Seven past pupils from St Ita’s Primary School and their P7 teacher, Mrs Maguire attended the launch of the P4P (Participation for Protection) project in Belfast.  Our past pupils together with young people from Include Youth and Newstart Education Centre in Northern Ireland were advisors on the project. They helped design the survey and identify key messages to inform the training resources.

The P4P (Participation for Protection) training resource has been informed by the views and experiences of over 1,300 children and young people (aged 8-18 years old) across six EU member states, including Austria; Belgium; Germany; Ireland; Romania; and the UK. The research was carried out through surveys and focus groups.

The resource will help train professionals on children’s understandings of violence; barriers and enablers to disclosure; and what child-rights based responses look like from a child’s perspective. Over 350 professionals and trainees across the six countries have been introduced to the resources through training and teaching events.

The research was led by Dr Siobhan McAlister, Dr Katrina Lloyd, Professor Laura Lundy, Dr Michelle Templeton and Dr Karen Winter from the Centre for Children’s Rights and the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.

The children (and Mrs Maguire) really enjoyed participating in this research and we hope to continue our links with Queen’s University and to take part in any further child-centred projects.