Seen, Heard, Included

As part of our work to advocate and influence public policy to better the lives of people with Down’s syndrome living in Scotland we are part the Disabled Children and Young People Advisory Group (DCYPAG). Since the end of 2022, we have been part of a DCYPAG sub-group set up to explore tools and methodologies to support the meaningful engagement and participation of children and young people whose needs are complex and whose voices are rarely heard and share learning on these approaches.

The aim of this sub-group is to capture what matters to children and young people and their families within the context of effective planning and effective support, and to contribute to the design and development of the National Care Service and the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy.

Funded by the Scottish Government we came together with the ALLIANCE, Contact, Family Fund and PAMIS to carry out engagement activities and work on a report showcasing our findings.  This learning report and resources including a film featuring young people from our TeenZ Space programme has now launched.

The sub-group plans to continue work with the Scottish Government to consider wider dissemination of the findings of this report, to shine a light on good practice and appropriate ways to engage with children, young people and families in co-designing policy. We want to work together with our wider networks to act as advocates on their behalf in highlighting what works and what can be done better.

Watch our film below: