The benefits of listening to children and young people are widely acknowledged but taking their involvement to the next step can be hard. How do you involve them in your organisation's decision-making at all levels? What involvement is appropriate? This section of Participation Works provides a starting point to fully understanding governance and how you can make it work for your organisation.
Policy Context
Adults and children and young people can struggle at times to fully understand governance, what it means and how to apply it to the everyday running of an organisation. Governance can mean different things to different people. For some it is how an organisation makes its decisions, for others it is ensuring that an organisation has policies and procedures that set out how it should operate. In reality, both are two sides of the same coin, as governance represents the processes by which an organisation makes it decisions that set out how it operates.
Youth At The Table
Programme giving children and young people the right skills and knowledge to be effective members when involved in decision making and organisational governance.
British Youth Council also created four special guides to support the Youth at the Table training:
What is governance?
This resource booklet is designed to explain exactly what governance means and how its meaning varies in different situations.
The essential information you need to know about governance
This resource booklet looks in detail at some of the essential information that children and young people will need to know in relation to governance. It also looks at the role of trustees and the law relating to them.
What skills do I need to be great at governance?
This resource booklet contains help and advice around important skills that children and young people may need to be involved in governance and decision-making.
How do I get involved in governance?
This booklet looks at some of the many the benefits to getting involved in governance as well as exploring some of the things that prevent children and young people from getting involved.
Do Youth Speak Trustee?
A 2 day Accredited training programme for young people aged 16-25 that introduces a young person to the role of trusteeship, as well as enhancing existing trustees understanding of how they can effectively and confidently speak with purpose, and understand their role within an organisation.
Involving children and young people within the interview process
DVD resource produced by NCB for involving children and young people in the recruitment of staff.
How to involve children and young people in governance
This How To guide aims to assist organisations that are seeking to involve children and young people in their governance structures.It offers some best practice advice and tips, along with comments from children and young people themselves about the best ways to engage children and young people in governance.
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Young People & Governance
This report details the findings of two online surveys carried out by the British Youth Council (BYC) in March and April 2009.
Whose board? Whose agenda?
A briefing from the Voluntary Arts Network (VAN) on how to include disabled and deaf people on your board, management committee or advisory group. Published Set 2007.
Governance






