Our belief is that organisations that put young people's participation at the strategic heart of service delivery and development reap the benefits by providing a service based upon the real needs of young people.
That is why the National Youth Agency and the Local Government Association, together with local authorities and partner organisations, developed Hear by Right. This is a tool designed to help organisations that work with young people assess their current approach to participation and set an action plan for change and improvement, based on seven standards while evidencing impact through the What's Changed Tool. The standards are further broken down into 49 indicators.
Now, a decade since its implementation, Hear by Right has been embraced nationally by a diverse range of organisations, from museums to health services. Young people's voices are being heard and acted upon.
In 2010, the National Youth Agency introduced the Hear by Right Award, a national award to showcase to funders, service users and the community the level to which an organisation has embedded young people's participation. The award focuses on the 20 most fundamental indicators, and evidence needs to be presented against all of these to achieve the gold award; against 14 of these for silver; and seven for bronze. The National Youth Agency assesses this portfolio of evidence and successful organisations receive the award, together with a detailed report highlighting good practice and any recommendations on areas for future development.
This year saw the first cohort of award winners recognised for their participation achievements by the National Youth Agency. This special focus feature profiles the impact that youth participation has had on some of our award winners' operations and what they have done to achieve the award.
To find out more about Hear by Right and the Hear by Right Award visit www.nya.org.uk/hear-by-right or contact NYA's business development manager Bob Clifford: bobc@nya.org.uk
RECOGNITION FOR FIRST HEAR BY RIGHT AWARD WINNERS
Twelve organisations are celebrating after being the first in the country to achieve the National Youth Agency's Hear by Right Award in recognition of their commitment to young people's participation in decision-making processes.
Our award winners are:
Gold Award
- Limehouse Youth Centre, City Gateway
Silver Award
- Geffrye Museum
- Medway Youth Trust
- Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove
Bronze Award
- Bradford Museums and Galleries
- Harris Museum and Art Gallery
- Leeds City Museum
- London Transport Museum
- Middlesbrough Museum
- Museum of London
- Museums Sheffield
- Torbay Young Carers
MUSEUMS AWARDED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION
Many of the first Hear by Right Award winners are from museums and galleries from across the country.
The National Youth Agency worked with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council through the Stories of the World programme, which is now managed by Arts Council England. This programme aimed to encourage young people's participation in museums and art galleries and is part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
Isobel Siddons, Arts Council England's director of museums and libraries 2012, comments: "Achieving the Hear by Right Award demonstrates the commitment of these museums in continuing young people's involvement and participation in their work started by Stories of the World."
GOLD AWARD: LIMEHOUSE YOUTH CENTRE
Limehouse Youth Centre is a free drop-in youth club, next to Westferry Docklands Light Railway station, running evening and weekend sessions for young people. The centre includes a sports hall, music studio, Gateway Motion gym, five-a-side pitch, pool tables, table tennis, video games, climbing wall and an IT suite.
Its part of City Gateway, a charity dedicated to bringing hope to the local communities of Tower Hamlets that haven't benefited from the area's wider economic development. This was set up by a group of City workers involved in local churches and keen to support the community around them.
Young leaders are a crucial part of what happens at Limehouse Youth Centre. The group of young leaders help staff make decisions at every level. They develop session plans, give advice and inspire and motivate young people to strive for more.
As well as the Hear by Right Award, its young leaders have helped City Gateway to achieve beacon status as a national example of best practice.
Darren Wolf, Limehouse Youth Centre director of strategy, development and performance, said: "We are passionate about working in partnership with young people.
"We were already doing great things with our young people, but working towards the Gold Hear by Right Award helped us to be more intentional about their participation. Gaining real recognition for everyone's work has been an enormously positive thing - especially for our young people, who say they feel they have been recognised for doing lots of work."
The youth centre is a way to engage with young people and has become an integral part of developing their skills to get them ready for work. It acts as a place where they can come and stay active, as well as learn new skills and gain opportunities for training and employment in an environment that they feel comfortable and safe in. It also gives advice on other issues concerning young people today, such as sexual health, drugs and family issues.
Siama Ayiaz, a young person from Limehouse Youth Centre, added: "We are really proud to have gained this award, and to be the first at this level. There's always room to learn and when you learn skills you should pass them on, not just keep them to yourself - and that is how we do it at Limehouse."
Darren would recommend other organisations to go for the award. "It's a really good thing to do, particularly if you genuinely want young people at the heart of your organisation and shaping the organisation,"
he said. "Be prepared though for the organisation to turn into something you thought it might not be!"
SILVER AWARD: MEDWAY YOUTH TRUST
A Silver Award went to Medway Youth Trust (MYT). Medway Youth Trust is a new organisation, established in April 2008, with big aspirations to improve the life chances of young people in its community.
Now, young people's voices, opinions and experiences inform and influence its decision-making at every level, including through having three places on the board of trustees. Other areas young people have been involved in include:
- A Young Person's Forum, which meets monthly to discuss all aspects of Medway Youth Trust business.
- Sitting on all recruitment interview panels, including the chief executive's role.
- Reviewing and improving the strategic plan for 2011 to 2016, entitled Starting With the Ends.
- Designing the website, MYT logo and reviewing information leaflets and brochures.
Rosie Smith, one of MYT's young members said: "Getting the award has made a big difference to our work. It shows that young people do have a voice and that we want to hear their opinions. I would definitely encourage other organisations to do it to prove that they're trying. What's the point in running a children's organisation if you're not going to listen to them?"
BRONZE AWARD: LEEDS CITY MUSEUM
To become one of the first organisations to achieve bronze-level recognition, Leeds City Museum developed and implemented a clear plan to guide how youth participation informs strategic decisions. The museum worked in partnership with The Youth Association to involve young people meaningfully in assessing the museum, and making recommendations. The Youth Association also helped to facilitate a workshop between the young people and senior decision-makers to embed participation into the culture of the museum.
The approach included establishing a steering group of young people from all ages and backgrounds. Known as the Preservative Party, the youth body is far more than just a discussion group, with participants taking part in mystery shopping at the museum, attending events and providing input into strategic planning with the senior management team.
Leeds Museum's Dominique Attwood, said: "We went for the award because we are not experts in audiences and wanted deeper participation. We've been doing one-off bitty jobs but nothing concrete so we wanted to change this.
"We also wanted to gain a structure and some objectives to give the Preservative Party some stability within the new structure. When we started we didn't have a structured pathway with different directions to go from; now we do have this."
