National Standards in Children's Advocacy—What do Young People Say?

Abstract

This paper discusses qualitative research into young people's views of independent children's advocacy services in Wales. We conducted focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews with over 80 children who had used advocacy or whose circumstances suggested them as potential users of advocacy. Our topics of enquiry were structured by research themes drawn from requirements and principles contained in recently introduced National Standards in Advocacy. Through these methods and themes we explored children's perceptions of advocacy in order to delineate characteristics of an effective service and to identify where they think services may need to improve.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrew Pithouse

Andrew Pithouse is a Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University

Anne Crowley

Anne Crowley is a Children's Policy Adviser for Save the Children, Wales