Louise Baudet has been a Clerk for over 15 years and is also a Paediatric and Mental Health Occupational Therapist. She has worked in both an independent practice and the NHS, specialising in engaging young people in activities of daily living. She has recently been at the forefront of a consultation in Warwickshire, exploring the experiences of the younger community and what it’s like to live and grow up within the parish. At Scribefest 2022 Louise shared some of the ways you can creatively engage young people in your parish or area.

1. Scribefest
Creatively engaging young
people
Louise Baudet, Occupational
Therapist, Magenta OT

2. About Myself – background, experience and qualifications
* 20 years Local Government – working for Local Education Authority and schools (consultation/liaison) at strategic
level – BA Hons in Business and Marketing
* Town Centre Management – public/private sector (Norwich Union) ; research, marketing, event management, PR –
Chartered Institute of Marketing
* Moonstone Marketing & PR /voluntary work/re-training
* Also Clerk to number of Parish Councils – permanent and locum – CiLCA qualified – development of play areas
* Occupational Therapist – Children and Young People/Paediatric/CAMHS – B.Sc Hons in OT, Sensory Integration
trained – member of Royal College of OT and HCPC registered.
* Voluntary work – Gingerbread groups, Special Needs Support groups, Holiday programmes, Special Needs Toy
Library and playgroup
* Mom to 2 SEN children (now adults) and grandchild

3. Todays’ session
• Why it’s important to engage with young people –
youth engagement strategy
• Why Occupational Therapy – an occupation based
approach to engaging young people
• What do you already know about your young
people?
• Ideas and inspirations for positive engagement –
case study example
The focus of this presentation is not about getting
young people involved democratically eg voting,
volunteering – but to understand their experiences of
living and growing up in a parish, and future needs

4. Why Councils should be engaging
with young people
• “Youth engagement results in fresh and
constructive decisions”
• Gives young people an opportunity to express
themselves in a safe and supported way
• Reassures young people that their issues and
opinions are listened to and taken seriously
• Councillors can build intergenerational
relationships in their local community
• Helps young people feel part of local community
and change/shape services and facilities

5. Why Councils should be engaging
with young people
• “Youth engagement results in fresh and
constructive decisions”
• Gives young people an opportunity to express
themselves in a safe and supported way
• Reassures young people that their issues and
opinions are listened to and taken seriously
• Councillors can build intergenerational
relationships in their local community
• Helps young people feel part of local community
and change/shape services and facilities

6. Why Councils should be engaging
with young people
British Youth Council ‘Big Listen’ survey (2011
A survey of 1000 young people in UK found that 82%
believe it’s important for them to speak up about their
local area. 6/10 young people felt their views were
taken less seriously in local decision-making
because of their age
British Social Attitudes (2010)
Reported that young people felt that their views were
treated more negatively than those of adults.

7. What do you already know?
Consider the information you already know about
young people in your community :
• Demographic data
• Free school meals/household income (impact on
life experiences and opportunities)
• Youth unemployment
Consider what networks are already available
• Youth councils
• Youth groups
• Other community groups
• Schools/education
How do you engage with young people to find
out what it’s like for a young person to live and
grow up in your parish
– and their aspirations for the future?

8. What next?
How do you engage with young people to find out
what it’s like for a young person to live and grow up
in your parish - and their aspirations for the future?
CASE STUDY
Parish Council looking to invest in providing facilities
for young people in parish, in particular the 8 to 17
age range
Remit was to gather the thoughts and aspirations
through both quantitative and qualitative data on
what it was like to live and grow up in the parish
Develop Youth Engagement Strategy

9. YOUTH ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
Looking to work with the Parish Council to produce a Youth Engagement
Strategy for the parish. Strategy’s objectives would be to
EMPOWER – young people by giving them a voice •
ENGAGE – understand the issues faced, needs, aspirations and desires of local youth •
PARTICIPATE – involve young people in effective and appropriate pathways in decision
making processes •
PROMOTE – promote the resources and support available to young people •
WORK TOGETHER – recognise the skills, knowledge and resources available throughout
the area and work together to improve the lives of local young people – partnership working

10. Why an Occupational Therapist?
• Occupational Therapists work with children and
young people in lots of settings
• Specialist training assessing engagement in
activities of daily living – access and participation
• Focus on meaningful activities – what motivates
young people (volition) – holistic
• Access to range of evidence-based assessment
tools
• Specialist knowledge in areas such as child
development, functional skills, mental health,
additional needs/sensory
• Therapeutic skills to engage young people

11. Why an Occupational Therapist?
NEED TO DO – daily routines, personal care, sleep,
eating, exercise
HAVE TO DO – responsibilities and roles eg school/pupil,
carer, work
WANT TO DO – friends/family, hobbies, interests, relaxation

12. CONSULTATION
• Seek to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data
• Adapt approaches for different target market ie 7 to 10 years,
11 to 17 years and parents
• Communication mix – variety of different approaches and
mediums according to age range (written, visual, digital)
• Hard to reach groups - groups with additional needs, less likely
to engage (higher risk of lifestyle choices)
• Publicity – press release to local media, school newsletters and
parish newsletter
• Publicity on local noticeboards and use of social media to
signpost

13. CONSULTATION
FOCUS 1. – Making living and growing up in the parish a good
experience for young people. Gather information about
• their views about where they live – what’s good/bad
• Their leisure time experiences – how do they want to spend
their time and what makes it important
• Meeting places and facilities available
• Barriers and dilemma’s eg do they feel safe, friendships
• Desired change – their vision for the future
• Their voice – do they feel they are heard or influence – how
should this look
FOCUS 2 – Views on facilities and equipment available
• Interests/hobbies (Use of OT Interest Checklist)
• What equipment they like and why

14. Engagement in Occupationas
-Play and recreation as a meaningful activity at different ages
• Play is a subjective experience of joy and fun, that comes from engaging in
freely chosen, intrinsically motivated, selfdirected meaningful occupations
• play transactions take place between the child and the environment (including
the virtual)
• play is about the process of engagement and participation.
Everyone’s experience of play is unique and individual and changes over time –
key factors are around age, development and gender

15. Engagement in Occupationas
-Play and recreation as a meaningful activity at
different ages
EARLY YEARS/CHILDHOOD
• Play is a driver for learning and development
• Different types of play ; explorative, functional/manipulative, social, energetic,
pretend play.
• Evidence base around social, developmental and health benefits

16. ENGAGEMENT IN OCCUPATIONS
-Focus on meaningful activities at different ages
TEENAGE/YOUNG ADULT
• Transitioning into young adult – more of a focus on ‘leisure interests and
hobbies’
• During adolescence – cognitive, emotional, physical and attitudinal changes
that provide the basis for personality development
• Teenagers will start to view peer groups as important and influential – they will
start to experiment independence
• teenagers still need time to play and have fun! Teenagers may not call it play,
but the time that they spend with their friends or on their own, without being
told what to do, is their version of play.
• Teenage play is predominantly social and they have the freedom to decide for
themselves or as a group how to have fun.
• Analysis of teenage behaviour during play shows that their behaviour mimics
and practices being an adult, which is a positive for their development.
As OT’s we work with young people in their engagement in play
as a meaningful activity through their developmental stages

17. CHILDREN 7 to 10 years
Methods of engagement for
qualitative and quantitative
information
VOTING WALLS
Schools, Halls
etc – children
post stickers/
Comments -
interactive
Pizza and play
- Watching You
Tube videos
followed by
design and create
creative session
COMPETITION
Design a dream
playground or
piece of
equipment
(why)
QUESTIONNAIRE
with prize draw
(online and paper)
PLAY DAYS
Arranged visits for
family days to
parks – followed
by Focus group
feedback
DEDICATED
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram, QR
codes etc
-

18. YOUNG PEOPLE 11yrs +
Methods of engagement for
qualitative and quantitative
information
VOTING WALLS
Schools, Halls
etc -
Comments/
interactive
Pizza & activity
- Completing OT
Interest Checklist
(how do they
want to spend
their time)
HARD TO
REACH
Home visits,
sessions in
school
QUESTIONNAIRE
with prize draw
(online and paper)
OUTINGS
Arranged visits
other facilities –
followed by Focus
group feedback
DEDICATED
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram, QR
codes etc
-

19. PARENTS
Methods of engagement for
qualitative and quantitative
information
Less focus –
emphasis on
views of child
Dedicated social
media eg
Facebook page
Questionnaire –
online and paper

20. OUTCOMES
• Good return of hard copy questionnaires – but the use of social
media link, survey monkey and QR codes worked well
• Social media – good engagement on facebook, but less so on
Instagram and Twitter
• Use of incentives worked well
• Less interest in art competitions
• Engaging the young people through activities worked really
well – craft days, visits to park and cinema trip.
• Gained a good picture of what ‘life was like’ for the young
people eg how a typical day looks, what was important to them
– friends, feeling safe, having things to do
• Young people valued their safe space – motivated by
opportunities for activities rather than equipment etc.

21. OUTCOMES

22. QUESTIONS?
Louise Baudet, Occupational Therapist
Magenta Occupational Therapy, Coleshill Town Hall
High Street, Coleshill, B46 3BG
Email : MagentaOT@mail.com
Tel 0781 0735094
Facebook - MagentaOT