#YouthVoiceNews 10th Dec – Bitesize Edition

Welcome to #YouthVoice News and Opportunities – a regular roundup from the world of youthvoice, participation, and influence. This BITESIZE edition has shorter headlines with links for further detail, PLUS regular features like – recommended, opportunities and resources. This week:

• ⭐Govt Youth Strategy & YouthVoice
• ⭐Children’s Commissioner Big Ambition Survey  – #ChildVoice Report
• ⭐Chair of Education Select Committee backs youth voice to power
• ⭐Youth Parliament Select Committee takes evidence on PSHE
• ⭐DCMS commissioned report supports youth workers role in #youthvoice
• ⭐Youth Council UK membership deadline 31st December
• ⭐Votes@16Watch – 53,000 poll full results report by Votes for Schools
• 👀LinkedIn: Recommended Reads – #youthvoice roundup!
• 👀Opportunities for young people
• 👀Opportunities for supporters
• 👀Centre4YouthVoice
• 🎁Resources

#YouthVoiceNews is produced by Young Voices Heard CIC as a non-profit venture, and edited by a volunteer.

NEWS

Government launches National Youth Strategy: You said – so we will do. | New promises & commitments on youthvoice |  “From now on, your voice will shape new policies, and you’ll have more tools and chances to shape your community. You’ll be able to vote as soon as you hit 16. This will give you a say in who runs the country.  We will design as many of our programmes as possible with you. You won’t just see new initiatives delivered to you,  you’ll help us shape them.” How? Initial YVH Response Read more

YouthVoiceNews – Youth Strategy Special Edition: James Cathcart, Dir if Young Voices Heard reaction and review of the #youthvoice reports behind the Youth Strategy. PLUS Invite to Webinar 16th Dec, on Youth Matters & Toolkit to share the Youth Strategy with young people from the DCMS team  Read More

New analysis of the ‘Big Ambition’ Survey for the National Youth Strategy  The Children’s Commissioner’s (Eng) was commissioned by DCMS to revisit and analyse its Big Ambition survey (launched in Mar 24 before the General Election) for the National Youth Strategy. Findings from 115,152 replies from children in England aged 6 to 17-years-old, as well as 18-year-olds in education, included ‘YouthVoice’ (one of five thematic areas in the Strategy) “Children and young people want their views to inform the development of policies that will affect them. They want a diverse and representative government that listen to their opinions”. Link to report 

⚡ Chair of Education Select Committee Helen Hayes MP welcomes the role of #youthvoice to power in Parliament. Speaking in a video shared by @NYA on LinkedIn underlined and welcomed the role of youthvoice to her Education committee and from the work of the Youth Select Committee’s reports. “Young People should always be around the table in policy decisions about their future. Its something that my committee always tried to prioritise, hearing from them on the same footing as all the other of our witnesses. Those sessions are the most impactful. We never fail to get really significant new insights from hearing directly from c&yp. Its always worth doing and its important that its always done”

Youth Parliament’s ‘Youth Select Committee’ on PSHE hears expert witnesses | Terms of Reference | Full Witness list | Reaction on 1/ Whether PSHE is taught consistently across schools and nations 2/ How teachers are supported in delivering sensitive topics, 3/ The impact of knowledge gaps on adult outcomes and 4/ How political education can be embedded to support democratic participation.  Read more..

DCMS Research and Evaluation report “Youth worker interactions with other sectors” endorses role of youth workers in brokering youthvoice opportunities in cross-sector meeting. DCMS commissioned SQW (an independent research organisation) in partnership with UK Youth (the UK’s leading youth work charity) to undertake a research study exploring how, in practice, youth workers interact with other sector personnel and agencies. The full report includes a section ‘Suggestions for good practice’, for practitioners and policy makers. Section 9.17 Champion youth voice in cross-sector meetings states: “Where possible, youth workers should ensure young people are given opportunities to contribute to decision-making. This could include inviting young representatives to strategic meetings or collecting feedback from young people to present on their behalf. Memorandums of Understanding between youth work organisations and their partners in other sectors should include agreements about approaches to youth voice and power sharing with young people”. Comment: MOUs (Mem of Understanding) are one way in which Young Voices Heard has worked on a equal footing with exclusively youth-led organisations such as YouthPoliticsUK founded by Dan Lawes when he was 17 (now CEO of My Life My Say).

⚡NYA’s ‘Youth Council UK’ Membership closing date 31 Dec 2025. Join asap to get Exec Committee nomination rights. Youth organisations/Supporting organisations can join and nominate reps (all ages) to a new Executive Committee for an £50 initial fee. The deadline for founder member sign-up and submission of nominations for elections is 31 December 2025.  A  nominations/elections pack with more information about the new structure and roles is due to be circulated “soon” to new members and posted on the information website at NYA YCUK. For more info, contact ycuk@nya.org.uk  Note: timeline for activity is subject to change.

YCUK: Membership / Fee Structure: £50 joining fee and from April 2026 –

Small Organisation – £100, for local or community organisations or groups with fewer than 10,000 young participants or reach;

Medium Organisation – £500 for organisations with between 10,000 and 150,000 young participants, members, or reach.

Large Organisation – £1,500 for organisations with more than 150,000 young participants, members, or reach. This includes devolved nations and UK-wide participation structures.

“We believe no organisation should be excluded due to financial constraints. If needed, special arrangements can be made on a case-by-case basis to ensure participation remains accessible and fair”. NYA

♦  Votes for Schools New Report – 53,000 children & young people polled on whether schools should be preparing them for Votes at 16.  Here is theri results report.  Perhaps the surprising result was that amongst secondary age young people, 46% didn’t think their schools should help prepare them to vote at 16. The report speculates that this might be to do with an overfull curriculum? Votes for Schools did a poll 3 years ago on whether Votes at 16 should even be introduced –  with a majority against – however other polls before and since had found in favour and it can depend on the wording of the question sometimes young people believe in the right to vote, but dont beleive they are ready (see Votesat16Watch polls). Its expected that legislation will be accompanied with a drive to introduce measures to prepare young voters through a range of source – perhaps by organisations led by young people themselves. You can also see more analysis here Click here for full results

♦ Democracy Minister Samantha Dixon MP backs youth voice in democracy, explaining why the Government is lowering the voting age. Video (VotesforSchools) Link

⚡ Recommended Reads – on LinkedIn / DECEMBER Editors pick from  #youthvoice influencers/commentators on LinkedIn. Check out the comments too! Note that whilst some are using LinkedIn to write mini-blogs others are going with the video format – Which do you prefer? 

⭐Dan Lawes – Co CEO of MyLifeMySay, and member of DCMS Youth Advisory Group, on the Youth Strategy  “We need cross-departmental coordination so youth policy doesn’t sit in silos – especially as major democratic engagement opportunities emerge, such as the growing national conversation around Votes at 16.”

⭐Lucy Read, researcher/consultant and #youthvoice at Future Views Today, on

1/ The new National Youth Strategy – Great graphics and analysis in this post

2/ The next steps to her excellent report  Future Views Today – Open Data Youth Infrastructure Report NPC.pdf – Google Drive, promoting collaboration and co-production (with yp) that empowers young people in governance, design, and decision-making. NOTE – the report includes Young Voices Heard as a Case Study that ‘exemplifies the transformative potential of open youth infrastructure’.

NOVEMBER

Dan Moxon, Researcher, Practitioner & Expert on Youth Participation challenges the sector to “Stop stop treating youth participation as synonymous with child participation”.

⭐Dr Josh Harsant, Head of Youth Voice & Influence Barnardos, The ‘professional’ role of the Youth Participation Worker  – reflections and recommendations,

⭐James Sloam, Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway, Uni of London, on How we can give young people more of a role in local decision-making? PLUS his blog for John Smith Centre Research & Insights series on how we can tackle the democratic deficit – low youth turnout and trust, especially amongst those from low-income backgrounds – by engaging young people in the shaping of public policy between elections.

OPPORTUNITIES to “mobilise your youthvoice”

YOUTH VOICE OPPORTUNITIES

Our pick #youthvoice opportunities. For a broader range of early career/skill-building opportunities, go to our friends’ website, Youth Opportunities | Early Career and Skill Building roles in the UK

♦ Shout Out UK are holding focus groups for young people aged 12 – 18 to hear from them about their experiences of online misogyny (dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women). We are running two separate sessions, one for girls and one for boys. Each session will be held online and will last an hour. We are offering payment of London Living Wage (£14.80) for one hour for your participation. Parental/Guardian consent will be required for all participants aged under 18. Details as follows: Tuesday 16th December, 6-7pm. Location: Online. Girls’ session, Thursday 18th December, 6-7pm. Location: Online. Boys’ session. All feedback will be treated with strict anonymity. If you would like more details or to sign up for one of the sessions, please email: amelia@shoutoutuk.org Sign up asap

♦ Be the change. Media Network CIC is recruiting members for our new Board of Trustees! all ages welcome  Details Here  Deadline Dec 12th “We are a fast-growing organisation with a powerful mission to amplify young people’s voices and share underrepresented stories. Through podcasts, blogs, video content, and our upcoming Be the change. Media Academy, we’re building a community where young creators shape the future of media”. Whether you’re in school, early in your career, an industry expert, or someone who really just believes in the power of storytelling, we’d love for you to apply! We welcome trustees from all ages, backgrounds, and lived experiences. Apply here by December 12:https://lnkd.in/ghsx9myn  (No age range mentioned but CIC usually have to be at least 16 years old and only appoint Directors – so we’re contacting BeTheChange to check)  

♦ Student Minds – Trustees 18-30. closing date 15th January 26. Click Youth Opportunities SM for details.

⚡The Patchwork Foundation – free training p/t programme, 30th December, 11 sessions over a 10-month-long programme for 18-30 year olds interested in British politics and civil society. Aimed at communities and individuals who are traditionally underrepresented. “Alongside our Masterclasses, we host skills sessions throughout the year that focus on developing your personal and professional skills, and are led by our Alumni and supporters. These include public speaking, networking, debating, and more”. There is also optional mentoring support. More info and application click here.

If you have a #youthvoice opportunity coming up, drop us a line info@youngvoicesheard.org.uk

⚡Trustee positions – Interested in becoming a trustee? Only 3% of trustees are under the age of 30. Find under-30-friendly trustee boards through the Young Trustees Movement

SUPPORTERS OPPORTUNITIES

⚡Centre for Youth Voice – Free Training and Events timetable

Centre for Youth Voice | Regional Youth Units November newsletter  

December 3rd – Authoring Our Own Stories Roundtable: Peer researchers working with Yorks & Humber Youth Work Unit, Youth Focus North West, Youth Focus South West and Partnership for Young London, come together to share key findings and common links across their research projects on a range of themes related to civic identity.

December 9th – Peer Research Toolkit Launch: Join us for the launch of our new Peer Research Toolkit, for organisations looking to involve young people in research.

February 24th – Community of Practice: Evidencing Impact and Change of Youth Voice: We’re bringing organisations together to look at how we collectively evidence the impact of youth voice.

Multiple dates – Involving Young People in Services: Professor Kaz Stuart is delivering three training sessions around creating opportunities, supporting, and evaluating young people’s involvement in services.

• January 13th – Creating High Quality Opportunities for Young People to be Involved in Services
• February 10th – Supporting Young People to be Involved in Services
• March 10th – Evaluating Young People’s Involvement in Services

Multiple dates – Peer Research Toolkit Training: Based on the toolkit, we are delivering 90-minute training sessions on different aspects of the peer research approach, with presentations and Q&As.

• January 20th – Introduction to peer research
• January 27th – Setup, recruitment, budgets of peer research
• February 3rd – Co-designing research aims and questions
• February 17th – Participatory research methods
• March 3rd – Ethics, safeguarding, and data protection
• March 17th – Conducting fieldwork with peer researchers
• April 14th – Involving young people in analysis
• April 28th – Impact and embedding participation

RESOURCES:

⚡ Resource/ Training – Gamifying Democracy, The Politics Project

For other YVH recommended resources, go to the www.YoungVoiceHeard.org.uk main website / RESOURCES, or click #YouthVoiceNews – Recommending Reads and Resources for a summary of what’s on the website.