There is an expectation that children and young people have a voice in the planning and delivery of services intended for them
There is an expectation that children and young people are supported in making positive contributions to their community, whether this is at a national level, to the locality, to the library, or to the school

Every Child Matters emphasises the need for partnerships – not just with other practitioners, but with children and young people themselves.

Libraries can support the 'making a positive contribution' outcome by:

Involving hard to reach young people
Getting young people on board
Advocating the involvement of young people

TRF has developed a list of outcomes libraries achieve for children, young people and their families, many of which directly relate to the 'making a positive contribution' strand of Every Child Matters.

Plan, evaluate and build your partnerships...

TRF has developed a framework to help you in the planning and evaluation of your services for children and young people.

There are many potential partnership opportunities for libraries in the area of 'making a positive contribution'. For instance, by working in partnership with local agencies and employers around:

Community regeneration schemes
Establishment of community youth forums
Activities addressing prevention of youth offending

It is important to ensure that other agencies understand and acknowledge the essential role that libraries play in delivering the Every Child Matters agenda and that libraries work in equal partnership with other local agencies to deliver these shared priorities.

Further information…

Related websites for further exploration of fulfilling the 'making a positive contribution' outcome:

The shared priorities programme is a partnership between central and local government which provides a framework for promoting the work of councils. The Improvement and Development Agency website gives examples of demonstration projects which have successfully tackled the shared priority of creating safer and stronger communities.
The National Youth Agency website outlines the work of its participation team, describes how young people make a positive contribution and gives examples of local projects which have worked successfully with children and young people.