ABSTRACT

PULSE is a group of young people (aged 12-22 years) who believe that ‘children and young people’s views about health and wellbeing are important and should be gathered, listened to and acted upon’ (PULSE 2013, p. 2). In both the case studies above, that is precisely what happened. Not only were the children and young people* asked for their opinions and views but also they were very clear as to the outcomes of their participation. Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a drive towards involving children and young people in the development and delivery of services. At no other time in our history has there been so much focus on enabling children and young people to participate in the lives of their communities and the evidence points to a growing recognition of their specific value within society (Department for Education [DfE] 2010; Ahmed et al. 2011; Blades et al. 2013).