Engage

Tools

Here you will find tools developed to support collecting groups of children’s viewpoints, and support their involvement in decision-making. The tools offer practical ways to prepare, carry out and follow up processes that allow children to share their viewpoints safely and meaningfully. Some tools are designed for everyday decisions, while others support more complex processes. 

Prof. Laura Lundy, Dr Evie Heard & Elizabeth Graty Hood
2026
A practical toolkit using “decision wheels” to explore which decisions affect children’s lives, how involved they are, and how much they want to be involved. Developed with children, it supports meaningful, voluntary participation across contexts.
English
ChangeFactory & ComParte
2025
A set of practical classroom tools based on advice from students on how to create safety in everyday school situations. The tools provide step-by-step guidance for teachers across topics such as safe classrooms, group work and stopping noise safely.
English
ChangeFactory
2024
Tools for decision-makers in municipalities working with mental health and leisure services. Developed in collaboration with children, they support leaders in gathering experiences and advice from children and young people to inform decisions and improve services.
English
ChangeFactory
2024
Tools for decision-makers in municipalities working with child protection services. Developed in collaboration with children, they support leaders in gathering children’s experiences and advice to improve services and inform decisions about care and support.
English
ChangeFactory
2024
Tools for decision-makers in municipalities working with schools. Designed in collaboration with children for leaders and administrators in education, the tools support systematic work to include pupils’ experiences and perspectives in decisions affecting school environments and learning.
English
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Ireland
2024
This toolkit guides early years practitioners to involve children from birth to 5 years in decision-making, using playful and age-appropriate methods such as observation, play, images and everyday choices to listen to children’s views and act on them.
English
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
2024
This toolkit supports organisations in running safe and meaningful consultation processes with children. It provides step-by-step guidance, checklists and templates to involve children in decision-making across planning, implementation and evaluation.
English
Empowering Children’s Participation in Malta
2024
The VUCI Toolkit supports organisations in capturing and evaluating the impact of children’s participation. It provides practical tools to assess impact on children, adult decision-makers, and policy and practice, strengthening accountability and follow-up.
English
Family Justice Young People’s Board, Family Division
2024
An evidence-based toolkit supporting family judges to write directly to children in private and public law cases. It offers guidance and examples to help explain court decisions in ways children can understand and to support their participation in proceedings.
English
Sport Ireland Ethics
2023
This toolkit supports sports clubs and organisations to involve young members (aged 10-18) in decision-making, using practical activities such as icebreakers, voting methods and workshops to gather views and support on-the-spot and planned decisions.
English
City councils & Department of Education, Australia
2023
A practical guide supporting organisations and local authorities to involve children (up to age 12) in decision-making. It outlines principles, methods and activities for meaningful consultation and helps embed children’s participation in everyday practice.
English
Destination Unknown
2022
This toolkit (see pp. 27-38) provides strategies and tools for professionals to support meaningful participation of children and young people on the move. It focuses on children aged 8-18 and includes adaptations for different abilities, contexts and emergency situations.
English
UNICEF
2022
This toolkit is for teachers and schools. It explains why a child rights-based approach to participation matters and how to facilitate it in schools, including practical guidance on embedding participation in planning, implementation and evaluation.
English
Government of Jersey & Jersey Youth Service
2022
This toolkit (see pp. 15-23) offers practical methods for engaging children and young people in decision-making, including arts-based activities, focus groups, forums, surveys and digital participation. It outlines age ranges, strengths and limitations for each approach.
English
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children Sweden
Sweden, 
2021
Unga Direkt (Youth Directly) is a method for engaging with children to gather their experiences and views. It supports safe, respectful conversations where children are seen as experts in their own lives, strengthening decision-making and improving the quality of policies and services.
Swedish
YoungMinds
2020
A practical toolkit for organisations in children and young people’s mental health services, offering tools and steps to plan, carry out and support participation with groups experiencing vulnerability, including guidance on safe and inclusive engagement.
English
Eurochild & Learning for Well-being Foundation
2020
A practical toolbox for child-focused organisations, offering structured activities and creative methods to support children’s participation in events and advocacy, with guidance for planning, facilitation and collaboration with adults (pp. 99–177).
English
SOS Children’s Villages International
2019
This toolkit is a practical resource for professionals supporting children and young people with care experience to participate in advocacy. It provides guidance, tools, and activities to strengthen young people’s voices and influence decisions at local, national, and global levels.
English
Eurochild
2018
A practical toolkit for NGOs and public authorities to engage children and young people in advocacy on their right to participate. It offers tools and methods to develop advocacy strategies with children and support their input in decision-making.
English
East Sussex County Council
2018
A practical toolkit supporting social workers to involve children in safeguarding. It offers creative tools to help children express views and wishes, ensuring their voice informs child protection practice and supports positive change and development.
English
Ombudsman for Children Ireland
2018
A practical guidance document outlining how organisations can plan, carry out and follow up participation with children. It provides checklists and advice on creating supportive environments and hearing children’s views before, during and after decision-making processes.
English
World Vision International
2017
Practical guidance for organisations and authorities on involving children and young people in global engagements, including procedures, timelines and formats to ensure inclusive, well-prepared participation that influences decision-making at national and international level.
English
Council for Disabled Children
2017
A practical toolkit for professionals supporting children and young people with SEND to participate in decisions about their lives. It explains decision-making rights, capacity and best-interests processes under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, with checklists and tools to guide practice.
English
the International Juvenile Justice Observatory
2016
This toolkit (see p. 47–66) is a practical guide for trainers working with juvenile justice professionals. It includes learning objectives, preparation steps, exercises and model answers to support training on child-friendly justice and procedural fairness.
English
Tusla Child and Family Agency
2016
This toolkit (see pp. 27–143) supports Tusla staff and funded projects in involving children and young people in decisions that affect their lives. It provides practical activities, templates and guidance to ensure children’s voices are heard and acted upon.
English
Terre de hommes
2015
A practical planning tool for adults working with children to design, plan and monitor participation. It applies the UN Committee’s nine basic requirements to support ethical, effective and quality children’s participation processes.
English
Plan, A World at School & YAG
2014
An advocacy toolkit for young people and youth groups (see pp. 21–120), offering practical tools for research, stakeholder analysis, campaign planning, messaging and influencing decision-makers to promote the right to quality education.
English
International Save the Children Alliance
2003
This toolkit includes practical steps for organising consultations, preparatory meetings, enabling children’s participation, and ensuring quality follow-up, helping to make children’s voices heard in decisions that affect them.
English

Share with us

We welcome contributions that can strengthen how children are involved in decision-making.

This can include frameworks, guidance, tools, research, reports, or examples of practice.

If you are working on something relevant –  or know of something that should be included – we would like to hear from you.

All submissions are reviewed before being published.

Please ensure that what you share is respectful and that you have permission to share any content, especially when it involves children.