Introduction

Co-production means working together with you and other people who use services to help make them better. This approach:

• makes sure your experiences are listened to and included in decisions
• improves the quality of services
• builds relationships and trust between those who offer the services and those who use them.

How co-production works

Co-production is:

• Children, young people, parent carers, practitioners, and partners working together.

• Making sure SEND services meet the needs of children, young people, and families.

• Everyone getting involved from the very start of a project before any work is done.

• Not about asking for opinions on completed work. This is called consultation.

Co-production charter

Co-production is recognised as an important area of work that we need to keep improving. We have created a co-production charter with:

• Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• The Young Leaders of East Riding (TYLER)
• East Yorkshire Parent Carer Forum (EYPCF).

It is designed to help parents, carers, children, young people, and professionals understand the value of co-production and follow its key principles.

Four cornerstones of co-production

• Welcome and care

  • Make time for introductions.
  • Understand roles.
  • Be friendly and flexible.
  • Make sure everyone has the information they need.
• Value and include

  • Have a kind, respectful, trusting relationship.
  • Reach-out to families.
  • Make sure that services meet needs.
  • Offer a variety of meeting options.
• Communicate and listen

  • Participants are confident to give their views.
  • A safe space to say how we think and feel.
  • Develop a way to provide feedback.
  • Act on feedback.
  • Facilitate effective communications.
• Work in partnership

  • Promote one another and celebrate success.
  • Recognise that co-production is relevant at all levels of decision-making.
  • Encourage participation of all.
  • Make sure information is widely shared.

You can download the latest version of the co-production charter below:

Resources

If you’re planning your own co-production project, you may find our good practice template helpful. It’s for anyone who has made co-production a key part of their work.

If you are a school, college or education provider, we have produced a checklist to help you to make sure you have covered the four cornerstones of co-production: