Embedding the views of children and young people

Listening to the voice of children and young people

Every child and young person deserves to be heard, understood, and valued - especially when it comes to shaping the support that helps them thrive. This space is designed to empower schools, settings, and professionals to meaningfully gather and celebrate the voices of children and young people as a central part of their support plans.

Here, you’ll find practical ideas, supportive tools, and inspiration to help you move beyond simply collecting views - to truly listening, engaging, and responding. Whether a child communicates through words, images, actions, or assistive technology, their perspectives are powerful. By capturing their hopes, experiences, and aspirations, we can ensure that every support plan reflects not just needs, but individuality, strengths, and future ambitions.

Gathering the voice of children and young people

Why pupil voice matters

Capturing the views, wishes and feelings of children and young people is central to the review process and to effective SEND practice. Their voice helps ensure that support is meaningful, personalised and outcomes focused. It is not a one-off activity, but an ongoing process of listening, understanding and acting on what matters to them.

When schools actively involve pupils in discussions about their learning and support, this can increase engagement, independence and the likelihood of successful outcomes.

Principles for effective practice

Creating a safe, relaxed and trusting environment is key to enabling children and young people to share openly. Schools should ensure that approaches to gathering pupil's voices are:

Person-centred

Built around the individual child’s strengths, needs and preferences

Accessible

Using communication methods that match the child’s developmental stage and communication style

Meaningful

Enabling genuine participation, not tokenistic consultation

Ongoing

Embedded within everyday practice, not limited to statutory processes

Responsive

Demonstrating clearly how pupil views influence decisions

Person-centred

Built around the individual child’s strengths, needs and preferences

Accessible

Using communication methods that match the child’s developmental stage and communication style

Meaningful

Enabling genuine participation, not tokenistic consultation

Ongoing

Embedded within everyday practice, not limited to statutory processes

Responsive

Demonstrating clearly how pupil views influence decisions

Practical approaches and tools

The following guidance highlights a wide range of flexible and creative ways to gather pupil voice. Schools should select approaches based on the individual child.

1. Visual and creative methods

These approaches can be particularly effective for children and young people who find verbal communication difficult and include:

drawing pictures or “ideal school” activities
taking photographs of important places or experiences
using symbols or visual prompts
creating mood boards or collages

These methods can support pupils to express preferences, likes and dislikes, and aspirations in ways that feel safe and engaging.

2. Scales and rating tools

Simple scaling approaches can help individuals to express feelings about different aspects of school and life, these include:

emotion scales (for example happy to sad and calm to worried)
number ratings (for example 1 to 10)
traffic light systems

These should always be introduced carefully to ensure the child or young person understands how scaling works.

3. Structured conversation tools

These types of tools would include:

mind mapping - to explore thoughts, experiences and relationships
card sorting activities - to identify strengths, preferences and priorities
one-page profiles or person-centred plans
good day and bad day discussions

These approaches help organise thinking and can be particularly effective for neurodivergent learners.

4. Informal and relationship-based approaches

Often the most valuable insights come from everyday interactions such as:

conversations during preferred activities (for example drawing and play)
observations of behaviour and engagement
allowing the child or young person to lead discussion topics

Listening should include both verbal and non-verbal communication, recognising that behaviour and actions can communicate important messages.

Key considerations for schools and settings

When gathering pupil voice, staff should:

use open-ended questions and allow time for responses
avoid assumptions or leading questions
be non-judgemental and validate the child’s views
check understanding by reflecting and summarising
recognise that some children may need multiple opportunities to share their views

A consistent, trusting relationship is often essential before some pupils feel able to share authentically.

Making pupil voice meaningful

Gathering views is only the first step. Settings must ensure that:

the child’s voice is clearly reflected in documentation
views inform target setting, provision and outcomes
there is clear feedback (for example “You said… we did…”)
children and young people understand how their contributions have made a difference

This ensures participation is authentic and builds confidence in the process.

Embedding pupil voice across school practice

Strong schools move beyond statutory requirements by embedding pupil voice into:

the assess–plan–do–review cycle
annual reviews and EHCP development
everyday classroom practice
whole-school improvement and SEND planning

A culture of listening to children and young people should be visible across all aspects of school life.

By prioritising the voice of the child, schools can ensure SEND support plans are truly person-centred and lead to better outcomes for children and young people.