Involving Children and Young People in Evaluation

This resource is designed to be used with children from 8 to 12 years of age aiming to introduce them to some ideas about evaluation and providing an opportunity for them to practise some of the skills needed for evaluation activities. It includes detailed instructions and tips for planning the sessions and also provides resources for implementing them.

Excerpt

"Involving children and young people in evaluating the Services they use is one of the best ways of finding out if the service is really making a difference to them. They will have a unique view about the service or project. They will know what works and what doesn’t, and what could be improved or done differently. Their ‘insider’s view’ may highlight unexpected outcomes and identify barriers to using or making the most of a service. The materials in this section aim to help a group of children and young people experience and practise some skills that can help with evaluation."

Contents

• Session One
  • Introductory Activities 5
    • Activity One – crazy lists 6
    • Activity Two – showing respect 7
• Session Two
  • The Investigators 8
    • Activity One – a simple survey 9
    • Activity Two – asking tricky questions 10
    • Activity Three – being reporters 11
    • Activity Four – being presenters 12
• Session Three
  • Jars of Importance
    • Activity One – jars ofImportance 13
• Appendix
  • Evaluation Further Information 15–18