Cafcass recruiting for its young people's board

The Cafcass Young People's Board is made up of children and young people aged from eight to 18 who have had experience of family breakdown, adoption, family courts, living with relatives or living with local authority carers.

The board was established in August 2006 in a bid to give young people a direct say on the way in which Cafcass is run.

Members of the board are also given the opportunity to go on Cafcass's peer mentoring scheme, where they are trained to offer advice to others experiencing difficulty because of family breakdown.

Zeeshan, a 14-year-old board member, said: "I have done a lot since being on the board. I have met the chief inspector of Ofsted to talk about how Cafcass should be inspected. I have also trained to be an inspector who goes to Cafcass offices around England and tell them how children would find them, how suitable they are and what they can do to improve.

"Through the peer mentoring scheme children can use the internet to ask us questions about Cafcass. I know what they are going through and I can empathise with them.

"We have also been trained to work with people who are doing their foundation training for practitioners, so when they are doing their training we tell them what happened to us so they have an understanding of the kind of thing they are going to have to deal with.

"It is really rewarding that I am able to give a voice to children across England who have to go through Cafcass. It has helped with my confidence, communication and independence."