Learning & Engagement

• Thinking in more detail about your health and wellbeing
• Thinking in more detail about where you spend your time
• Thinking in more detail about how you spend your time
• Thinking in more detail about who you spend your time with
• Thinking about some specific things if your child is 0-5 years old
• Thinking about some specific things if your child is 5-9 years old
• Thinking about some specific things if you are 9-14 years old
• Thinking about some specific things if you are 14-17 years old
• Thinking about some other things that will make a professional, and might make you, worried enough to need to discuss in more detail
• Thinking in more detail about your overall safety

Guidance notes

1. This document is provided to enhance the learning of professionals during their training, as well as educating members of the public about the sorts of issues that children, young people and young adults will be encouraged to talk about with their friends, families and with professionals as part of an engagement strategy.
2. This document cannot be used as a questionnaire and is provided as a detailed background resource to accompany the co-designed “Core Questions” found on the Not Just a Thought… website.
3. Learning and Engagement work using this document must be done in the context of the ethos of the Not Just a Thought… project, explained on the project website.
4. This Learning and Engagement document must be used in conjunction with the resources available on the Not Just a Thought… website.
5. This document contains the More than Not Just a Thought… Engagement Model. A core document, Not Just a Thought…, exists which is the starting point for a conversation with a child, young person or young adult. This supplementary document gives much more detailed background information about the sorts of discussions that can take place with children, young people and young adults. A series of possible responses to these questions is also provided – this is not intended as a questionnaire but merely to give some idea of the kind of responses that may be given during a discussion and to provide a framework for the development of further questions and further discussion about specific issues that may be of concern to the young person, professional or family member.
6. This supplementary document should be used as a more detailed Learning and Engagement model for those circumstances where there is a need for, or time for, a more in-depth discussion about the issues covered in these documents.
7. The questions in this document are phrased as if the child, young person or young adult is working through them but they can be easily adapted to a professional, carer or parent going through them instead – either with the child, young person or young adult present or as a way of gathering relevant information from people who know the child, young person or young adult.
8. There will be some children aged under 5 years old where a person with a good rapport with a child of this age will be able to get some information from the child about these questions or will be able to observe behaviours that help to answer these questions.
9. There will be children aged 5-9 years old where a person with a good rapport with a child of this age will be able to get some information from the child about these questions or will be able to observe behaviours that help to answer these questions.
10. Some children aged 9-14 years old will need some help with these questions. Observed behaviours or parent/carer/professional concerns are also important.
11. Some children aged 14-17 years old will need some help with these questions. Observed behaviours or parent/carer/professional concerns are also important.