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Children & Young People’s Voices

Voices of children and young people 

– how to see, hear and action them in systems

When we include the voices of children and young people in our work, we make better decisions and get better outcomes for everyone. 
The aim of this page is to make it as easy as possible for all of us in Queensland to start elevating the voices of children and young people, right now. You’ll find links to: 
  • Child & youth engagement reports
  • Engagement guides 
  • Existing youth advisory groups
  • Examples of how Queenslanders are putting this into practice.
Please contact us at tqkp@aracy.org.au if you know of resources or links that could be added to this page.

ENGAGEMENT REPORTS

– What children & young people are already telling us

A lot of organisations across Queensland are already consulting with children and young people, and sharing their findings in clear and informative reports. However, it’s not always easy to keep track of these reports. 

We have compiled some of the key reports so you can: 

  • Learn more about what children and young people have already told us 
  • Use quotes from these reports to elevate young voices in your own publications and advocacy (with the appropriate citations)
  • Use the reports to guide future engagement with children and young people (and to build on existing work rather than reinventing the wheel)

QUEENSLAND-SPECIFIC REPORTS 

The following reports include quotes and direct feedback from children and young people in Queensland. 

REPORTS FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA 

The following list represents a small sample of reports from across Australia. The offices of our state and territory Children’s Commissioners are a great place to find out more.

ENGAGEMENT GUIDES 

– Resources to support you to engage children & young people

Many organisations have published guides to support the inclusion of voices of children and young people.

A great place to start is the QFCC’s Youth Participation – A Quick Start Guide.

Other resources that we find useful (reverse chronological order) include:

Collage showing covers of Engagement Guides from around Australia

YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCILS

– Existing networks that engage directly with Queensland children & young people 

There’s an amazing network of 1000s of child and youth advisory councils and consultation groups across Queensland. Some are designed to guide the work of a particular organisation while others are open to more broad engagement

The QFCC’s list of Youth Advocacy & Advisory Groups is a great place to learn more about some of the groups across Queensland. 

These can be useful for: 

  • Sharing consultation opportunities
  • Seeking speakers for events
  • Engaging groups in formal consultation or review of your work
  • Providing opportunities for children and young people to get involved with issues that impact them. 
Note: While youth councils and advisory groups are a great place to start, they are just one of many ways to engage children and young people. Of course, no single group can be representative of the wide breath of diverse young people and their experiences across Queensland.

EVERYDAY PRACTICE

– Examples of how Queenslanders are engaging children and young people in daily work

Engaging children and young people is about embedding their voices in our work every day. 

Below we are building a list of real-life examples to remind and inspire us all. 

If you have an example to share, please email an image and a short explanation (up to 100 words) to tqkp@aracy.org.au. 

“At the Scenic Rim Council’s Get Ready Family Fun Day, 12 October 2024, Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership asked kids for their advice/tips on how to stay healthy and safe in the heat (Beaudesert’s #1 hazard). Several kids and parents told me they loved that kids were asked for their knowledge because that doesn’t usually happen. Others said they were surprised how much kids actually know; and the more the board got filled up with kids’ tips, the more excited new kids were to add their knowledge to it. BTW, most common tip: drink water/ stay hydrated.”

TQKP Kids Activity at Scenic Rim Family Fun Day

“Play Matters enlisted the expertise of children’s participation rights specialist, Dr Cynthia Hicban, to support our aspirations as advocates for children. The project took us on a journey of understanding what children’s voices were, how we listen to children’s voices through embedded practice, as well as inspiring new ways to transform listening to action so that children’s voices could be represented where possible.” Find out more at Play Matters. 

 

NAPCAN has created a simple resource called the Children’s Voices Activity, designed to support adults to talk to children about matters that impact them. The resource makes it clear that the main role of the adult is to LISTEN and to recognise that children are experts about their own lives.  It also encourages adults to pass the children’s messages on to decision makers and to keep them involved in the process. 

 

Joomunjie Land is a HUGE Loose Parts Play oasis, located  at Eagleby South State School. This place has been built BY children, FOR children! Joomunjie Land was built as a response to children who were consulted across Eagleby in 2020. The children who joined a consultation with the Australian Institute of Play shared that there are not enough spaces for children to PLAY where they live. From there, Joomunjie was only possible to build, with help from the student leaders at Eagleby South State School in 2022.

Joomunjie Land title image

 

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