The Child and Youth Participation Toolkit, developed by Tusla Child and Family Agency, is an invaluable resource designed to facilitate meaningful engagement with children and young people. This comprehensive toolkit offers ready-to-print worksheets, activities, and practical suggestions for workers to better understand the wishes, feelings, and needs of children and young people.
Organised into different sections, the toolkit covers essential aspects of child and youth participation. It begins with an introduction that highlights the importance of good participatory practice. The subsequent sections provide guidance on creating a safe and inclusive space, facilitating voice and active listening, providing a receptive audience, and empowering children and young people to have a genuine influence on decisions that affect them.
The activities and suggestions in the toolkit are designed to encourage self-expression, promote active participation, and empower children and young people to contribute their perspectives. By utilising this toolkit, workers can foster an environment where children and young people feel valued, respected, and heard.
Contents:
Section 1: Introduction
- Context and Rationale
- Good Participatory Practice
- Illustrative Examples
Section 2: Creating Space
- Space Explored
- Creating Space
- Space Activities
Section 3: Facilitating Voice
- Voice Explored
- Facilitating Voice
- Voice Activities
Section 4: Providing a Receptive Audience
- Audience Explored
- Receptive Audience
- Audience Activities
Section 5: Ensuring Influence
- Influence Explored
- Demonstrating Influence
- Influence Activities
Section 6: Additional Resources
- A-Z of Participatory Methods
- References
FREE DOWNLOAD OF CHILD AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION TOOLKIT (WISHES/FEELINGS DIRECT WORK WORKSHEETS/ACTIVITIES) (PDF)
Click here to view/download; for one-to-one sheets/activities, see page 38 onwards.
