All young people have a right to hear back from us
Young people involved in the social care system are asked to share their views far more often than they are told what’s happening. It’s far easier to ‘listen’ then to be organised (and humble!) enough to:
- get back in touch
- check you got it right
- tell young people what you’re doing next
We start with the assumption that all young people have a right to hear back from us about what we learnt, and what we are doing about it. They deserve a chance to validate, question or add to our findings - and to know how we’re going to act on those findings and push for change.
It's important to strike a balance: to say enough to ensure we’re genuinely sharing what we’ve heard but not overwhelm young people with details, or give them a sense that the scope of challenges is too big to tackle.
You said, we heard
We've developed a short template booklet, You said, we heard , with guidance on the length, level of detail and structure for simple but effective feedback. This helps make it easier to hit the right level in our feedback, and to prepare for feedback swiftly and efficiently once our analysis is done.
Of course, format is only a starting point. It’s also critical when working with young people, particularly those who may have been exposed to trauma, to screen any feedback material for anything that may be traumatising or harmful.
For example, we’re careful to ensure that our feedback materials don’t only focus on downsides and problems; we refer to the main challenges raised, but also cover opportunity areas and strengths.