Review of the National Participation Standards Charter and Kitemark for Children and Young People: summary

The National Participation Standards (NPS) were developed in 2007 and updated in 2017 to support organisations that work with children and young people to embed good practice around participation. All 22 local authorities across Wales are mandated to promote and facilitate children and young people’s participation. In order to meet this duty, and those placed upon them in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (UK legislation), local authorities are expected to work with relevant partners to adopt the standards.

Other organisations across the public, private and third sector in Wales working directly with children and young people are also encouraged to adopt and embed the standards within their practice. The standards are further reflected in numerous Welsh Government policies and embedded into the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’s The Right Way Approach.

The NPS Charter and Kitemark

The NPS Charter and Kitemark were established as tools to support the implementation of the standards in Wales.

The NPS Charter was established in 2019 for organisations looking to adopt the standards to voluntarily demonstrate their commitment to them over a 2 year period. The Charter process requires a statement outlining the organisation’s achievement against the standards, with the option of going on to apply for the Kitemark.

The NPS Kitemark (established in 2017), is awarded to organisations that have successfully embedded the standards within their practice and is valid for 4 years. To achieve the Kitemark, organisations must carry out a self-assessment, including providing evidence of effective implementation of the standards. Organisations are externally inspected by a group of Young Inspectors, who are trained to carry out the assessment.

Welsh Government funds Children in Wales to manage the implementation of the NPS Charter and Kitemark. The Kitemark process has been on hiatus since 2023, while a review is undertaken to understand their take-up and implementation across public sector organisations in Wales.

The purpose of the review was to understand the barriers faced by public sector organisations applying for the NPS Charter and Kitemark schemes and to inform the Welsh Government’s evidence-based decision making regarding the future of the NPS Charter and Kitemark schemes.

The two specific aims

• To review and assess the evidence around the efficacy of charters, accreditation schemes and awards in supporting organisations to embed quality good practice drawing on the literature to identify approaches that work most effectively and why.
• To explore the barriers facing organisations around the adoption of the NPS Charter, Kitemark and the uptake of schemes, why certain organisations chose other approaches to promote participation, and where used, the extent to which the NPS Charter and Kitemark help organisations to deliver and embed the NPS.

Ecorys UK carried out the review between July and December 2025. A mixed methods approach was deployed, combining desk research and semi-structured qualitative interviews with a cross-section of national and local key stakeholders. The tasks included:

Stage 1: Inception and scoping

Exploratory interviews with Welsh Government officials and representatives from the Children’s Rights Advisory Group, the All Wales Participation Workers Network (AWPWN), the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and Children in Wales, to establish the strategic context for children and young people participation in Wales; situate the NPS Charter and Kitemark, and identify priorities for implementing the NPS.

Stage 2: Evidence review

To identify the characteristics of UK schemes and international comparators that are effective in supporting public sector organisations to deliver and embed quality practice at national level, barriers and enablers, and outcomes and their measurement.

Stage 3: Qualitative research

Interviews with stakeholders from public sector organisations to explore key opportunities and barriers facing organisations around the adoption of the NPS Charter and Kitemark and scheme uptake, and alternative approaches to promote and embed children and young people’s participation.

Stage 4: Analysis and reporting

Triangulation of the qualitative and quantitative data, research synthesis and preparation of interim and final reports.

The findings should be interpreted in light of the study’s limitations. As interviews were largely with Local Authority staff mainly from Children’s and Youth Services the review could not fully capture barriers across the wider public sector, introducing a likely optimism bias.

Findings from the literature review

There is clear evidence that award schemes can play a valuable role in embedding quality standards within the everyday culture of organisations, and drive service improvement (Sebba and Robinson, 2014; Quennerstedt, 2022; Education Workforce Council, 2024; Public Health Wales, 2024). Schemes that set out clear standards and provide constructive feedback, typically support organisations in identifying areas for growth.

Where funding is linked to these schemes, it often enables activities such as mentoring, peer visits, and the sharing of best practice through professional networks. The most successful schemes combine recognition with ongoing practical support, helping organisations to maintain momentum and supporting continuous improvement.

Organisational improvement was more apparent where schemes provided structured opportunities to learn from peers, through events and mentoring networks (Watkins and Beschel, 2010; Rosenblatt, 2011; Bernier et al., 2015). These activities can facilitate the sharing of ideas and proven approaches, help build staff confidence, and support the achievement of professional standards across sectors and the workforce.

Main characteristics from the literature review

• Anchored in a clear set of measurable criteria.
• Visible, actively publicised, and widely recognised.
• Signify high quality, and have an aspirational element.
• Hold organisations to account with proportionate monitoring and evaluation.
• Make use of benchmarks and milestones to gauge improvement.
• Combine self-assessment and external assessment to validate progress.
• Reward efforts to achieve and maintain accredited status.
• Celebrate and disseminate success and share good practices.

Continual self-assessment and evidence-based reflection were a common hallmark of effective schemes. Tools such as self-evaluation frameworks, ‘deep dive’ checklists, and evidence-based toolkits often enable organisations to review their participation practices, identify strengths and gaps, and plan targeted improvements (Education Workforce Council, 2024; Burley, 2025; Public Health Wales, 2025). This structured approach ensures that changes are based on real information and supports ongoing enhancement of practice.

The literature underlines the importance of establishing the right conditions and infrastructure that allow kitemarks and awards schemes to thrive. Impactful schemes were embedded within the core functions of public sector organisations and aligned with other standards or duties that were central to their mandate. Endorsement by senior managers, the designation of internal ‘champions’ or advocates, and training and awareness raising for the workforce were all important elements to safeguard schemes against the effects of staff turnover and shifting organisational priorities over time.

The qualities of being both ‘measurable and celebrated’ and ‘recognition plus dissemination’ were common to the successful examples within the literature. These elements can help to avoid tokenism, by making visible and holding public sector organisations to account both vertically to Government and horizontally to peers. Schemes with a national brand often combined endorsement at a policy level with arms-length implementation through a delivery partner to maintain independence. In most of the examples, awarding bodies played a pivotal role by offering structured training, practical guidance, and ongoing support to participating organisations.

The National Participation Standards

The review found a high level of endorsement of the Standards among public sector stakeholders taking part in the research. They were generally viewed as being clear, achievable, and relevant, and providing a benchmark for children and young people’s participation across Wales. Where fully implemented, stakeholders noted the contribution of the NPS in strengthening local participation strategies, refining service delivery, and embedding youth voice in decision-making processes.

This is especially the case within participating local authority Youth Services and Children’s Services. The designation of responsibility for the NPS to participation workers, supported by training and awareness raising has clearly provided a valuable focal point for local implementation, while the All Wales Participation Workers Network (AWPWN) has connected practices at an all-Wales level.

Stakeholders were less confident about the reach of the NPS beyond local authority departments and services with direct responsibilities for engagement with children and young people. Awareness and support for the NPS varied across the wider workforce, and stakeholders interviewed thought that embedding the NPS requires different approaches in larger organisations compared to smaller organisations.

Additionally, there was a perceived need for greater direction and guidance around capacity building to better support public sector organisations to adopt the NPS. This was particularly the case where awareness and experience with children's participation was limited. It was suggested that Welsh Government should more strongly require local authorities to demonstrate how they promote youth participation, while recognising that implementation is ultimately a local responsibility.

The National Participation Standard Charter and Kitemark

The review found mixed levels of awareness of the NPS Kitemark and Charter beyond services and teams that work directly with children and young people. Amongst those already engaged the schemes were seen as beneficial in raising the profile of children and young people’s participation and added weight to local efforts to implement the NPS through a recognised, Welsh Government backed framework.

Where organisations had previously held the Charter and Kitemark, reported benefits included strengthened professional credibility when advocating for children’s rights and participation with other stakeholders, and consolidation and reinforcement of high-quality practice. While requiring a significant time commitment, the evidence requirements for the Kitemark had the benefit of encouraging critical self-reflection and had prompted action to address gaps in NPS implementation.

Stakeholders highlighted the importance of the Young Inspector role in the NPS Charter and Kitemark process, noting that it provides visible accountability, but they also expressed concerns about the limited ongoing participation at local level beyond the challenge provided by the Young Inspector teams.

The Charter was valued for its clarity and simplicity of the application process whilst the Kitemark process was described as more onerous, with some organisations citing perceived complexity and time demands. They also expressed feeling less convinced of its benefits. Others viewed the Kitemark favourably and indicated they may apply if the scheme reopens. A further set of organisations signalled a preference for alternative schemes aligned with similar goals for children and young people’s rights and participation.

The review identified several limitations of the current set-up of the NPS Charter and Kitemark. Stakeholders observed a gap between the Charter's light-touch commitment and the substantial effort needed for Kitemark attainment, noting that the Charter lacks actionable benchmarks. This may exacerbate differences in local capacity and lead to inconsistencies in NPS implementation across Wales.

Whilst there was appreciation expressed for support from Children in Wales with the application and assessment processes, stakeholders also highlighted limited opportunities for peer learning and best-practice sharing, alongside insufficient monitoring and evaluation to demonstrate comparative effectiveness. Although not directly comparable, the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative illustrates how embedded monitoring can strengthen evidence and practice.

Future development

Overall, the review indicates that the NPS Charter and Kitemark could have a continuing role to play as one of several mechanisms to support and challenge public sector organisations in Wales to implement the NPS. The recent hiatus presents the drawback of having lost some momentum for the scheme. At the same time, however, it provides an opportunity to address some of the perceived areas for development. These are as follows.

Differentiation

There was a consensus that one size does not fit all, and that the NPS Charter and Kitemark scheme would benefit from additional scaffolding and interim milestones against which to celebrate progress on the Kitemark journey. A Gold, Silver, Bronze award model offers a potential way to benchmark organisations at varying stages of development from early progress to excellence. Supplementary guidance may also prove beneficial for public sector organisations other than local authorities, tailored to their service context (e.g. health, crime, education).

Scope

The review indicates that take-up and ambassadorship for the NPS Charter and Kitemark has focussed on organisations or services with a clear remit and expertise for children and young people. This is wholly appropriate and has helped to ensure that participation efforts are led by those with an understanding of child rights, safeguarding and age-appropriate tools and mechanisms. At the same time, awareness and engagement with the NPS has often fallen short within organisations or services within the wider public sector. This is likely to require a combination of leveraging support at a strategic level through awareness raising for PSBs and RSBs, and celebrating examples of cross-sectoral work to demonstrate what can be achieved.

Accountability

The review pointed towards the need for stronger accountability mechanisms to help establish a minimum level of expectation and to provide challenge alongside support. There is a case for Welsh Government to consider how or whether public sector organisations, and local authorities might be further challenged to demonstrate progress with NPS implementation. A relaunched Charter and Kitemark scheme with a higher profile offers a potential way to reward excellence while incentivising other organisations to follow their example.

Capacity building

Public sector staff reported operating in the context of finite budgets and competing priorities, there was a demand for tools and resources to support public sector workers in their role advocating for the NPS. A case was made for a toolkit with checklists, reporting templates, and examples of good practice to communicate what is needed to meet the standards to busy departments, and to help ensure consistency and sustainability across teams. Training for participation officers about the Charter and Kitemark processes to embed knowledge and share it within their own organisations was also highlighted as an action that might help with sustainability.

Evidence

It would be beneficial to commission a full independent evaluation of the schemes to gather additional empirical evidence of their effectiveness and outcomes. Support with self-evaluation and evidence-gathering is also an important aspect of capacity building, while stakeholders would also clearly welcome further connections with other organisations, undertaking peer learning and sharing practices. The All Wales Participation Workers’ Network (AWPWN) offers a potential route for this.

Child and youth voices

Child and youth participation was felt to be strongly embedded in the development of the NPS, and in the Young Inspector model. However, while the Young Inspector role is highly valued, stakeholders agreed it is not currently resourced or scaled to support an expanded scheme. Should the NPS Charter and Kitemark be re-instated, stakeholders wanted to see a review of the capacity, recruitment, representation, training and supervision for these teams and to scale-up proportionately. There was also support for rebalancing the national-local dimension enabling Young Inspectors to engage collaboratively with local child and youth structures to better reflect diverse local experiences.

Visibility and dissemination

Momentum for the NPS Charter and Kitemark might be considerably enhanced by connecting the process to more visible celebrations of achievements. An annual awards event would provide a means of stamping the NPS on the calendar, and a forum for local participation teams to bring along representatives from other services or departments so that there is a collective stake and sharing in success beyond Children and Youth Services alone. As the scheme has been in hiatus, a rebrand also help to boost visibility and establish a foothold upon relaunch.

The Welsh Government may wish to undertake further consultation to determine the optimum configuration of schemes, awards and incentives to support the implementation the NPS, including the tabling of specific options for appraisal.

Report author: Gabriela Freitas, Sophie Hayes, Laurie Day

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:

Social Research and Information Division
Knowledge and Analytic Services
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: SocialJusticeResearch@gov.wales

Social research number: 37/2026
Digital ISBN: 978-1-83745-414-3