Children Can Do

Grants for Children and Children's Groups

Thursday 1 May 2008

Whilst government institutions are promoting the engagement and participation of Children and Young People (CYP) in mainstream decision making processes along with neighbourhoods having control of their own ‘community kitties’.

The gap between the rhetoric, and the reality of what is actually happening on the ground is very evident especially concerning the engagement of CYP in participatory budgeting processes. This study was carried out to look at what the principles for engaging CYP in such processes are, learning from the experiences of the Children Can Do model which has been implemented over the past 5 years in Brighton and Hove.

We have produced a DVD which captures the highlights of these experiences with recommendations being put forward in this report. This study highlighted the importance of providing independent, fully resourced, facilitation of these processes as well as the difficulties of engaging appropriate adult support and supervision, especially within marginalised communities. The challenges that lie ahead are how to ensure that CYP can influence mainstream budgets in a meaningful way that allows those usually excluded from such processes to get their voices heard.

To find out more please watch the video attached via the link below

http://www.silverboxfilms.co.uk/Scarman%20trust%20page.html

Or read the report created by the Novas Scarman Group

Engaging Young People - Can Do Children (42 KB)