The Vale Youth Service encourages young people to engage in decision-making processes on issues that affect young people within their communities.
Youth participation empowers young people to have a voice on decisions made about them. It allows young people to take on valued roles within their communities and influence real outcomes.
The Vale Youth Service actively encourages youth participation by offering young people the opportunity to:
- be consulted and gather their ideas and opinions
- take part in local and national consultations
- represent the views of young people to decision-makers in the Vale
- take part in Youth Action Groups
- be involved in community events and activities
- learn about children’s and young people’s rights
- be involved in adult decision-making bodies (key decision makers/local councillors/Senedd members/senior school leaders)
As a Youth Service, we have several youth participation opportunities available to young people:
The Youth Service also links with national organisations to ensure Vale young people can have their voices heard on national platforms. These are:
The Children & Young People’s National Participation Standards were endorsed by Welsh Government in 2007. The 7 Standards set out how children and young people can be involved in decision- making in meaningful and effective ways. It enables children and young people to participate in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services.
The Standards were updated in 2015 to ensure that they were underpinned by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The Act puts involvement of children and young people, adults, and communities at the heart of improving well-being.
Organisations and Education settings that work with children and young people are encouraged to sign up to the National Participation Standards Charter and Kite Mark as a way of demonstrating the work they do in involving young people. The Vale Rights Ambassadors project managed by the Vale Youth Service actively promotes the Standards in the local authority and can support organisations in completing the application process.
The Vale Youth service was awarded the Participation Standards Charter in July 2021 which illustrates our commitment to children and young people’s participation. By signing up to the charter it demonstrates a statement of intent that we are working in line with the Participation Standards.
We have developed a Participation Policy and action plan that ensures that young people’s rights are respected and that their voices are heard. You can view our Participation Policy below.
You can learn more about our participation projects by watching the video below, hearing from some of our members about their experiences.
Participation in the Vale - 22/23 (youtube.com)