Making Meetings Better

A group of looked after young people and care leavers, supported by Aberdeenshire’s Children’s Rights Service, has produced a Guide to Meetings. The Guide is written by young people for the adults who come along to their meetings, to tell them what would help children and young people to take part more fully in meetings about them and what the adults can do to support them.

The young authors, aged between 15 and 19, are members of the Young People’s Organising and Campaigning (YPOC) Group. They have drawn on their own experiences of meetings and the experiences of other looked after young people to produce the Guide.

Caitlin, one of the YPOC Group, said

We realised that when you are looked after, you have to go to loads of meeting, and every meeting you go to could dramatically change things in your life. We decided we wanted to do something to help the adults involved make meetings better for us so that we can really take part.

Jamie, who has been a group member since the beginning, said,

We sent out questionnaires to every looked after and accommodated young person over 8 and we got 54 replies. They told us what they thought helped them at meetings and what would make meetings better. We used all that information and our own experiences to put together this Guide.

Dale, another long-standing group member, added

We hope that the adults who come to our meetings will use this Guide to make meetings better for all children and young people.

Anne Robertson, leader of the Council, introduced the Guide at its launch

I am delighted to be involved in the launch of the Guide and I commend the hard work and commitment of the young people in the YPOC Group in producing this Guide. It is uplifting to see young people who are or have themselves been looked after, working hard to make things better for other looked after children.

Download the Guide to Meetings booklet:

• Guide to Meetings (pdf 466kb)