NCB Now: Engaging young people in formal meetings

Participation Works is a consortium of six children and young people's agencies, including NCB and the British Youth Council (BYC), which supports organisations to effectively involve young people in the development, delivery and evaluation of services. Participation Works is developing a toolkit for professionals who undertake clerical tasks to use when working with young people in formal meetings.

In preliminary research by the BYC, young people said that there needed to be more commitment to embed young people's voices in adult decision-making. After further consultations with young people who participate in formal meetings, as well as those who undertake administrative roles, it was found that examples of excellent practice exist across the UK in a range of formal meeting settings. Many of these good practice techniques reflected the key requirements that young people recognised as fundamental for engaging them in formal meetings.