Guidance to Ensure The Voice of The Child is Heard

Our aim should be to share and practice positive approaches to effective communication & listening through active learning. We are committed to communicate clearly, compassionately, purposefully and honestly with children & young people.

We should remember to consider identity, diversity, culture, language, disability, delayed speech, low confidence & trust. Cultural competence and inclusion should be embedded in all interactions, ensuring that children from minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ young people, and those with additional needs are fully heard.

Everyone who works with children and young people in Westmorland and Furness should commit to seeking and recording the voice of the child with every child they work with.

• Referrals;
• Assessments;
• Support provision;
• Family Help, Child In Need, Child Protection and LAC Care Plans;
• Court statements and care plans;
• Supervision records;
• Fostering & adoption records;
• Residential records;
• Family Support records;
• Planning for a review or meeting.

The voice of children must be recorded and taken into account no matter what their age or ability to communicate directly.

This can be done by:

• Direct engagement;
• Observation;
• Discussion with parents, family members, family networks, carers or agencies;
• Analysis of information held to consider what the impact might be on the child based on the expected care for the age and stage of development.

A good start is to explain your own role, to listen openly and to seek the voice of the child without advising or judging.

Remember to consider explaining to parents and carers in advance and seek consent where necessary.

There are some guides and leaflets to give to parents and young people to assist with explanations and participation. It is can be helpful to give people some written material to take away and consider and then offer another opportunity to talk again later.

See ‘Other sources of support’ on the Westmorland and Furness SCP Website.

This should be embedded in practice and in records and should be updated regularly particularly when circumstances change for the child or there is a change of plan. We should record the voice of the child and for the child - for the current plan to be evidence based and future focussed - children should be able to access a good record later in their lives. The voice of the child should be recorded within documents and exemplars in the electronic records. They can also be attached or scanned into records where the child has written their own views or tools have been used which are handwritten or completed by the child.

Many workers use tools to enable them to seek the views of children or to aid participation in enabling children to draw or write their views more freely than in open conversation.

Useful examples are available to assist workers as a learning reference, but not intended to replace other good practice. Workers should plan ahead and adapt tools to suit the unique needs of children & young people or circumstances. There are no right answers to how to do this, just opportunities to facilitate effective communication in available tools and resources such as books, dolls & figures, drawing materials, and games.

A wide range of tools are available to encourage us all and help the completing on meaningful direct work. Please take care and exercise professional judgement as they do not fit all children or all circumstances. They are intended as a guide and can be adapted for individual use. There are many more available and in use. Please share what you use yourself among teams and services.

The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report, A child-centered system (2011)

Working Together to Safeguard Children

Learning from Serious Case Reviews