Practice Standards in Children’s Participation

What are practice standards?

Practice standards are statements that describe an expected level of performance. These practice standards state what children and others can expect of Save the Children’s practice in child participation. They are designed to apply to all Save the Children’s child participation work and represent minimum expectations of the ways in which staff will behave and operate.

These practice standards have been developed through years of experience supporting children’s participation at both the local and global levels. This final set of standards is based on feedback and consultations with Save the Children staff, partner organisations and children in various countries and community settings.

Why practice standards?

The primary purpose of these practice standards is to ensure consistent, high quality child participation practice throughout Save the Children’s programmes. They aim to provide a framework that gives guidance and direction first and foremost to field staff in continuously improving their participatory practice. They are also intended for sharing with partners and others as the basis for dialogue about ways to ensure meaningful children’s participation.

The standards can be used to:

• assist Save the Children staff in assessing their practice in child participation and identifying areas of improvement
• inform training and other approaches to competency that ensures that staff working with children have the attitudes, skills and confidence required to deliver the practice standards
• provide a basis for accountability and challenge if practice falls below a certain standard
• review and evaluate current practice and identify goals for the future
• establish a safe and meaningful environment for the participation of children and minimise the risk to children from involvement in participatory practice
• share Save the Children’s understanding of meaningful children’s participation with children’s organisations and other partners.