Minister Zappone launches Our Voices Our Schools online resource to improve participation of young people in decision-making in the school system

• Our Voices Our Schools is an online toolkit for schools to improve student voice
• the toolkit is for school management and teaching staff and seeks to improve the participation of young people in decision-making in the school system
• the toolkit is based on the Lundy Model which provides a way of conceptualising a child's right to participation, as laid down in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Following two years of work, the Comhairle na nÓg National Executive today launched their toolkit Our Voices Our Schools at Collins Barracks.

Our Voices Our Schools was created as a result of young people around the country expressing a feeling that there was inequality in their school. Responding to these concerns the National Executive developed this online resource for schools, furthering opportunities for all students to have their voices heard and included in decision-making in school.

Our Voices Our Schools is for school management and teaching staff and seeks to improve the participation of young people in decision-making in the school system.

The guidelines will create an effective partnership between the student body, teachers and school management by providing equal opportunity for individual, collective and representative student voices to be heard and recognised.

The online resource is based on the Lundy Model of participation in line with the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making 2015 -2020.

The toolkit includes worksheets, reflective exercises, peer-assessment tools, resources to develop surveys and research articles to assist principals, teachers and young people themselves in improving the participation of young people in schools.

Minister Zappone officially launched Our Voices Our Schools to an audience of young people and adults from secondary schools and educational stakeholders. Videos of how schools have implemented this project and the impact it has had were shown and participants workshopped the toolkit.

The Minister shared her excitement about the potential of the online resource created by the young people, stating:

The online resource can be found at www.ourvoicesourschools.ie.

ENDS

Comhairle na nÓg

Comhairle na nÓg (www.comhairlenanog.ie) are child and youth councils, located in the 31 local authority areas around the country. They provide children and young people a voice in the development of local services and policies. They are the recognised national structure for participation by children and young people in local decision-making, supported by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA).

The Comhairle na nÓg enables the voices of young people to be heard in two ways: working on topics of importance to young people; and acting as a consultative forum for adult decision-makers in the locality.

Comhairle na nÓg are supported by the DCYA Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund. Local authorities also provide funding and resources for Comhairle na nÓg, as well as other organisations at local level. The DCYA also funds three regional Participation Officers, who provide advice, resources and training to all 31 Comhairle na nÓg Co-ordinators.

Comhairle na nÓg National Executive

One representative from each Comhairle na nÓg is elected to the Comhairle na nÓg National Executive (formerly the Dáil na nÓg Council), which follows up on the recommendations from the Dáil and tries to make changes for young people in those areas.

The National Executive, which has a term of office of two years, meets once a month and is facilitated and supported by the DCYA, who ensure that they get the opportunity to engage with appropriate Ministers, policy-makers, Oireachtas Committees and other decision-makers to:

• identify key areas of work from the top three recommendations agreed at Dáil na nÓg
• conduct research into the issues identified
• meet with relevant Ministers, TDs, government officials, policy makers and other stakeholders to seek their support in making changes for young people on the issues identified
• feed back to their Comhairle na nÓg on the work of the Council
• represent Comhairle na nÓg at conferences and other events

The Comhairle na nÓg National Executive is named as a mechanism for engagement by children and young people in the implementation structures for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014-2020 and in the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making (2015-2020).