The Recruitment and Selection process within South Gloucestershire Council consists of several stages at which any point children and young people can become involved.
These webpages aim to provided information for managers and interview panel chairs on:
- how to go about involving young people in their recruitment and selection process
- the benefits to staff, candidates and young people
- the national guidance and initiatives that support and drive this process
Although this initiative is being lead by South Gloucestershire Council it is recommended that the key principles are adopted by other agencies and partners across the Children’s Workforce.
Whilst this initiative has had involvement from members of the Participation Strategy Group In the first instance South Gloucestershire Managers should contact the CYP HR Department on 01454 868960 or by email to jobsed@southglos.gov.uk for advice and guidance on starting the process.
Below is an extract from an interview held by a young person with Jane Spouse (Deputy Director for CYP) on her experiences and support of using young people on interview panels:
Why has the organisation decided to include children and young people in the Recruitment Process?
Jane Spouse (Deputy Director for The Department for Children and Young People) – It’s a strategic decision to ensure we enable children and young people to have a voice as we strongly believe that we should seriously listen to children and young people’s views and opinions as they bring a unique experience of the services that we offer and know firsthand if our services are working or not.
My experience is that children and young people will be honest and sometimes tell you the things you don’t necessarily want to hear regarding our services. As these have a direct impact on their lives, why would we not ask and why would we not listen? Even the youngest person has a worthwhile view – one on a headship’s panel was four years old and they wanted “somebody who was really nice”, as do we! It is a national drive and as a department we really value the viewpoints of children and young people. An added bonus is that the experience also offers the opportunity for children and young people to develop new skills and experiences.
Can you explain the benefits to the organisation of including Children and Young people?
Jane Spouse – Children and young people offer a unique perspective and open our thinking to opportunities to do things differently. We have often found that young people are naturally drawn to somebody who has drive, enthusiasm and energy. An example on one panel involving a young person was that the candidate some of us felt was right, the young people disagreed with, as they felt that they were not valued as the candidate questioned why they were on the panel. This obviously had an impact on the final decision made as we could not employ somebody who did not put children and young people’s views and opinions at the heart of the service.
Full interview with Jane Spouse on the Case Studies and Example Outcomes page
The Recruitment and Selection process within South Gloucestershire Council consists of several stages at which any point children and young people can become involved.
These webpages aim to provided information for managers and interview panel chairs on:
- how to go about involving young people in their recruitment and selection process
- the benefits to staff, candidates and young people
- the national guidance and initiatives that support and drive this process
Although this initiative is being lead by South Gloucestershire Council it is recommended that the key principles are adopted by other agencies and partners across the Children’s Workforce.
Whilst this initiative has had involvement from members of the Participation Strategy Group In the first instance South Gloucestershire Managers should contact the CYP HR Department on 01454 868960 or by email to jobsed@southglos.gov.uk for advice and guidance on starting the process.
Below is an extract from an interview held by a young person with Jane Spouse (Deputy Director for CYP) on her experiences and support of using young people on interview panels:
Why has the organisation decided to include children and young people in the Recruitment Process?
Jane Spouse (Deputy Director for The Department for Children and Young People) – It’s a strategic decision to ensure we enable children and young people to have a voice as we strongly believe that we should seriously listen to children and young people’s views and opinions as they bring a unique experience of the services that we offer and know firsthand if our services are working or not.
My experience is that children and young people will be honest and sometimes tell you the things you don’t necessarily want to hear regarding our services. As these have a direct impact on their lives, why would we not ask and why would we not listen? Even the youngest person has a worthwhile view – one on a headship’s panel was four years old and they wanted “somebody who was really nice”, as do we! It is a national drive and as a department we really value the viewpoints of children and young people. An added bonus is that the experience also offers the opportunity for children and young people to develop new skills and experiences.
Can you explain the benefits to the organisation of including Children and Young people?
Jane Spouse – Children and young people offer a unique perspective and open our thinking to opportunities to do things differently. We have often found that young people are naturally drawn to somebody who has drive, enthusiasm and energy. An example on one panel involving a young person was that the candidate some of us felt was right, the young people disagreed with, as they felt that they were not valued as the candidate questioned why they were on the panel. This obviously had an impact on the final decision made as we could not employ somebody who did not put children and young people’s views and opinions at the heart of the service.
Full interview with Jane Spouse on the Case Studies and Example Outcomes page