CSWS Report - Learnings from children and young people 2023-2023

Learnings from young Tasmanians in 2023-2024

Introduction

This report shares the learnings from children, young people, and their families that the CSW Service has established through their engagement activities progressed in the 2023-2024 reporting period.

This includes feedback from the newly established Children and Young People Advisory Group, the team’s stall at AGFEST 2024, the findings presented in the My Say, Our Voices book, and ideas from young Tasmanians provided to us via the ‘Me and My Health Journey’ survey and mini-book.

Our team was established in late 2022 to support implementation of the Child Safety and Wellbeing Framework (the Framework), the Department of Health’s approach to implementing the requirements of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, and more recently, the Tasmanian Government’s Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework.

One of the focus areas of the Framework is supporting strengthened engagement between the Department and children and young people – and learning from their experiences and ideas to inform service improvements (Child and Youth Safe Standard 2).

Alongside work areas efforts to engage with children and young people, our team is progressing several engagement activities every year. Our work has been informed by stakeholders in Tasmania’s government and non-government sectors, such as the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP), as well as several public health organisations with experience in engagement with children and young people in other jurisdictions. We acknowledge the support and advice of these stakeholders in progressing these initiatives.

A short summary of the activities that we have progressed in 2023 and 2024 is outlined below.

Following this outline of activities, is a summary of the main themes that we have learnt from young Tasmanians.

Engagement activities

In September 2023, the CSW Service established CYPAG to provide regular and structured engagement between the Department and young Tasmanians (aged 12 to 18 years). The Group is made up of young Tasmanians aged 12 to 18 years, with secretariat support provided by our team.

CYPAG meets a couple of times a year. Topics of discussion include CYPAG members’ areas of interest, as well as discussion about our team’s key projects, as well as consultation requested by other Health work areas. CYPAG members feedback is generally shared with the Health Executive, any involved work areas, and is also available to Health workers and the community via our website. 

To date, CYPAG have had meetings on the following topics:

• Inaugural briefing meeting to establish Terms of Reference and Team Charter (October 2023)
• Ideas for new resources to improve health service access for young Tasmanians (December 2024)(Communique available on the Health website)
• Establishing meeting topics for 2024 (February 2024)
• Informing several CSW Service projects, such as establishing resources for children on ‘Child and Youth Safe Behaviours’ (the behaviours children should expect from DoH workers) (May 2024) (Communique under development. Due for release by late July 2024).

Upcoming meetings in 2024 include:

• Discussing how to make Health web content more accessible (July/August 2024) (Communique will be developed)
• Optional meeting about access issues for LGBTIQA+ young people (July/August 2024) (Communique will be developed)
• Discussing Emergency Department access issues for young Tasmanians (September/October) (Communique will be developed)
• Wrap up meeting (December 2024).

In coming years, we are exploring opportunities for CYPAG to partner with other Health work areas, as well as population-focused community groups - the latter to support the Department to hear from a variety of voices of young Tasmanians. 

On the 2-4 May, our team hosted a stall in the Tasmanian Government Tent at AGFEST, Carrick. AGFEST is a large agricultural event held annually, organised by Rural Youth Tasmania. It is the largest community event in Tasmania, with 53 000 people attending this year. 

Our team attended AGFEST as part of its efforts to hear from children and young people about their ideas for improving health services and inform activities happening under the Child Safety and Wellbeing Framework.

We experienced great engagement with our stall – having hundreds of conversations with community members, as well as sharing with children and young people over 500 feedback forms, 100 copies of the My Say, Our Voices book, as well as 800 colouring in handouts and 3000 stickers that included child safeguarding messages. 

In May 2024, we prepared and released a paper about our team’s key learnings from participating in AGFEST 2024. This is available for all staff via Reach and will be available on our website from July 2024

My Say, Our Voices (MSOV) presents feedback our team received from young Tasmanians in mid-2023 during workshops in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart with past patients who had accessed paediatric services. 

We created My Say, Our Voices to share these young Tasmanians’ ideas with Health workers to consider the practical ways they can strengthen their services to children and young people – such as:

• making clinical environments more engaging and welcoming of children, including providing fun activities for patients to do; and
• prioritising opportunities to give children a voice in their medical treatment, and the opportunity to give feedback.

If appropriate, we also encourage Health work areas to share MSOV with patients and their families as an example of the Department’s efforts to hear and learn from young Tasmanians. Through tear-out pages, any children and young people that access MSOV can also share their own ideas with our team. 

We acknowledge everyone who contributed to the development of the workshops and MSOV, including:

• the non-government stakeholders and clinical and operational staff who informed and supported this project; and
• project partners, Dr Simon Spain and Victoria Ryle, for their engagement expertise, facilitation of the workshops and co-development of MSOV.

Most importantly, we acknowledge the young people involved who shared their stories, insights and ideas for how the Department can strengthen its services to young people.

We hope that reading MSOV provides workers with some ideas about ways they can strengthen services for children and young people.

In late 2023, we developed and released some feedback tools that can be used by DoH work areas and at community events (like AGFEST 2024) to collect children and young people’s ideas for improving services. The new tools include a simple survey and a mini-book that young Tasmanians can draw/write their ideas on. These tools are supported by handouts for caregivers and staff. 

Children and young people can complete the tools anonymously or provide their details. Children and young people need to have consent from a caregiver to do the survey or worksheet.

The feedback tools were:

• developed following recommendation 54 from the Governance Advisory Panel;
• informed by consultation with the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young people, as well as agencies in several other jurisdictions;
• designed in partnership with artist facilitators Dr Simon Spain and Victoria Ryle, who are experts in engaging with children/young people;
• (an early form) tested at regional workshops with young Tasmanians held in April 2023; and
• (the current version) provided to community members at the CSW Service stall at AGFEST 2024.

While they are not currently used by many DoH work areas to date, the CSW Service has seen great engagement with these tools. For example, they were well received by children, young people and their families at AGFEST 2024 as a simple, engaging and practical way for young Tasmanians to provide their ideas for service improvement.  They will also be more heavily promoted through monthly engagement stalls at the major hospitals across the State from July 2024.

We welcome enquiries from workers who would like to implement the mini-book and/or promote the survey to children and young people who access their services. 

What we have received

Feedback and ideas from young Tasmanians and their caregivers are collated and analysed by the CSW Service.

Any safeguarding issues that are raised by children and young people are actioned as per usual Departmental processes, including fulfilling Mandatory Reporting obligations.

Any practical improvement suggestions are forwarded onto relevant work areas for their consideration.

To date, the CSW Service has used the information gathered to directly inform several projects, such as our upcoming Child and Youth Safe Behaviour project, and our training and education packages. The information is also used to inform reporting against the Department’s commitments in the Child Safety and Wellbeing Framework, as well as Commission of Inquiry recommendations and other reporting obligations. 

General themes

The following is a list of the main themes we have learnt from children and young people through our engagement activities. 

Welcoming spaces

• Having welcome, children-friendly spaces is important – not only in our paediatric services, but also in general services that children access.
  • “Pretty boring wait and not welcoming, the entry of the hospital was boring and … [some of] the workers were not nice.” Child, May 2024.
• We have received many practical suggestions on how areas could consider making their spaces more inclusive of children and people, including:
  • Colourful and comfortable spaces and furniture (not white!)
    • “Have patterned bed sheets.” Child, May 2024.
  • Artworks – including created by children, and featuring Tasmanian animals and plants (the latter was particularly important for children that access long-term hospital-based care) 
  • Activities for children, young people and families to do while waiting and/or in long term care – colouring in, activity handouts, toys, music, games, books, devices etc
    • “Having staff/volunteers in waiting rooms to help entertain kids - particularly in stressful, emergency situations.” Caregiver, May 2024.
    • “Minding babies/other children when accessing [other] children’s appointments so they/you can listen/access care.” Caregiver, May 2024.

Behaviours of our workers

• Children, young people and families want workers to prioritise:
  • being friendly, kind and approachable
  • explaining health care options in child-friendly way
  • involving children and young people in decisions that affect them – in their personal healthcare but also as an organisation
    • “Bedside manner and involving kids in discussions is so important.” Caregiver, May 2024.
  • listening to children/young people’s ideas – about their personal healthcare but also to improve services.
    • “Appreciate your work to listen to kids and hear their ideas and action them!” Caregiver, May 2024.
  • awareness of mandatory reporting – how to escalate concerns about a child/young person.

Other key findings

• More web content and hard copy resources about key health issues that are relevant to young people.
• More accessible Departmental web content – current pages aren’t very accessible to children and young people.
• Opportunities to connect with other patients and their families are very important – particularly for children accessing long-term care.
  • “You don’t get to know other parents and children very well”. Child, April 2023.
• Children, young people and their families are grateful for the services they have received. 
  •  “Thanks to the doctors and nurses my health is improving.” Child, April 2023.

The value of connecting

A key learning for the CSW Service was how much young Tasmanians and their caregivers have appreciated the opportunity to engage with Department representatives and provide their ideas in a safe, non-judgemental space. 

• “What a great idea to ask us.” Child, May 2024.
• “It’s fantastic [that] Health is meeting community members where they are.” Caregiver, May 2024.

Continuing to share about Health’s efforts

Another learning for the CSW Service was that many community members were not familiar with the Child Safety and Wellbeing Framework and the Department’s effort to improve health service delivery in a child safe way. This highlighted the need for continued effort from the CSW Service to champion the efforts of the Department and individual work areas demonstrating a commitment to improving the way we work with children and young people. 

Moving forward

It has been a privilege to connect and learn from the ideas of children, young people, and their families. 

The CSW Service has really valued community members’ willingness to share their thoughtful and insightful feedback – and it has meaningfully added value to our projects this year.

We also hope that it is interesting for individuals and teams to learn about the ideas children, young people and their caregivers have shared – and how they can draw on these insights to strengthen their practice and services. We will keep sharing the ideas and learning we receive.

We will also continue to embed the activities referenced above (and related learnings!) into CSW Service’s work, as well as explore new and different avenues for young Tasmanians to have a say in the Department’s efforts to strengthen is services under the Child Safety and Wellbeing Framework. 

For more information

For more information about CSW Service engagement initiatives, see https://www.health.tas.gov.au/health-topics/child-and-youth-health/child-safety-and-wellbeing/engagement-children-and-young-people   

If DoH workers would like to learn more about our work and/or seek to partner with us to organise their own engagement activities, we welcome enquiries via [email protected].