Listening to the VOICES of children and young people to build back better
Children North East is working with Newcastle University on the VOICES project, gathering the viewpoints of children and young people in order to inform service delivery and build back better post pandemic. Here, one of our School Research and Delivery Practitioners, Gwen Dalziel, writes about the importance of our child-centred approach
As Children North East celebrates its 130th anniversary, our ability as an organisation to stay relevant remains. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed us all into uncharted territory and into truly unprecedented times. Our children are experiencing huge changes to their everyday lives and are living part of their childhoods with restrictions we never had. But what exactly do children think and feel about those changes?
I am lucky enough to be involved in the VOICES project – an innovative and exciting piece of research Children North East is working on with our friends at Newcastle University that sets out to answer this question and, more importantly, in true Children North East style aims to ensure that children’s responses are listened to and acted upon.
The research is a regionwide consultation to understand the challenges children and young people in the North East are facing as a result of Covid-19. We are contacting schools and youth organisations to ask for small groups of young people to act as focus groups and, via a short video call, answer some questions on how the pandemic has changed their lives and their opinions on the impact on their everyday lives. We are working right across the region and across the five to 18 years age range.
The research aims to provide schools, local authorities and services with information on how children have been affected by Covid-19 and give a unique understanding of what is currently important to young people.
This is a wonderful opportunity for young people in our part of the country to have their voices heard and inform the planning and adaptation of services post Covid, ensuring measures implemented are centred on their needs and concerns rather than on adult assumptions about how young people feel. This isn’t just a snapshot of a moment in time, it is providing a platform for young people’s voices and it’s ultimately about taking action.
For me, I am honoured that the young people I have spoken to so far have trusted me with their opinions, their fears and they’ve told me in no uncertain terms what has frustrated and upset them. This is an invaluable piece of research, not just for an insight into unprecedented times but, in keeping with the ethos of Children North East, this is going to be used practically to help children and young people as we emerge from the restrictions imposed on us.
Our research continues and any organisation wishing to be involved in this vital work, please contact us via [email protected]
Children North East celebrated our 130-year anniversary in 2022.
