Ready Steady Change

The Ready Steady Change programme was developed in close collaboration with children and young people. The programme approaches children’s and young people’s participation in decision-making from a human rights framework. The fundamental beliefs underpinning this training programme are:

• children and young people have equal worth to adults.
• all children and young people are experts on their own lives.
• children and young people have the right to be involved in all decision-making that affects them.
• all human beings shape and define their environments and social relationships.
• children’s and young people’s participation in decision-making is key to improving their well-being.
• participation is about making everyday choices as well as seeking to influence wider public decision-making and policy and service development.
• everyone that works with children and young people has a responsibility to encourage and support their active involvement in decision-making.
• a commitment to children’s human rights is key to achieving improved outcomes for children and young people.

The main pack includes two training handbooks (one for training adult decision-makers; the other for training children and young people), a DVD of participation in practice, and promotional materials. The Ready Steady Change training is designed to be a three-day course though it can be delivered in less. There are three units in each of the training courses - each unit lasts a day and has between six and seven practical activities. Unit 1 gives an introduction to participation, children's rights and making change happen. Unit 2 focuses on skills development and Unit 3 is about making long-lasting change. A wide selection of handouts are included, including rights and the law, top 10 facts about the Convention on the Rights of the Child, dreamers and visionaries (about people who have done great things for human rights and equality), and messages from research.

In addition to the training packs, six sets of specialised participation materials have been developed designed for relating to adolescent psychiatric units, youth justice, schools, regeneration, children and young people in care, and listening to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people.

Over 40 organisations and more than 100 individuals helped prepare the materials. Individuals and organisations using the training materials are encouraged to provide feedback - what works, what doesn't, how the materials have been adapted, and so on. They are also interested in feedback about the impact of using Ready Steady Change training course materials and tools.

According to the Children's Rights Alliance for England, "Participation is now a hot topic yet change is not happening quickly enough for children and young people. These comprehensive materials bring together messages from practice and research, and build on people's energy and enthusiasm for making change happen. They will increase the skills and knowledge of children and young people and adults, and make sure that the work we all do is underpinned by a real respect for and understanding of children's rights."

Children's Participation

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child gives all children (aged 17 and under) the right to be heard in all matters affecting them. Domestic law and guidance increasingly requires those working with children to listen to them and involve them in decision-making. Yet according to the project organisers, children and young people consistently report feeling left out and patronised. This set of tools aims to address this.