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We’re not all talk. We’re all listen
Because young people want to be heard, deserve to be heard, and have the right to be heard.
At CANW the young people we work with are actively involved in the design and evaluation of the support they receive.
Meaningful consultation gives children and young people a voice and the opportunity to make real changes to the support they are given.
It’s about empowerment.
“Children have the right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them and to have their opinions taken into account”
– United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (Article 12)
So how do we do it?
We ensure every young voice is heard.
Whether it’s through focus groups, surveys or activities, we put active participation and consultation at the heart of our work, offering opportunities for young people to tell us what they think at every opportunity.
Our Participation Strategy
Our Participation Strategy is depicted here as a ‘Tree’ visual. This visual representation makes it more accessible to the children, young people and adults that we work with.
The tree roots are our core values.
The tree trunk is the fundamental legislation that supports our organisation to achieve its core values.
The branches represent our strategic objectives and the sun is our Mission & Vision.
See moreWhat is important to young people?
These are the things they said that mattered the most…
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Love is really important.
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Holidays with their foster family made them feel really happy.
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If foster children lose track of friends when they move this makes them feel sad.
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Some want to see more of their birth family.
The outcome was an action plan shared with our foster carers. We updated the way we recruited and trained our foster carers, and we shared this important feedback with all our carers, the importance of a loving family, a focus on holidays and supportive allowances, to maintain childhood friendships wherever possible and to maintain the focus on birth family visits when that is expressed.
A Bigger Picture Consultation
Literally starting with a blank canvas, this unique event stepped outside of traditional consultation methods, employing a technique known as Graphic Facilitation. Drawing on the group’s own visual imagination, the approach unpacks metaphorical meaning to create rich picture understanding. The whole group then paints these shared suggestions large as an evolving representation of the conversation.
Back on Track
The voices of our young people are tapestried along Darwen Station platform in recognition of a very challenging year. Weekly workshops focusing on getting creative, with new techniques being explored, new skills developed, our young people were able to design a piece of art that represented the impact that the virus has had on their lives; in both positive and negative ways.
Growing Places
Pleased to have been allocated one of the five raised beds as part of the Blackburn In Bloom project. Our young people involved in the project chose the theme of: ‘LGBTQ+ rights and equality for all’. Pride is about togetherness and inclusion, a celebration of acceptance and love and TeamCANW pride ourselves in being an inclusive service supporting all.
Make A Difference Awards
Two of our Young Carers awarded Winner and Highly Commended ‘Young Carer 2021’ from the BBC Radio Lancashire Make A Difference awards. We are incredibly proud of them everyday in the challenging roles they have but these awards provide recognition and awareness to many a hidden young person.
Staying in touch with their friends
Walk, talk and picnic in the park...Young carers are not alone. We are here to help, support and build a community of support so that no young carer ever feels they are alone.
Artist of Hope
Our Young Carers worked closely with De Morgan Foundation for their new exhibition Artist Of Hope. They looked at Evelyn De Morgan’s Victorian paintings and saw that they all were hopeful for better days ahead. This inspired them to think about their own hopes for the future.