Voice of the child

Children are at the heart of Polaris. Therefore, every effort is made to ensure that the voices of all the children and young people who we provide a service to are listened to.

In 2020, our new name Polaris was launched. The children and young people within our community were pivotal in choosing our name evidencing that children really are at the centre of Polaris.

We have a huge team of dedicated workers across all our services who work tirelessly to make sure that children have a voice and are listened to. Through their innovative work, children are able to have fun, be heard and shape the services that care for them.

Across Polaris, there is diversity across our services about how we capture the voice of our children. Some examples include; ensuring access to advocates, making sure that children are able to, and do, contribute to their reviews and risk assessments and that they are able to provide feedback on the service and support they receive. Children can often be found on our recruitment panels too!

Many of our services, use a ‘You said, We did’ format to clearly evidence to children and young people how their opinions have shaped the service they are receiving care from.

For example:

You Said We Did

You Said We Did

A young person said they would like there to be help with creating CVs and finding jobs

50% of young people said they do not read the young person’s newsletter. Some of your reasons for this was because it is only electronic.

We have created a CV workshop where young people can be supported in making a great CV

We started printing the newsletter. It is posted out to all young people’s address every month so everyone has access to it.

As a community we have pledged to consider the impact that language has on children and young people and pledge to challenge each other and ourselves when we may use words that describe children and young people in negative or stereotypical ways.

In 2022, we launched Language That Cares. This ensures that in our conversations and the way we write documents, we are mindful of SPEAKING and understanding the lived experience of individuality of the child/ young person.

Recently, one of our young people (17 years old) voiced in his review that he would like his girlfriend to stay over at his residential home. Working collaboratively with other partners, the home were able to gain consent for this to take place. This is a real example of breaking down barriers and making a child’s wish a reality.

At ISP School Battle, thrice-daily community meetings take place to make sure key information is shared with all children. Pupils often enjoy the responsibility of chairing these communal gatherings themselves. Older pupils see this as a part of their own contribution to building a community where expectations are high and successes are celebrated.

ISP Battle have recently been awarded the Investing in Children Award which gives the school national recognition for actively including children and young people in dialogue that results in change. This process involved external practitioners talking with the children, hearing directly from them about how they have a voice and how they contribute to changes in the school.

As a community, it is important for us to also recognise and listen to the voices of birth children.

That’s why, in October 2022, we celebrated Children

Who Foster Appreciation month. This is an annual campaign to celebrate the vital contribution the children of foster parents make to foster care.

We recognise and reward children and young people for the important role they play in their home, making children in care feel happier, welcome, safer and more loved. During this month, we took the opportunity to share some of the stories of birth children across Polaris to ensure that their voices are also heard.