"At the Carers Federation we encourage our young carers to get involved with choosing new staff. The recent interviews for a new worker were an excellent way for young carers and staff to come together to find someone who could fill the role. The young carers on the panel were fantastic and made a positive contribution. Firstly the young carers expressed their ideas about the 'sort of person who could do the job best'. They came up with interview questions and afterwards shared their views in a feedback session. The young carers involvement was a positive experience for everyone involved"
- Sarah, Human Resources Manager
"I thought that it was a really good idea for young carers to be on the panel as it is the young carer who will be needing them. We got to choose our own questions which I thought was also a good idea as we could then see if they had the qualities they should have for the job.
I enjoyed having a say in who got the job as I feel that our voices should be heard and they have been. Being on the panel also gave me and others more confidence and experience of being on the panel. It was fun as well as a good experience"
- Aaron
"Hi. I am a member of the AYC in Boston. I am 12 years old and I interviewed some people for AYC in Boston a few weeks ago. It was a good experience for me as I have never done an interview before. It was fun and I got to meet new people and ask them questions about themselves and how they could benefit young carers and the AYC. I hope to do it again sometime. I would recommend anyone who gets a chance to give it a try as you can learn a lot about interviews and how they work."
- Emma
"I didn't want to do it a t first because I didn't think I had enough confidence but I'm really glad I was persuaded to! The process we went through was good - we looked at the role and what we felt were the qualities needed. From that we were able to work out questions to ask. We also thought of the answers and key words we were looking for.
It was good having the AYC staff with us who we know and we could talk things through with them. On the day of the interviews it was quite formal and we all wanted to look quite smart. I'm glad I did it. I've got more confidence now and knowledge of questions and answers. It was good practice for when we're being interviewed for jobs.
If a person is going to be working with children and young people, it's best that they are picked by the children and young people! If you get the chance, have a go!"
- Georgina
In a very important document called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child, it states that children and young people should have the right to express their views, be heard and taken seriously.
ICAS can help if you want to make a complaint about NHS services
Young Carer Support services
