Supporting Youth Voice in Strategy and Decision-Making

Tuesday 12 January 2027, 10:00–16:00 (with a one-hour lunch break) | Online via Zoom | £149 per person

A practical one-day course for people who want to support young people to influence strategy, policy, services, programmes or wider decision-making.

Young people are often asked for their views after decisions have already started to take shape. They may be consulted on plans, invited to comment on proposals or asked to share their experiences, but without a clear route for their views to influence what happens next.

This course supports participants to think more carefully about how young people can be involved in decision-making in ways that are accessible, transparent and worthwhile. It is particularly relevant for organisations, partnerships and services that want young people’s views to inform strategy, local cultural provision, youth programmes, funding priorities, policy work or wider systems change.

Participants will explore how to prepare young people for decision-making and policy conversations, explain what is open to influence, choose appropriate engagement methods and communicate clearly about how decisions are made. The course will also consider how young people can contribute at different points in a decision-making process, from identifying issues and sharing lived experience to shaping options, informing delivery and contributing to evaluation.

The day will also consider the practical responsibilities that sit around this work, including expectation-setting, consent, accessibility, recognition, feedback, accountability and relevant safeguarding considerations. Participants will have opportunities to apply the learning to their own context and begin shaping an approach to youth voice in strategy and decision-making.

This course will cover:

• what strategy, policy and decision-making can mean in practical terms
• how decisions affect young people’s lives, opportunities and access to services
• where young people can meaningfully influence decisions
• how to prepare young people for decision-making conversations
• how to explain scope, limits and what is genuinely open to influence
• different methods for engaging young people in strategic or policy-facing work
• how young people can contribute at different stages of a decision-making process
• how to build in safeguarding, consent, accessibility and recognition
• how to communicate what happened next and close the feedback loop
• how to make youth voice work more transparent and accountable

Ideal for:

This course is ideal for people working where youth voice links to strategy, policy, planning or wider decision-making, including:

• local authority culture teams
• cultural education partnerships
• youth voice and participation teams
• strategic leads in arts, heritage and cultural organisations
• organisations developing youth strategies
• teams consulting young people on local cultural provision
• organisations working with funders, councils or policy-makers
• youth boards or advisory panels linked to decision-making
• programme leads working on systems change
• people supporting young people to influence policy, strategy or services

It is particularly useful for anyone asking:

How can we help young people understand and influence decisions that affect them, rather than asking for their views after decisions have already been shaped?

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• explain how strategy, policy and decision-making can affect young people’s lives
• identify where young people can influence planning, services, programmes or wider decisions
• understand different stages of a decision-making process and where youth voice can be included
• choose appropriate methods for engaging young people in strategic or policy-facing work
• plan more inclusive, accessible and transparent participation activity
• build expectation-setting, feedback and influence into decision-making processes
• begin developing a youth voice approach for your own strategic, policy or decision-making context

Taking this course as part of the wider Youth Voice suite

This course can be taken as a standalone CPD day if your work already connects to strategy, policy, local decision-making, youth boards, advisory groups, cultural planning, funding priorities or wider systems change.

It can also be combined with the other courses in the Youth Voice suite. You may wish to take Managing Meaningful Youth Voice Projects first if you want a practical foundation for planning youth voice activity. You may wish to take Youth Voice Beyond Tokenism: Participation, Power and Co-production if you want to look more deeply at shared decision-making, adult power and the difference between consultation, collaboration and co-production.

Taken together, the three courses support a progression from planning meaningful youth voice activity, to sharing power more intentionally, to helping young people influence decisions that affect their lives.

Course Cost: £149 per person

When: Tuesday 12 January 2027, 10.00am-4.00pm - Online via Zoom

Career Development Support:

We understand that funding training opportunities can be challenging, especially during defining moments in your life or career.

At Artswork, we believe in investing in the future of our sector, and we want to support those who are passionate about safeguarding and cultural development. That’s why we offer our Career Development Support pricing.

We have reserved three places on each course at a 25% discount for individuals who could use a little extra financial support. If you feel this applies to you, please contact us at [email protected] to explain your situation and receive the next steps.

All of our training courses are delivered using Zoom.

If you require further information or would like to discuss your needs in advance of the session, please contact us at [email protected]

Can this training be delivered specifically for our organisation?

Yes! All of our training courses can be delivered either online or in person at a time and date that works best for your team. We’re happy to adapt the content to ensure it aligns with your organisation’s needs and priorities.

If you’d like to learn more or discuss your requirements, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

*Read our course terms and conditions here.Important Notice:

Please note that any discounts must be applied at the checkout. They cannot be redeemed retrospectively once the transaction is complete.