“I’m constantly thinking about power, who has it, who doesn’t, and how we shift it” – quote of the week from Millicent Wedlock in Recommended Reads … Also this week..
- ⭐Votes at 16 – new research of 4000 students – The Economist Ed Foundation
- ⭐Minister reviewing plans for youthvoice programmes – announcements expected soon as Youth Parlt gets 1 year extension
- ⭐New Youth Voice Task & Finish Group for Youth Transformation/Hubs programmes – PP
- ⭐Youth Voice Consultations x 2 on Digital future/Social Media: iwill/Govt, FlipGen/Govt
- 👀Opportunities for young people/supporters
PLEASE COMPLETE BY 26th April
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NEWS
What do young people really think about having the right to vote at 16? And how confident do they feel engaging with politics? New Research published by the Economist Education Foundation
Research of 4000 students aged 10-17 across Britain – exploring how they feel and what they need to vote. Whilst the report highlights some obvious conclusions – “they want to engage but will need ‘knowledge, confidence, and safe spaces to do so” there are some hidden gems in the report, such as the suggestion that once these issues are addressed, the intention to vote will rise significantly. e.g. 61% of both age groups say they would feel more ready to vote if they knew more about different political views. Another finding was that – 23% of 15- to 17-year-olds say they have been asked to stop speaking about their political views at school. I also found the ranking of their priority issues interesting, with the ‘cost of living’, and ‘healthcare’ topping the list. Its not clear is this was from a fixed list of current popular concerns for all ages, as some previously popular issues for this age group don’t feature – public transport, mental health specifically, and digital safety/social media. Well worth a read – follow links here: https://lnkd.in/eMt5qdmE
Youth Parliament funding has been given a 1-year extension. A spokesperson for the National Youth Agency, which has been managing the UKYouthParliament contract for DCMS since the British Youth Council closed in March 2024, said “We have been working closely with DCMS to understand the future of UKYP and have been advised that the Secretary of State has decided to extend the programme for one year and is reviewing her plans for youth empowerment programmes. We have notified our delivery partners of this update, and our priority now is to design a one-year programme that offers a positive experience for young people and helps shape what follows.”
RECOMMENDED READS on LinkedIn
⚡Millicent Wenlock was at The Blagrave Trust’s Youth Led Change Day at Conference Aston. “As Chair of The Care Experienced Movement, I’m constantly thinking about power, who has it, who doesn’t, and how we shift it”. Read More.
⚡Youth Champion Blog / Young Trustees Network💡Alisa Matyunina shares her journey into trusteeship and breaks down what it actually looks like to get started, from navigating applications to building confidence once you’re in the room. “When discussing your experience, try not to worry about skills you don’t yet have (especially when reviewing a long list of jargon in the job specification). Focus instead on the insight and experience you can contribute.” Read More
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VOTES AT 16 WATCH – 👀Votesat16Watch rolling news page includes these stories and more back to July 2025 . PLUS – V16W campaign Timeline/Resources👀
Two more research reports:⚡1/ Student views from the Economist Ed 
Foundation is detailed in the NEWS story above, and ⚡2/Royal Holloway, Uni London. “As the UK prepares to lower the voting age to 16, our report on UK adolescents aged 12 to 17-years-old asks a major democratic question: how are adolescents approaching political life before they formally enter it?” Full report can be found here : https://lnkd.in/eE72PrNi
Both mirror recent trends and findings but are worth a look. Expect lots more research – and a change in attitudes by both young people and adults, as more measures to prepare young people take shape and are implemented. What will be most interesting is how political parties react in appealing to these younger voters – Youth manifestos? new Youth Ministers? Ed
[Note – all opps are based on info from hosting organisations. We endeavour to include accurate age range, dates and deadlines – but for up-to-date info, check with the organisers. Ed]
YOUTH VOICE OPPORTUNITIES
YOUTH VOICE CENSUS
The ‘Youth Voice Annual Census 2026’ by @Youth Employment UK is open: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐AGED 11-30? UK? Have your say on how you feel about life, work and education, which YEUK will use to lobby decision-makers/Government. Every year, thousands of people complete the survey, sharing their opinions to shape the future. The survey can take between 10 and 45 minutes to complete, depending on the answers you give. You can start and stop as many times as you like, saving your progress as you go! More info/video/workers resources/past surveys Here or Start the Survey here. Deadline 8th June.
Comment: This excellent annual survey and report, produced by @Youth Employment UK, is a great example of a topic-focused youthvoice initiatve being heard and having an national influence on policy, because the results feed into a group of charities championing all things employment/careers direct to the Department for Work & Pensions. Check it out, check them out! Ed/JC
CONSULTATIONS
[The Government, (via Dept DSIT) has developed how its consulting young people by commissionedin several civil society/volunary orgs to feed into the Digital Safety (Social Media ban) consultation. Ive not signposted all of them below. DCMS deployed several orgs to reach out to a maximum number of children and young people in the development of the Youth Strategy – and produced guidelines to other Govt departments to follow suit. This reflects an appreciation of the growing number of orgs with ‘participation’ skills and experience, and marks a departure from traditional going through just one ‘catch-all’ national org, or the previous DCMS model of having a Youth Policy Development/Advisory group administered by one charity (eg British Youth Council). Could this have implications for the future role of national voice infrastructures as the Minister reviews how the Government supports youth empowerment? Either way – the real test is how much this process results in a ‘you said we did’ impact, follow up accountability and feedback. Well done to DCMS for trialling the idea in developing the Youth Strategy. Ed/JC]
Consultation on the future of Growing up in Digital World / #iwillMovement / Savanta, Volunteering Matters / UKYouth (with Govt) Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a UK-wide consultation on growing up in the online world. The consultation aims to understand how children, young people and families can be better supported as digital platforms, gaming environments and emerging technologies become an even greater part of everyday life. To ensure young people’s insights are at the heart of this work, DSIT has commissioned a consortium led by Savanta, supported by the #iWill Movement (powered by Volunteering Matters and UK Youth). Together, we are creating opportunities for young people, parents, carers and practitioners to share their experiences through surveys, creative engagement and in–person youth hack events. Readmore
Calling all Schools/YouthOrgs: FlippGen cohosting consultation on Social Media Ban with Govt. “On Thursday 23rd April 2026 (2.30pm – 5.30pm), we’re hosting a YTH event in collaboration with 5Rights, supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.”ReadMore/Signup
⚡Social Media Ban /Safety: The Government has launched a national consultation on “how to better protect children online and support families in a period of rapid technological change. We want to hear from a wide range of voices across the UK, especially those working with and supporting children and families. The consultation seeks views on issues like minimum age for social media, addictive features such as autoplay and infinite scroll, AI chatbots, mobile phones in schools, and support for parents and carers. It is open until 26 May 2026, Main consultation, Parent-friendly version , Child-friendly version
⚡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
If you have a #youthvoice opportunity coming up, drop us a line info@youngvoicesheard.org.uk
SUPPORTERS OPPORTUNITIES – Events, Newsletters & Resources
⚡Children & YP annual Awards – Nominations open. “These prestigious awards are a source of pride and recognition for all those improving lives, and the gold standard for everyone working with children, young people and families”. Young Voices Heard is a supporter of these awards and its young judges panel (who have an equal say with older judges). So our “Campaign4YouthRecognition” calls on you to nominate youthvoice champions for these awards. Although there is still no ‘youthvoice’ category, you can still recognise their impact in one of the other categories! Read more. Deadline 15th June.
Centre For Youth Voice – check out their LinkedIn posts!
The Centre for Youth Voice has now started to post regular features/signpost blogs/case studies on LinkedIn. Here are the ones that caught my attention – but why not follow them directly here
👀When participation becomes symbolic: Blog Read More
👀The first episode of our new Youth Work Exchange Podcast explores ‘Authoring Our Own Stories’, a five-year, youth-led research programme. Read (listen) More
NEWSLETTERS
👀Centre for Youth Voice – making its mark Newsletter/March 26 Another excellent newsletter from the Centre4YV – with news, free training dates and resources.
👀Govt/DCMS Youth Team – Newsletter / March 2026 -packed with news, info, webinars, consultation info and research, including: Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy: ‘Delivering the National Youth Strategy Together’ webinar, (26th Mar) Share your views on major measures to protect children on social media Deadline 26th May, The PM and Taoiseach met members of the UK-Ireland Youth Forum, UK Young Ambassadors Update (Youth Council UK @ NYA), Government’s plan for Votes at 16, Youth Matters: State of the Nation – Regional data for young people.
If you have a YouthVoice newsletter with free opportunities or information – get in touch! Info@youngvoicesheard.org.uk
RESOURCES:
💡The Politics Project (which coordinates Democracy Classroom) have a new one-stop Resource Hub for schools, democracy engagement practitioners and young leaders. Read more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐RECOMMENDED – Bumper Resource – 188 x Slides (yes ! 188? – includes lots of research/detailed plans, progress and opportunities to get involved – from the Votesat 16 Strategy Day. Last month Democracy Classroom convened an in person Votesat16 Strategy day, where over 100 attendees heard a range of presentations from: The Economist Foundation (research), Partnership for Young London/The Jack Petchey Foundation (research), The Electoral Commission (research and prepration plan), The Politics Project (Wales), The Northern Ireland Youth Forum, My Life My Say (voter registration), ShoutOutUK (Wales), Education Scotland, UKYouthParliament, Minister Samantha Dixon MP, and her department team (on the passage of the legislation), and the Democracy Classrooms – Roadmap to Votes at 16. A Must Read, Resource Here
⭐The Centre for Youth Voice is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and delivered by the Network of Regional Youth Work Units. They offer free training so sign up to their newsletter for the latest info. Also, visit their website to access Publications/Resources. Recommend the Typlogogy (types) of youth voice models.
YouthVoice Co-assessment framework launched – 14th April: The Centre for Youth Voice has launched a new co-assessment framework (free) for practitioners and young people to use together to reflect on their youth voice practice. You will be able to complete it online/and share anonymously with the Centre to share trends. “It’s a map for continuous improvement, not as pass/fail assessment”. The framework covers the full range of approaches to youth voice — from youth consultation and co-production, to youth-led governance, activism, and social action.
➡ Tool and PDF download: https://www.regionalyouthunits.com/self-assessment-tool
➡ Launch recording: https://youtu.be/s7tOjUyyH3o
⭐Youth Focus North West (YFNW) – New E‑Learning Module: Participation and Young People’s Voice using the Lundy Model: a new Lundy Model e‑learning course, developed in partnership with Lancashire County Council, Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB, the University of Central Lancashire, and the Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership. The e‑learning provides a strong foundation ahead of YFNW’s in‑person Lundy Model and Youth Participation Training, which offers deeper learning, practical tools, and opportunities for peer support. Read more in the Centre4YouthVoice Newsletter.
Young Voices Heard- Services – We not only host #YouthVoiceNews but also offer services to help you mobilise your #youthvoice, including: quality assurance/assessment, training/mentoring for staff and young leaders; project management, and fundraising assistance. Last month we supported or advised: Youth Council UK, Youth United Foundation, Shout Out UK, Be The Change Media Network and Votesat16.co.uk . DM James@youngvoicesheard.org.uk for more information.
For other YVH recommended resources, go to the www.YoungVoiceHeard.org.uk main website / RESOURCES.
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