Introduction

The importance of enabling vulnerable children and young people to participate in decisions which affect them cannot be underestimated. Research has shown that participation acts as a protective factor for this group and increases feelings of confidence, self-efficiency and self-worth (Dickens et al, 2015). It is hard to disagree with the view expressed by Schofield and Thoburn (1996) on this subject:

Promoting effective and meaningful participation for young people and parents should be at the core of social work practice; much turns on the quality of the relationship between the SW and the child, especially since the child is wholly reliant on professionals to provide the opportunity for participation (Cossar et al, 2011). Previous research into young people's views of IROs and reviews (for example, Jelicic et al, 2014; Roesch-Marsh et al, 2016) adds weight to this argument.

This chapter focuses on what children and young people in care have identified as being important to them in terms of their participation in the CiC review process, what the potential barriers might be and where we might go next to improve the opportunities of children and young people to participate in decisions made about their own lives. Consideration will be given to a range of research relating to this crucial issue while focusing on two studies I was directly involved with and which specifically asked these questions. These studies gathered the views of a total of 35 children and young people aged 8–17 years, all of whom were ‘in care’ of two LAs in the years 2014 and 2018. Pseudonyms have been used for the young participants throughout.

Our initial exploration of these issues involved research interviews with 25 young people between the ages of 8 and 17 in Local Authority One and it highlighted a number of key issues.