An Invitation to Think: Involving Young People

Hattie Greaves and Juliet Snell share more on their part in Fullscope’s recent event where partners and stakeholders exchanged ideas and expertise.

In June, we had an opportunity to spend time at ‘An Invitation to Think’ talking about how we all can include the voices, ideas and expertise of children and young people more meaningfully in the mental health system. We had dozens of important conversations with partners and stakeholders, and we’re sharing some of our reflections.

Involving children and young people at the heart

Children and young people’s involvement and voice runs through every Fullscope project like letters through a stick of rock. Fullscope’s vision includes the important idea of children and young people’s empowerment. We see this empowerment as a vital way to affect a more accessible, relevant and equitable mental health system. Listening is key, but we also seek to include children and young people when we choose what to prioritise, and we involve them in meaningful coproduction as often as possible. Using our networks and relationships, we amplify what children and young people teach us, and promote the vital importance of including their expertise in system planning.

Juliet Snell and Hattie Greaves, associate consultants at Fullscope

Listening like you mean it

We see the foundation of involving children and young people as Listening.  This means providing many routes by which views, ideas and experiences can be shared freely, but just as importantly, to ensure what they say is heard and acted on. At the event, we asked partners what they are already doing. Many partner organisations were providing feedback or other listening routes. They acknowledged the need to do more: to ensure that all children and young people are listened to,  to amplify what they hear, and finally to act on and respond to what children and young people tell them. We received these pledges from partners:

• Listen more and find ways to be proactive in this and using it to develop our provision.

• Find ways to build lived experience into decision-making learning from others doing it well.

• More lived experience in processes/commissioning and decision-making.

• Reach out to YP who need support.

• How can we amplify those voices and insights further so more people hear?

• More time and focus for teams to actively engage young people.

• More CYP input into processes “as standard“ not as an add-on.

Empowering children and young people when decisions are made

With time and resource under pressure across the system, priority setting is a vital way of enacting power. At the event we talked about the need to bring children and young people to that decision-making table, ensuring they can help identify what is most important, valuable or urgent. We heard from partners about times that they have included young people’s views in some local plans. This was not consistent though, and partners acknowledged they could do more to give children and young people a sustained and meaningful seat at the decision- making table:

• More time and focus for teams to actively engage young people.

• More CYP input into processes ‘as standard’ not as an add-on.

“It’s so inspiring to hear pledges directly from partners and stakeholders for how they can champion young people in project design- as demonstrated by Fullscope. The ICB’s recent 16 - 25 year old local mental health review has opened up doors for young people to become integral parts of service design as ‘professionals’ ourselves, however this must continue to see essential change.”

– Hattie Greaves, Associate Consultant and young person with Fullscope’s youth voice project, Our Voices.

‘Listen more and find ways to be proactive in this and using it to develop our provision’ / ‘Find ways to build lived experience into decision-making learning from others doing it well’ / ‘More lived experience in processes/commissioning and decision-making’ / ‘Reach out to YP who need support’ / ‘How can we amplify those voices and insights further so more people hear?’

Children and young people as designers and producers

At Fullscope we have had some inspiring experiences of children and young people stepping into the project design space and taking a leading role in the production of resources and ideas. We have learned that their presence and influence can result in better ideas and solutions, and we recognise them as skilful and vital assets when we plan and make. At the event our partners told us that they feel they don’t do this enough. They often reflected that what was often described as “coproduction” was often in fact listening or prioritising. We reflected that this is an area where Fullscope could have something to offer- we have learned from children and young people about what helps them to share their expertise and skills, and how to overcome barriers to meaningful coproduction.

What can we do?

We started some important conversations in June, which we must continue. Fullscope will continue to champion children and young people’s involvement in system change as an essential building block to the best possible outcomes, rather than a “nice-to-have” add on. We are looking forward to carrying on the conversation!

‘More time and focus for teams to actively engage young people’ / ‘More CYP input into processes “as standard“ not as an add-on’

If you’d like to join the next event, An Invitation to Think: Act 1, get in touch by emailing info@fullscopecollaboration.org.uk 

Learn more about Fullscope’s co-production project, ‘Understanding Self-Harm’ Learnings

Learn more about Fullscope’s youth voice project, Our Voices

Read and download our Framework for Involving Children, Young People and Families

Written in conjunction with our guests, Hattie Greaves and Juliet Snell. Hattie is Associate Consultant and young person with Fullscope’s youth voice project, Our Voices. Juliet is Associate Consultant at Fullscope and founder of Cambridge based consultancy, taproot.