Useful links for Participation

List of websites that have given consent to go on Nottinghamshire Participation Zone

Here are some websites which will help you develop children and young people’s participation. If you know of any other websites you think we should include, please email us. Please see below for further details.

General
Children's Rights
Research
Young People
Children and Young People with Additional Needs
Schools

General

11 MILLION
www.11million.org.uk
11 MILLION is the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

Our vision: Children and young people will actively be involved in shaping all decisions that affect their lives, are supported to achieve their full potential through the provision of appropriate services, and will live in homes and communities where their rights are respected and they are loved, safe and enjoy life. 

Barnardo’s
www.barnardos.org.uk
As one of the UK's leading children's charities, Barnardo's works directly with over 110,000 children, young people and their families every year. Barnardo’s runs 383 vital projects across the UK, including counselling for children who have been abused, fostering and adoption services, vocational training and disability inclusion groups.

Changemakers
www.changemakers.org.uk
Changemakers is an independent charity and social enterprise which enables young people aged 4-25 to make a positive and continuing contribution to society.

Every Child Matters – Participation
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/participation
The government strongly supports the effective involvement of children, young people and their families or carers in the development and running of all children's trusts. Increasingly acceptance of the principle of children's involvement is being turned into practice through a variety of participation activities across a range of organisations.

National Children’s Bureau
www.ncb.org.uk
Founded in 1963, NCB is a charitable organisation that acts as an umbrella body for organisations working with children and young people in England & Northern Ireland. Through working in partnership, sharing knowledge, resources and services we have created a powerful, authoritative and influential voice to improve the lives of children and young people. 

Participation Works
www.participationworks.org.uk
Participation Works is an online gateway to the world of children and young people's participation. The gateway provides a single access point to comprehensive information on policy, practice, networks, training and innovative ideas from across the UK. Join for free and receive a fortnightly e-bulletin to keep you up to date with the latest news, events, policy and opportunities around children and young people’s participation in decision making.

Save the Children
www.savethechildren.org.uk
Website has various participation sections.

YoMo
www.yomo.co.uk
YoMo is a social enterprise providing training and resources designed do help young people link their own skills and ambitions to the needs of society so they can participate effectively. The YoMo site includes resources for practitioners and the latest news, films and photos on the Breakfast Society Blog! YoMo training is delivered by skilled young people throughout the UK and Ireland.

Children’s Rights

Children’s Rights Alliance for England
www.crae.org.uk
CRAE is an alliance of over 380 voluntary and statutory organisations committed to the full implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Child Rights Information Network
www.crin.org
The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) is a global network that disseminates information about the Convention on the Rights of the Child and child rights amongst non-governmental organisations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, inter-governmental organisation (IGOs), educational institutions, and other child rights experts. The Coordinating Unit is based in London, UK.

Research

Joseph Rowntree Foundation
www.jrf.org.uk
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK. For over one hundred years it has been searching out the causes of social problems, investigating solutions and seeking to influence those who can make changes, by: gathering evidence from research and from practice, communicating the messages widely and impartially and working in partnership with others.

Trust for the Study of Adolescence
www.tsa.uk.com
TSA is a UK charity focusing exclusively on work with teenagers and young adults. It aims to help close knowledge and skills gaps by undertaking applied research, providing training and conferences for professionals, carrying out practice-development projects, producing and marketing publications and influencing policy-makers, service providers and public opinion.

Young People

British Youth Council
www.byc.org.uk
As the National Youth Council of the UK, we aim to support all young people in the UK to exercise your right to participate in decisions which affect you and to have a voice on issues about which you have a strong opinion. 

National Council for Voluntary Youth Services
www.ncvys.org.uk
The National Council for Voluntary Youth services (NCVYS) is the independent voice of the voluntary youth sector in England. A diverse network of voluntary and community organizations and local and regional networks, NCVYS works to inform and influence public policy, support members to improve the quality of their work, and raise the profile of the voluntary and community sector’s work with young people.

National Youth Agency (also for Hear by Right)
www.nya.org.uk
The National Youth Agency (NYA) supports those involved in young people's personal and social development and works to enable all young people to fulfil their potential within a just society. The NYA (along with the Local Government Association) has also developed Hear by Right, a tried and tested standards framework for organisations across the statutory and voluntary sectors to assess and improve practice and policy on the active involvement of children and young people.

UK Youth
www.ukyouth.org
UK Youth is the leading national youth work charity supporting over 750,000 young people, helping them to raise their aspirations, realise their potential and have their achievements recognised via non-formal, accredited education programmes and activities.

UK Youth Parliament
www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk
The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) enables young people to use their energy and passion to change the world for the better. Run by young people for young people, UKYP gives the young people of the UK, between the age of 11 and 18 a voice, which is heard and listened to by local and national government, providers of services for young people and other agencies who have an interest in the views and needs of young people. 

Youth Action Network
www.youthactionnetwork.org.uk
Youth Action Network is the national organisation with unique experience and expertise in the Youth Action approach to volunteering.  We promote nine principles of Youth Action and offer specialist support to organisations who support youth led volunteering. 

Children and Young People with Additional Needs

Trans-active
www.trans-active.org.uk
Trans-active is a project in which teenagers with and without severe learning disabilities work together. They use multimedia to explore and communicate choices they will have when they leave school. The project is about using and giving support, making plans, making friends and having fun.

Schools

Citizenship Foundation
www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk
The Citizenship Foundation aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society. We focus particularly on developing young people’s citizenship skills, knowledge and understanding. 

Go-givers
http://www.gogivers.org
Aimed at Primary Schools (KS1-2), Go-Givers is designed to tie into both the citizenship curriculum and the wider primary curriculum. It aims specifically to promote ideas of charity and empathy amongst 4-11 year olds through active participation. 

Participation for Schools
www.participationforschools.org.uk
Website run by Save the Children UK.

Paying for it
www.payingforit.org.uk
This was launched at the end of November. It's an online resource for opening up discussion of the citizenship dimension of economic and personal finance decisions (social impact etc). The notable element is the 'Lifescan', a colourful graphical representation of the user's 'financial footprint' which is built on and shared via social networking tools such as MySpace.