Young Voices Influencing Care members work together to affect meaningful change across the local authority. Through activities and projects, they inspire professionals and everyone with corporate parenting responsibilities to consider their services through the lens of the child.
Young Voices Influencing Care use their influence to implement meaningful change. They ensure the voices of children are represented within the services they receive.
An example is ‘The Cards You’re Dealt’. Our young people were determined to create a game that would allow professionals to experience scenarios from the point of view of the child. This would inspire group discussion and create an engaging forum for impactful learning.
‘The Cards You’re Dealt’ invites adults into the child’s world to confront a series of challenging scenarios. Over an 18 month period, Young Voices Influencing Care drew upon their own experiences and those of their peers to inspire the scenarios presented on the cards. During each game, there are 46 dilemmas drawn from real life to bring the voice of the child into the room.
Although devised, designed, and created by Young Voices Influencing Care, this is not a game for young people. It is a tool used to lend their voices to the development of informed, empathetic professionals. This game challenges professionals to reflect on their own practice for areas of improvement. It also allows them to celebrate the areas in which they are achieving success.
If you would like to use the game within your own area, you can download a full set of cards in a printable format, along with full instructions and a young person introduction to be read ahead of starting the game.
Due to the success of The Cards You’re Dealt, YVIC were asked by the ‘Research in Practice’ team to contribute a blog post about the design of the game. Research in Practice work with and for professionals in the social care, health, criminal justice and higher education sectors offering resources, learning opportunities and specialist expertise. Along with the post, the game has also been made available for other professionals and organisations to download and use for the benefit of their young people.