Young People's Board for Change

If you become a member of the YPBC, you will:

• be introduced to other YPBC members virtually and take part in lots of fun activities so that you can get to know each other and start working as a team
• come to monthly sessions and workshops with the rest of the YPBC, where you will share your views and ideas and shape the work of NSPCC! These meetings happen virtually on Zoom.
• train and develop lots of important skills like campaigning, public speaking and more
• share your views and what matters most to young people with key decision makers at the NSPCC, like our trustees and other staff
• work with our national and regional campaigns teams to campaign for change
• work with the rest of the YPBC to champion young people's views throughout the NSPCC. If you want to, this could involve sharing your views in the media or creating content for NSPCC and Childline social media channels.
• take action on topics that matter to you. This will involve meeting and working together in smaller groups, sometimes with other young people who are not on the board, so you can find out what their views are
• represent the YPBC at exciting events – this might involve travelling to different locations in the UK.

We ask YPBC members to be committed to:

• being part of the Board from April 2023 to April 2025
• attending all online and face-to-face meetings. Virtual meetings happen monthly via video call and we will also hold one face-to-face residential per year
• sharing your views and ideas, telling us what you think about what NSPCC is working on and what we could do better for children and young people
• working in a team of 14 other young people from across the UK
• listening to others and respecting their views if they're different to yours
• trying new things and taking part in new experiences, like getting to know new people and attending meetings with NSPCC decision-makers.

It doesn’t cost anything to join. We will cover the cost of travel, accommodation and other expenses, like food, when you come to any in-person events and meetings.

All of these details will be shared with you and your parent/carer before any meetings or events. If you need any tech equipment to take part in virtual meetings, for example a webcam or microphone, we can also support you to cover the costs of this. If there is anything you think may be a barrier to you applying or taking part, please get in touch.

Our current YPBC members have achieved loads over the past 2 years and had a big impact on the NSPCC! They have:

• helped us to develop a new service ‘Talk Relationships' to support sex and relationships education in secondary schools
• supported our ‘Wild West Web’ campaign to call on the government to make online spaces safe for young people. YPBC members have been to the Houses of Parliament and the Labour and Conservative party conferences to speak to politicians and call for change
• helped to make sure that Childline campaigns are authentic and resonate with young people. Some members have created social content for Childline on topics they care about, like: Pride, Black History Month, body image, and bullying
• worked with our fundraising team to help develop ideas for how NSPCC can run fundraising events in secondary schools
• marched with NSPCC at Pride events across the UK and shared what Pride means from a young person’s perspective with NSPCC staff and volunteers
• taken part in media opportunities to share a young person’s perspective, including sharing quotes to be used in newspaper articles, being interviewed by journalists, and appearing on shows including Sky FYI and Newsround.

Residentials are a really exciting opportunity to stay away from home in different parts of the UK, spend time with other YPBC members and take action. Each residential will happen over a weekend or school holiday and NSPCC will cover the costs so that you can attend for free. You will start your role on the YPBC virtually, so by the time we have the first residential you will already have got to know everyone in the group.

On a residential, you'll get to:

• do lots of activities and workshops to share your ideas and get to know each other better as a team
• take action on the topics that matter to you - this might involve working together in smaller groups and working with other young people who are not on the board to find out what their views are
• develop your confidence and learn important skills like campaigning, public speaking and more
• take part in fun activities in the evening, after a busy day of making change! We will let you have a say in what these activities are, but it could be things like going bowling, doing karaoke, having a movie night (with snacks), getting creative, or playing games.

The Participation team will have a chat with all YPBC members individually before an in-person residential, to make sure that you know what to expect and have all of the information and support that you need to feel confident taking part.

If you’re not sure who can complete your parent/carer consent form for you, or need help in getting it completed, just get in touch and we can support you with this.

We're looking for 13-16-year olds who:

• have an interest in improving the lives of children and young people
• are prepared to listen to others and respect their views
• are willing to work with other young people and contribute their ideas
• can attend all meetings and workshops (dates will be shared in advance).

What can young people get out of the experience?

As a member of our Young People’s Board for Change, they will get to:

• travel across the country to take part in residentials, meetings, consultations and workshops.
• have their views heard by other young people, NSPCC trustees, staff, politicians and decision-makers
• train and learn (while being supported) how to seek the views of other children and young people by using a variety of methods
• gain confidence in a range of new skills like campaigning and public speaking
• meet and work with young people from across the UK and have lots of fun!

Child protection

We are committed to the protection of children and young people, and to the creation of a working culture where children and young people are valued and safeguarded. That means that all our staff are expected to work our child protection policy and procedures. To create a safe environment for children and staff where poor practice is challenged, we make sure that all staff are:

• police-checked, and references are taken to verify staff suitability
• supervised and supported in their work
• work to our child protection procedures which are reviewed and updated as necessary
• trained in child protection at a level appropriate to their work situation
• able to raise concerns about poor or dangerous practice through the NSPCC’s child protection procedures and whistleblowing policy.

All our events are fully risk assessed. We also ensure that insurance details are obtained and verified for any external venues that we use.

Next steps and further information

If you think your child would like to join the YPBC, please go to the 'apply now' section, complete an application form and send it back to us by 23 January 2023. If you have any more questions, please contact Zazie Clarke: [email protected].