The DCMS Core Principles Action Plan recommendations for Learning to Listen - Core principles for the involvement of children and young people
The DCMS Core Principles Action Plan was published on the Children and Young People's Unit (CYPU) website on 12th June. The Action Plan has been drawn up following the recommendations made in Learning to Listen - Core Principles for the Involvement of Children and Young People, which was published in November 2001. This set out the Government's commitment to ensure that children and young people have a real say about the Government policies and services that are relevant to them. The Principles, which have been developed by the CYPU in close consultation with Departments, are good news for DCMS and its sectors as actively involving children and young people in this way will produce better services. They will also lead to better outcomes for children and young people, and their communities, as services are shaped to meet their real rather than presumed needs.
DCMS has a big part to play in this cross-Government initiative, as it is one of 11 departments that will be taking the lead in developing this work. It is crucial that children and young people are properly consulted over their cultural and recreational provision, and that they are offered services which they will want to get involved in, enjoy and find beneficial. There are 4 main Core Principles which set out a basic framework for involving children and young people.
- Children and young people's involvement is valued.
- Children and young people have equal opportunity to get involved.
- A visible commitment is made to involving children and young people, underpinned by appropriate resources to build a capacity to implement policies of participation.
- Policies and standards for the participation of children and young people are provided, evaluated and continuously improved.
Our initial approach has been to raise awareness about the advantages of listening to young people; to build a network of contacts who are committed to taking this work forward; to identify the challenges for our sectors; and to seek out examples of good practice. The Action Plan represents only the first step and results against the Plan will be published in the CYPU's first Annual Report planned for April 2003.
These documents are available online in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
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