Practicing Participation in Youth Justice Peta Halls Development Officer

National Youth Agency Our mission: enabling youth workers to transform lives Our focus: NYA helps youth workers to transform the lives of young people in three ways: –By championing the distinctive role that youth workers can play –By enabling youth workers to do what they do, better –By helping to professionalise youth work.

NYA participation definition: Children and young people have a right to be involved in the decisions that affect them; their participation is essential to improve services and respond to their needs, and the shared aim of their participation should be change.

NYA participation work HbR participation standards framework and HbR awards scheme Voice and Influence in the Youth Justice System (2010) Impact and Effectiveness of Participation in the Youth Justice System (2011) Positive Participation Youth Justice Training (2011)

Policy and Legal Context UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 Children’s Act 2004 YJB National Standards for Youth Justice (2009) Positive for Youth (2011)

Positive Participation: Youth Justice Training Free training resource to raise awareness of participation in the youth justice system Provides an understanding of: –participation in the youth justice system; –the benefits; –the legal and policy context; –practical steps to engage with young people to increase their participation; –and develop plans to improve participation.

Positive Participation: Youth Justice Training Training designed to be delivered by and to YOT practitioners This training resource covers the following elements: –Section 1 – What is participation? –Section 2 – Why bother? –Section 3 – Participation and engagement –Section 4 – Participation – next steps

Positive Participation: Youth Justice Training Exercises: –Section 1 - What is participation? 1.1 Human Bingo –Section 2 - Why bother? 2.4 What’s in it for you? –Section 4 – Participation next steps 4.1 Takeaway Menu

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