a separate spoon toassist.• 1-2 year olds: This may be acknowledging the child’semotions and providing a suitable outlet. For example ifa child is jumping on the couch, we would let them knowcouches are for sitting on, if they would like to jump thereare jumping mats/small trampolines outside.

Examples of scaffolding• 2-3 year olds: The child using scissors.Educators provide small pieces of paper tosnip, or play dough to snip to gain thebasic skill. Educators may role model howto use scissors, the opening and closingmovement and also provide other suitablefine motor skill opportunities to developfine motor strength and control.

Examples of scaffolding• 3-5 year olds. Working on projects. Children in the 3-5 roomat Kensington ELDS were discussing their Christmas holidaysand travelling on aeroplanes. This began with discussionsabout holidays, to interest in how planes work, and whathappens when you go on a plane. After much discussion andplanning the children and educators responded by developingan airport learning area.

Involving young children in decision makingThe skills we use to ensure children are apart of the decision making process each day:• Respecting the child, the child’s views• Listening, reading cues and valuing the child and responding appropriately• Knowing the child, building a relationship of trust• Using problem solving techniques such as open-ended questions• Offering real choices throughout the day• Follow child’s interests and development• Time• Individual and small group play and interactions• Support and encourage play• Intentional teaching• Scaffolding• Emergent curriculum• Displaying resources/setting up environments• Observing children closely• Giving information• Consequences

Levels of participationHart (1997) has described the ways that children andyoung people can participate ranging fromunconstructive involvement to children initiatingprojects and controlling the decision making.Level 8 (Highest level of participation):Child initiated, shared decisions with adults.Projects or programs are initiated by children anddecision making is voluntarily shared with adults.These projects empower children while also enablingthem to access the expertise and influence of adultsin the wider community.

Contact Ngala9 George Street, Kensington WA 6151Phone: 9368-9351Country Callers 1800-111-546www.ngala.com.auWe can provide tailored presentations for your studentsEmail education@ngala.com.au or call 9368-9374

Break20min

Guest presentationLianda GibsonNatasha AnnanAnna – SKC memberCity of Subiaco

Subi Kids Crew2013

How to make a presentation interesting• Wear a costume• Tell jokes• Use pictures• Use anecdotes and real stories• Don’t include too much information• Don’t put too many things on one slide• Talk slowly, but don’t talk in a monotone voice• Don’t be boring!

OverviewCCYP Participation Guidelines for involving children:1. Deciding to involve children and young peopleWhy we started the Subi Kids Crew (SKC) program2. Preparing to involve children and young peopleHow we developed the SKC program3. Doing it!What projects the SKC have been involved in this year4. Follow upLessons learnt and the future of the program

Why we started the SKC• Child Friendly City plan (2008)Key strategy: promote the value of children as active citizens andimportant contributors to the planning and development of the city• Subi Voice of Youth (Youth Advisory Council)Importance and value of including youth people has been wellestablished• Consultations with children- play space development- strategic planning (Mueller Park, Lake Jualbup)- THINK2030• Civic participation and personal development

How we developed the SKC program1. Research2. Project proposal – Kid’s Ambassador Project3. Sign off4. Developed the application packInformation sheet, application form5. PromotionPosters, local newspaper, city newsletter, facebook, email,letters to the local primary schools7. Selected participantsInformed by letter and sent FAQ’s sheet8. First meeting

Application formWhy do you want to join the Kid’s AmbassadorProgram?“To make a difference, to make Subiaco a nice place to live, e.g.more solar panels (Daniel, age 7)“I want to help give ideas to make the City of Subiaco a moreinteresting and unique place. So more people that live or visit theCity of Subiaco will enjoy and like the City of Subiaco morethan before.” (Chiara, age 10)“Because I love the area I live and I’d like to be involved inorganising events to make it even better” (Jameeka, age 8)

Application formWhat skills can you bring to the group?“I am friendly, thoughtful, kind and always work well in agroup. I always take turns and I will never be mean to anothermember of the group. I love Subiaco and the environment and Iwant them to stay beautiful.” (Josie, age 10)“I’m very smart when it comes to working on ideas with otherpeople. I’m a good listener and will always provide valuableinput.” (Olivia, age 9)“Computer skills, public speaking, I am very good at writingpersuasive text.” (Ben, age 11)

Application formWhat are your interests and hobbies?“AFL, Rugby, Soccer, running and skateboarding. Maths,spelling and technical objects and gadgets.” (Jac, age 9)“ Reading, drawing, trying new things, netball and I likenature.” (Kate, age 8)“Researching WA’s LGA’s, drawing, inventing things,space, countries, researching and finding native birds andplants, playing hockey.” (Cameron, age 11)

First meeting• Welcome• Get to know you game• Brainstorm ideas for the name of the group• Logo design tips, share ideas, logo sketching• Child friendly strategic documents consultation• Launch event brainstorm• Program planning• Present ideas to parents

Group logo design

Group logo vote

Final logo

What the SKC have done this year• Library blackboard• Selected books for the children’s librarycollection• Christmas social• Public speaking workshops• Planned an event for National FamiliesWeek• Helped develop this presentation

What the SKC have coming up• Banners in the terrace with the Subi Voice of Youth (SVY)• National Families week event• Afternoon tea with the Mayor• Help scope the child friendly initiatives portfolio 2013/2014• Bring a friend session• More public speaking opportunities• Launch of the child friendly strategic documents booklet• Meet with the City of Cockburn’s Children’s ReferenceGroup• Evaluate the program

Lessons learntWhat works• Age range• Short sessions• Small group work for structured activities• Presenting ideas back to the groupChallenges• Meeting dates/times with children involved in lots of extracurricularactivities• Keeping in contact, RSVP’s for meetings and events• Education of and buy in from internal city departments• JUICE!

The future• Evaluation• Recruit for the 2013/2014 program• Plan 2013/2014 program with new intake• Continue to work on more buy in internally on citywide projects

Sharing Session• Do you have questions about the application of anyof the guidelines?• Discuss a positive example of involving childrenand/or young people. Why did this succeed?• Share a challenging experience – how did you learnfrom this?

Useful resources• NSW Commission for Children and Young People:Citizen Me! Engaging children and young people inyour organisation• Participation Workers’ Network for Wales: Blast Off!Guides to increasing participation of children andyoung people: Guide 6 - Working with under 11s

Thank you for attending• Please complete the evaluation forms provided.• Remember to tell us if you have a possible bestpractice example or would like to participate in theParticipation Guidelines evaluation.Email: info@ccyp.wa.gov.auPhone: 6213 2297 or 1800 072 444ccyp.wa.gov.au