Youth Voice Network – FAQs for parents and carers

The Youth Voice Network is for young people – that's anyone aged 11 to 24 in England or Wales.

The network has been set up to be as diverse as can be, with young people from all backgrounds taking part. We give the encouragement and tools they need to influence what we’re doing, lifting up their voices every step of the way.

If your young person is under 16, you'll need to give your consent for them to join. 

Yes. We'll always make sure there are lots of ways for your young person to take part, no matter how they're feeling. We always want you and your young person to feel safe and comfortable.  

If your young person has signed up to do something, but then doesn't feel up to it, that's no problem. They can always take part another time – we'll be here.

We'll always make sure your young person feels safe and comfortable taking part in events or opportunities.

Before an opportunity, we will:

• Let them know the time, date and location, as well as what we might talk about, so they can decide whether the it’s right for them
• Send them a consent form (for you to sign too if they're under 16)
• Get them to fill in a health form (for you to sign too if they're under 16) This is where they can tell us about their mental health and what they'd like us to do if they need help or support. It will also include an emergency contact number for us to ring in case we're worried they might be at risk of harm.
• Answer any questions they have

During an opportunity, we will

• Make sure there are enough staff members at the event or opportunity
• Make sure they understand when we might need to ring their emergency contact or break confidentiality in order to keep them safe
• Stop at any time they need us to. If they need to take a break or stop, they will have our full support. We will have a member of staff contact them to check in on their wellbeing.

After an opportunity, we will:

• Send them a voucher to say thank you
• Send them a feedback form
• Let them know next steps
• Help them find support if they need it. We might recommend one of our Local Mind services or share useful resources.

If there's anything we can do to make it easier for your young person to take part, please get in touch on [email protected].  

We do sometimes share what young people say - in our reports, campaigns, on our website, in a video or podcast, or on social media.

We'll always ask your young person's consent before we share anything publicly. If your young person is under 18, we'll ask your consent. 

Usually we share things anonymously, so they won't have their name or any information about them. If we'd like to share their name or photo, we'll always ask them first. 

If your young person says yes to sharing something publicly and then changes their mind, we'll always do our best to remove it from the public. However, we might not always be able to do this - for example if a report has already been printed and shared.

We'll keep what you say confidential, unless we're worried about your or someone else’s safety.

If this happens, we may need to talk to your parent or guardian to make sure you get any support you need. We'll always try and talk to you about this first.

Contact us on [email protected] and ask for our confidentiality policy if you'd like to find out more.

Young people have the right to deny or allow their parent or carer to ask for or see information about them.

If you ask to see information about a young person, we'll ask them their permission first.

We will treat anything your young person shares with us as confidential information. This includes things like survey responses.

You can read more about this in our confidentiality policy. 

This depends on the type of event or opportunity. We will let you and your young person know if a parent or carer needs to attend.

Your young person can also request for a parent, carer or trusted adult to come along with them. Please email us on [email protected] to let us know what support your young person needs.

Of course they can! The Youth Voice Network offers lots of opportunities for your young person to develop their skills - like working a team, speaking in public or writing. It also shows that they're passionate and working hard to champion young people's mental health.

We're always happy to write your young person a reference, if we can. Just get in touch on [email protected] or with the Mind staff member you've been talking to. 

We don't currently offer work experience at Mind. The best way to take part in our work is through the opportunities in the Youth Voice Network.

Under GDPR laws, your young person has the right to access all the information that we hold about them.

If they'd like to see this, they can email our Supporter Services team on [email protected].

You can read more about your legal rights to access your personal information here. 

No, it won't cost you or your young person any money. It's free to join. And if your young person takes part in any events or opportunities, we'll pay for your costs - like food or travel. 

If you take part in one of our events or opportunities, we'll give you a voucher to say thank you. The voucher and the amount depends on the opportunity.

Sometimes we offer things like training and development opportunities to say thank you too. 

You can leave the Youth Voice Network at any time. Just click the unsubscribe button at the bottom of one of our emails. Or send us an email on [email protected]. 

If your young person is over 16, they can legally decide for themselves whether they want to join or leave the Youth Voice Network.

If your young person is under 16, you can remove them from the Youth Voice Network by sending us an email on [email protected]. We'll email your young person to let them know.

We don't currently have a network for parents and carers, and we don't have any plans for one at the moment.  

If you're looking for support for your young person, we've got lots of information and resources to help.