The key to understanding the needs of young people and assisting them to work towards their needs is by effectively communicating with them. We communicate with people not just by what we say (verbal communication) but also by what we do (non-verbal communication). Children and young people should be supported and encouraged by professionals to express their views. This includes seeking their views on the services they are receiving, including them in planning of services, listening when they have a problem/issue or when they have a complaint.

Listening skills for professionals working with young people

• Be prepared
• Be calm
• Do not bombard or lecture
• Use pauses
• Body language
• Be non-judgement
• Show interest
• Do things together
• Use open questions
• Try not ti use technical terms that only professionals would understand
• Get support
• Reflection
• Reframing/giving an alternative perspective
• Follow up

Tips for professionals working with young people

• Before you start make sure you know how the young person prefers to communicate.
• Think about how you approach children and how you may be perceived.
• Prepare an activity together if that helps communication.
• Take your time.
• Pay attention to everything being communicated, both verbal and non-verbal messages.
• Say if you don’t understand.
• Be willing to go back to the beginning and start again.
• Have lots of different ideas, and be prepared to forget them all.
• Ensure the boundaries of confidentiality are clear.
• Try different methods of communications e.g. worksheets with happy/sad faces may work well with younger children or learning disabled children, but a diary or scrapbook might work better with an older young person.
• Believe that children are competent and can contribute effectively to assessment, decision making and planning.
• Have realistic expectations of the time it takes to communicate effectively with children.
• Be aware of the importance of providing services such as interpreters and advocates.
• Keep the young person informed about what is happening if further support/information is needed. 
• Complaints need to be listened to and taken seriously. All services should have complaints processes and the young person should be supported through the process as not all are child friendly.

What to do

If in the course of talking to a young person you become concerned that you may need to share the information consult your safeguarding lead.

Consent to share a young person’s information should be sought from the young person if age appropriate, or their parents.

Manager’s responsibilities

Managers should be providing support and supervision for their teams.

Reflective practice supervision should be identifying if a child has been spoken to and if we understand the child’s lived experience. Any issues with access to the child need to be addressed.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Procedures.