PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 17 Young people, participatory research and experiences of leaving care

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 17 Young people, participatory research and experiences of leaving care Andrew West Introduction The participatory research process This article is about a participatory research project, run by Save the Children-UK (SCF- In 1995 a research project on leaving care was UK)1. The research examined the experiences developed by SCF and the funders of the of young people leaving care. It was done by project, Natwest Bank. It was decided that it young people who had themselves recently left would be `participatory'. Care leavers were to care, and involved five projects across England. be involved as far as possible; they were to The process of developing the research is make the decisions in the research process and outlined below, with some indication of the carry out the interviews themselves3. Ten young findings and reflections emerging from this people, mostly aged 16 or 17 years, were example of participatory research (Alderson, recruited from five SCF projects across England 1995; Dodson 1995). (Bolton, Kirklees, Leeds, London, Oxford). Young people leaving care Throughout the research process they were supported by staff from the five projects and Every year around 10,000 young people 2 who myself. Overall responsibility for ...