Professional Training

What We Offer

After 10 years in the field, Participation People know that empowering and inspiring people and organisations is what drives positive social change. We want to help you be playful in practice, and serious about solutions!

Our training sessions are here to give you the tools you need to see the impact #YouthVoice can have on the people you work with and for. All sessions can be tailored to your needs and delivered to your team or organisation directly.

Covid-19 Update

To assist us in continuing to deliver our training sessions during the current pandemic, we are now offering the following #YouthVoice training sessions online via Zoom:

#YouthVoice – the Why

#YouthVoice – the How

#YouthVoice – Moving forward

Youth Voice Pioneers

Our #YVP’s are a group of young people from across the UK with different experiences of statutory and voluntary services. They’re here to help you improve services through #YouthVoice. YVP’s are trained and supported by Participation People to deliver these workshops with us – youth empowerment in action!

#YouthVoice – the Why

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

Find out why you and your organisation should listen to, value and act on young people’s views, and what’s in it for you, for young people and for the community. You will leave this sessions with solutions to problems or concerns, inspired to take action and understand how being playful in your practice can have a huge impact!

  • Create a definition of, and an understanding of theories and different approaches to #YouthVoice
  • Understand WHY #YouthVoice is so important and the IMPACT it can have
  • Identify the barriers to #YouthVoice across sectors and experiences
  • Begin to develop a business case for #YouthVoice within your organisation
  • Establish the benefits of #YouthVoice for organisations, individuals and communities
  • Identify potential barriers and create solutions
  • Begin your #YouthVoice Business Case
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources, ideas, and ongoing support

#YouthVoice - the How

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

In this session you’ll learn how your organisation can integrate #YouthVoice within its working practices. You will leave this session feeling confident both in your knowledge and practical skills around #YouthVoice, and you will be inspired to act and put things into practice as a result of this training. This session is for anyone who has completed “the WHY” training session and wants to build on their skills and develop their practice.

  • Recap theories and approaches to #YOUTHVOICE (covered in the ‘WHY’ session)
  • Gain NEW and PRACTICAL approaches to youth participation
  • REFLECT on own practice and set practical ACTIONS for change
  • Reminder of approaches to participation and different approaches organisations can take to participation
  • Practice idea generation and project planning tools and activities
  • Participants leave the training with actions they can take to make positive changes in their organisation/team
  • Develop your #YouthVoice Business Case
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources including our guide to creating a Youth Forum

#YouthVoice - moving forward

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

Learn how to evidence your #YouthVoice outcomes and impact for your projects, including youth-led methods. Develop skills in creating long term and sustainable engagement with young people, leading to more impact overall. You will leave feeling self-sufficient, and curious to develop your #YouthVoice practice – you will be inspired to continue putting this work into action!

  • Ability to evidence the ‘impact’ of #YouthVoice
  • Understanding of the VALUE and IMPACT of long term youth voice engagement
  • Develop #YouthVoice projects to ensure longevity and sustainability.
  • Discussion of ideas and examples
  • Analysis of case studies of #YouthVoice projects
  • Practical ideas are taken forward to create sustainable and long term engagement with young people
  • Completion of your #YouthVoice Business Case
  • Ideas and plans for implementing sustainable and long term engagement with young people.
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources including our guide to creating Youth Led Change

Future & youth proof your organisation with the experts

Part 1: Youth proof your organisation

One Organisation or Team

3 Hours

PP Team & YVP

This training designed to be run exclusively for an organisation or team, enabling you to learn TOGETHER how investing in #YouthVoice can youth proof you for the future. From small changes and adaptations to huge restructures and reviews, we support you to ensure #YouthVoice is effectively embedded! This session is designed to lead onto the ‘Future Proof’ session which is co-lead with young people. Both sessions can be run together to make a 6 hour workshop for the team/organisation if that is the best mode of delivery.

  • UNDERSTAND what #YouthVoice is in context with the work of the organisation/team
  • Clearly identify the positive IMPACT investing in #YouthVoice can have
  • Find SOLUTIONS and NEW APPROACHES to #YouthVoice
  • Agree a definition of what #YouthVoice means to your team and organisation.
  • Identify what could happen if investment does/doesn’t happen when involving young people in service improvement.
  • Establish solutions to the top 6 identified priorities for decision makers and young people
  • Support from Participation People in enabling organisations/teams to identify how their specific workplace can embed #YouthVoice within their working practices.
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources including our Youth Proof Charter
Part 2: Future proof your organisation

One Organisation or Team

3 Hours

PP Team

Young people lead this course, training adults on what it’s like growing up today; informing them on how to engage with young people and helping them find creative solutions to common business challenges. The workshop involves young people will include reviewing organisational structures and so teams need to come with an OPEN MIND and be ready to LEARN! This session works best following the ‘Youth Proof’ session above.

  • UNDERSTAND the perspectives of young people and their experiences of life today
  • Identify where #YouthVoice is MISSING and how this can be changed
  • Better ENGAGEMENT with young people, working with them to embed #YouthVoice SUSTAINABLY.
  • Young people help the team/organisation understand what it’s like to grow up in the UK today
  • Young people support team/organisation to review their organisation structure and identify #YouthVoice gaps
  • Young people support team/organisation to find solutions and create project plans to fill the #YouthVoice gaps identified in the session
  • Support from young people to find solutions and make a positive change as a organisation or team
  • Perspectives and recommendations directly from young people to help make your organisation more ‘youth-friendly’
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance including our solutions to common social media problems

A day in the life of a young person in care

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team & YVP

Understand directly from young people what it’s like being a young people in care in YOUR community. We have 3 versions of this training; one for corporate parents, one for professionals who work with young people, and one for foster carers. This session is facilitated by young people who have experience of the care system, so profesionals can learn from their experiences directly during the session – a truly uniqe training experience!

  • Understand what it’s like to be a child in care directly from a care experienced young person
  • Understand what YOU can do to make the experiences of young people in care more positive
  • Learn directly from the young people how to effectively build relationships and provide support
  • Use of own experiences to help relate to the experiences of those in care
  • Create pledges following the session
  • Take part in a range of activities focusing on how to communicate effectively
  • Ability to relate own experience to those of a young person living in care
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance

Using digital tools to engage with young people

Part 1: Introduction

Multi-Agency

3 Hours

PP Team

Learn how to make your social media participatory and youth focused! During the session we look at the basics of various social media platforms, advantages and disadvantages of using them, and start to think about how and why there is risk involved. This training sets the scene and helps you build confidence with your social media skills. Following this course, attendees should complete the ‘in practice’ session to build on this knowledge and put the new skills into practice.

  • Get to grips with the BASICS of social media platforms and how to use them
  • Understand the advantages and disadvantages of social media, and why it’s essential when working with young people
  • Know how and why social media can go wrong, and start to think about ways to avoid this
  • Each platform is discussed in terms of when it would be appropriate and inappropriate to use it
  • Social media is discussed from both perspectives
  • Case studies are reviewed, social media stats are shared, solutions to various problems are found
  • Working knowledge of social media platforms and how to use them to engage with young people
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance
Part 2: In Practice

Multi-Agency

3 Hours

PP Team & YVP

Build on your knowledge developed in the introduction session and put social media skills into practice with the support of young people. We also consider potential risks and concerns when it comes to using social media with young people, and create practical solutions to common problems.

  • Feel CONFIDENT when using social media platforms
  • Practice and test drive your new social media skills with young people
  • Understand the social media risks and how they can be best avoided
  • Completing the introduction course, and knowing the pros and cons of using each available platform
  • Creating social media content for the most popular platforms
  • Group discussions on the risks/concerns involved, and how to mitigate or deal with these issues if they happen
  • Guidance directly from young people on how to engage with them on social media platforms
  • Free access to our Youth Voice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance including our solutions to common social media problems

How to be playful in practice and serious about solutions

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

This training will help you master your creativity and problem solving skills. You will leave with a toolbox of games, ideas and activities to help you talk about difficult topics with young people and your teams that can be used in your day to day role.

  • Understand how changes to practice and approaches can help develop PLAYFUL participation with POSITIVE OUTCOMES
  • Develop a #YOUTHVOICE TOOLBOX of games, ideas and activities
  • Practice your TOOLBOX – get practical experience, advice and support from the group
  • Review and discussion on Participation People TOP TIPS for playful participation
  • Explanation of activities with supporting worksheets
  • Participation in activities to understand how they work and can be facilitated
  • A proven range of results-driven Participation People activities and games along with templates for you to take away and adapt
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources.
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance including our solutions to common social media problems

Train the #YouthVoice trainer

Multi-Agency

Full Day

PP Team

For those who have completed our three #YouthVoice sessions and want to take their understanding and practice to the next level… become a #YouthVoice TRAINER! Learn how to support others in your team or organisation to embed all that you now know about #YouthVoice and facilitation. We focus on problem solving, supporting practitioners to develop an inclusive and youth-friendly approach to finding solutions. We create a network of #YouthVoice trainers, so they can support each other, reflect on problems or progress, and see change happening as a collective.

  • Consolidate a COMPREHENSIVE understanding of #YOUTHVOICE and EFFECTIVE facilitation
  • Feel CONFIDENT advocating for #YOUTHVOICE
  • Feel able to SUPPORT your colleagues, team and organisation to EMBED all the #YOUTHVOICE knowledge and skills you’ve developed so far!
  • Recap all three #YouthVoice training sessions so far
  • Reflection sessions following all activities to understand the ‘WHY’ and the ‘WHAT’
  • Defining the role and discussing methods and approaches including problem solving
  • Full pack of Participation People templates to assist with development of organisational #YouthVoice documents and resources
  • A supportive network of #YouthVoice trainers to support each other through their practice, including a Facebook group managed by Participation People
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources

How #YouthVoice can inform service design and organisational change

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team & YVP

Understand how to translate the feedback you receive from young people into realistic and sustainable organisational change and positive service redesign. We know creating services WITH users results in better outcomes all round so this training can get you on the right path to achieving this goal.

  • Understand WHY young people SHOULD be involved in service design and organisational change
  • Know WHERE and HOW your services and organisation can benefit from young people’s input
  • Leave with tools that can be used when working with young people to collect feedback in different ways
  • Discussion on the benefits as a group, and will have identified barriers and solutions to these barriers.
  • Review and reflection on organisational structures and decision making processes to identify how change can be possible
  • Review of various feedback methods and how these can be applied, identifying pros and cons and comparing their application and practicality
  • Structured approach to gaining feedback from young people and using this to inform  organisational change and service design
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance

How #YouthVoice can support staff selection, induction and appraisals

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

Understand the benefits of involving service users – parents, adults, children and young people – in the HR process of recruiting, inducting and appraising staff. We look at easy to embed tools and approaches so action can be taken quickly and effectively as a result of the training.

  • Understand WHY participation and #YOUTHVOICE is important and how it could help effective recruitment
  • Review different ways of involving #YOUTHVOICE in recruitment and how these can be adapted for your work
  • Leave with tangible ways to incorporate participation at different stages of your recruitment cycle
  • Discuss the positives AND negatives, and consider where there could be challenges to overcome
  • Understand 3 participation theories (Hart, Shier, Lundy) and review case studies of good and bad participation
  • Discuss different participation tools and where they can be incorporated throughout the full recruitment process
  • Informed approach to the inclusion of service users in the HR process of recruiting, inducting and appraising staff
  • Free access to our #YouthVoice Pioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance including recruitment top tips·      

How #YouthVoice can support commissioning, contract management and inspections

Multi-Agency

Half a Day

PP Team

We help you to understand the benefits of involving service users – parents, adults, children and young people – in the full commissioning process, including contract management and inspections of contracts. We look at easy to embed tools and approaches so action can be taken quickly and effectively as a result of the training.

  • Understand WHY you should involve service users in the FULL commissioning cycle and the benefits this can have
  • Review your commissioning cycle and identify where #YOUTHVOICE can have an impact
  • Learn the tools to embed #YOUTHVOICE in your commissioning cycle going forward
  • Discuss the positives AND negatives, and consider where there could be challenges to overcome
  • Commissioning cycle is reviewed and discussed in relation to participation models, particularly the Lundy model
  • Discuss different participation tools create plans for imbedding them in different commissioning cycles
  • Informed approach to the inclusion of service users in the full commissioning process
  • Free access to our #Youth VoicePioneers podcast series and #YVP Hints & Tips resources
  • Future access to Participation People resources and guidance