Giving power to young people through youth engagement

Good youth engagement means giving young people power. It creates opportunities for them to build skills and confidence, and it means supporting them to take the lead in decision-making. It works best with experienced youth workers who take time to build trust and who create safe, inclusive spaces where young people’s views are respected.

You’ll need DBS checks for staff and volunteers, safeguarding training, and a risk assessment for each activity. You’ll also need clear procedures for working with young people online and for handling confidential disclosures, plus GDPR-compliant data protection. Finally, you’ll need public liability and employers’ liability insurance.

This community action plan from Local Trust covers how to give young people real power through youth engagement. It starts with the safety essentials and recruitment, then moves on to building trust, co-designing projects and celebrating what young people achieve. It focuses on creative approaches, but most of the tips apply to any work with young people.

It draws on the experience of Layba and Serena, young volunteers from Heston West Big Local in West London, whose work continues through C-Change. It includes two spotlights: Heston West’s Youth Film Club, and PRIMEdesign, a skateboarding project in Plymouth run by Take A Part and Prime Skatepark.

This guide will be useful to community organisations, youth workers, volunteers and resident groups who want young people to shape decisions and lead projects, not just take part.

• What good youth engagement looks like
• Advice from young people on creating safe, welcoming spaces
• Safeguarding, DBS checks, online safety, insurance and data protection
• Inviting and recruiting young people through local networks
• Creative ways to research local ideas together
• Working in partnership with schools, youth groups and others
• Creating group agreements to build boundaries and trust
• Using a strengths-based approach to learning
• Co-designing projects with young people
• Evaluating together and what to do when things go wrong
• Celebrating achievements through awards schemes
• And much more, including links to further guidance