Amplifying children and young people’s voices and experiences

Our 2024-27 Strategy places children and young people’s voices and lived experiences at the heart of everything we do. Here are a few recent examples: 

• This year, we supported young people to call on the new Prime Minister to be a champion for babies, children, and young people, and to put them at the heart of Government as part of the Children at the Table campaign alongside Action for Children, National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, and The Children’s Society. 

• Young people have been front and centre in the development of our new Strategy and brand – including participating in our initial research and co-creating parts of our new brand. 

• Young people are involved in recruiting new colleagues at all levels, from project workers to the most senior roles like the recruitment of our CEO, Lynn Perry. 

How we’re supporting young people to shape their future

Across all our work, we create opportunities for young people to help shape their future.  

Our B-Amplified Network is a group of young people from across the UK who currently get support from, or have previously been supported, by our services. They’ve volunteered to get more involved in shaping our work, which includes taking part in our national policy influencing work, supporting our fundraising, and engaging with our senior leaders and trustees on what they want to see from our work. 

As part of our B-Amplified Network, our SEEN Ambassadors are a group of young people who are committed to creating systemic change across the UK. Their projects focus on challenging structural inequalities that get in the way of a fair future for children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage. 

Also part of our B-Amplified Network is our NHS Youth Forum and NHS Youth Advisory Network. These are platforms for young people to share their views and experiences to make change within NHS England and wider health services. The NHS Youth Forum is made up of 25 young people who work on specific health-related projects in the NHS, while the NHS Youth Advisory Network is made up of about 150 young people across England who engage with NHS teams on specific areas they’re working on. 

We’re also working alongside our partners to create opportunities for young people to have a voice and influence over their decision-making. 

Our Co-op Youth Advisory Group, which is made up of 12 young people aged 16-25, is informing, shaping and influencing all aspects of our partnership with Co-op – from designing digital content and new services in their communities, to fundraising and influencing government policy. 

Our Child Health Equity Collaborative is made up of 10 Health Equity Champions who influence our work to address health inequalities among children and young people. The Collaborative is a partnership between Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute of Health Equity and three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) - Birmingham and Solihull, Cheshire and Merseyside, and South Yorkshire - to shape the way ICSs create health and address health inequalities among children and young people.  

You can find out more about our approach and goals for our voice and influence work by checking out our Voice and Influence Approach and Framework.