Photo by Yan Krukov
When working with young people, it is essential to build trust and rapport. Developing a successful rapport means that you and the young people have mutual respect for each other. This allows working towards a common goal with both sides committed and open to communication.
Developmental relationships
Developmental relationships help young people to find out more about who they are and it also helps them to gain the skills they need to shape their own lives [1]. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing [2] explain factors that contribute to developing an effective and appropriate relationship with young people.
For example, when communicating with young people, it is important to express care by actively listening and being dependable, encouraging and friendly. If you are providing support to the young people, make sure that you are empowering them, providing guidance through their journey and helping them to navigate difficult situations. This can be done by sharing power. By creating an open and respectful environment, you can foster collaboration with the young people and promote open and honest communication [1].
Transformational relationships
Transformational relationships describe the focus on the needs of the young people. Fostering transformational relationships by building with young people can improve the outcomes for young people who face adversity [2].
It starts with young people being heard, ensuring they are allowed to speak while you listen without judgment. Building a rapport has shown that due to the trust fostered, the young people are more forthcoming when given the space to talk openly and authentically without censorship. Being persistent over time and being patient and resilient will allow the relationship to develop at its own pace [1] [3].
Being a ‘real’ ally by sharing information about yourself and being mindful not to overshare or dominate the conversation will allow space to find points of connection. This is especially important when showing an understanding of the young people’s background, whether from having similar experiences growing up or through relationships with other young people [1]. Seeing an adult with a similar upbringing can allow young people to have a role model or mentor that they can relate to [1] [3]. Diversity in schools and organisations with a diverse workforce is invaluable to the young people. This helps promote tolerance, provides opportunities to interact with different cultural backgrounds, and encourages pupils to obtain higher-level roles in their careers. To read more about the importance of diversity in schools, click here to read one of our previous blogs.
After a relationship is established, challenging young people to reflect on their actions and behaviour encourages them to reflect on and improve their actions. When the young people may be experiencing challenging times, it is crucial that during these times especially, to stand by the young people. It is pivotal to the young people that they have a constant support system. To help the young people understand their feelings and thoughts of their actions or situation, having a role model that can guide them with the young peoples’ best interests in mind can help the young people make decisions that are good for them.
Next steps
We believe that policies and procedures that affect young people should take into account young people’s perspective. Young people should be influencing the policies and procedures that impact them. Policies and procedures such as The Children and Young Persons Act, The Young Carers Regulation, and The Childrens and Young Peoples Plan Regulations can be young people-led to ensure the purpose of these procedures are relevant and successful.
Do you or your organisation work with or for young people? If so, do your policies and procedures include the voice of young people? At Say It With Your Chest we believe that young people should be actively involved in policy making. Using the points made in this blog, we hope you can revisit your policies and procedures to better support young people
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