The Centre

for Children and Young People’s Participation
promoting and researching participation, inclusion and empowerment

The Centre is a forum for shared thinking – Promoting seminars, workshops, conferences, publications – Planning a programme of research – Building links between academics, policy makers and practitioners – Developing international links.

Our themes include: Children and young people’s participation in decision-making; Children and young people’s inclusion (in relation to ethnicity, poverty, disability and ill-health, care, etc); Migration and child refugees; Children’s rights and citizenship.

Children and young people are involved in every part of the process – managing The Centre, planning the research programme, and carrying out research. We hold regular meetings where adults and young people work together to plan the work of The Centre and design research projects.

We are working directly with Lancashire Children’s Rights Service, Lancashire Youth Council, Preston Youth Council and Ribble Valley Youth Council. We also have links with Save the Children UK, EveryChild, UNICEF, The Children’s Society, Barnardos, Mencap, PWN-NW and CROA.

We have been commissioned to do research with children and young people for the Children’s Workforce Development Council, Lancashire Young People’s Service, and the Children’s Champion. We have three funded research students working on aspects of children and young people’s participation.