Local Evaluation of Children's Services Learning from the Children's ...

ich source of data regarding perspectives about such issues as problems of dailylife, physical environments and the experiences of accessing support services’.Another evaluator suggested that by tailoring the methods to children and youngpeople, they would be more engaged and therefore more willing to express theirviews:I mean we’ve definitely chosen specific methodologies for children and youngpeople like the photos and drawing and the art and craft work because wewanted to make it fun really. We didn’t really want to give them another kind ofboring tick box questionnaire, so we’ve definitely tailored our methodologiesaround themA Wave One evaluation pursued a participatory approach in their work with childrenand young people. This involved various creative activities and pursuits that wereconsidered appropriate on a number of levels in terms of encouraging individualexpression, establishing appropriate targeting within services and empoweringservice beneficiaries:Wherever possible a participatory approach was developed, for example usingimages, artwork and games, to engage young people and staff incommunicating what they thought and felt about the activity they had beeninvolved in. This sort of activity went some way in identifying outcomes relatingto target children, along with children’s engagement. It was an approach thatmirrored the original rhetoric of the Children’s Fund Guidance in relation toempowering children, young people, families and communities to becomeinvolved in planning and delivering services, eventually taking responsibility andcontrol of solutions to problems for themselves.A minority of local evaluators appear to have involved children more fully throughevaluation design, participation in fieldwork, analysis of data and presenting findings.For example, a Wave Three evaluation drew on the Alderson and Montgomery modelof ‘participation in decision making’ whereby children and young people are includedin the evaluation process from the outset. The process had two stages; firstlyincluding children and young people in decisions relating to the design of theevaluation and then inviting them to have a significant input in how the research wasconducted. Similarly, a Wave Three evaluation used a participatory action researchmodel attempting to ascertain why children, young people and their families might notbe inclined to use Children’s Fund services in this partnership area. This involveddrawing on these potential service-users at all stages of the evaluation process, asdescribed below:30Chapter 2