Talking mat

Had an interesting meeting today with Margo Mackay from Talking Mats. This is a tool to help young people of all ages express their views and feelings. Staff are trained to assist children and young people to say, if they wish, how they feel about themselves and their outlook on their wellbeing. The "mat" is interpreted into a report, linked to the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators.

There are various caveats: don't just focus on 1 item; and recognise that this is a snapshot at a point in time.

Our interest is in understanding how best to inform panel members about what has gone into a report where Talking Mats has been used do that they can understand the value of the reports. So some work to do on this and other methods of encouraging participation.

But also an interesting discussion about wider applications.