A new partnership between Children in Wales and Medr is helping to strengthen youth voice within sixth form education across Wales.

Medr is responsible for funding and regulating the tertiary education and research sector in Wales. It has commissioned Children in Wales to work with local authority-maintained schools with sixth forms across the country, to support learners in understanding and co-producing digital resources to support with implementation of the newly published statutory Learner Engagement Code.

The project offers opportunity for young people to have their voices heard, enabling learners to share their views and play an active role in decision-making processes that affect school governance and issues that matter to them. Through this work, learners will help shape how the Learner Engagement Code is implemented within their schools and wider educational settings.

Using a co-production approach, Children in Wales will work alongside sixth form learners to plan, advise and co-create a suite of digital resources to support the implementation of the code within schools.

Through engagement sessions with a number of schools across Wales, sixth form learners are being supported to have their voices effectively represented in decision-making. These sessions will help learners shape resources that support school staff, governors and peers to implement the Learner Engagement Code, while promoting meaningful involvement in decisions that affect their educational experience.

Reflecting on the importance of learner voice within the project, Kate Thomas, Projects and Partnership Manager at Children in Wales said:

“Children and young people are experts in their own educational experiences. This project is about creating meaningful opportunities for sixth form learners to influence decision-making and contribute to resources that will support learner engagement across Wales.”

At the heart of this work, and in line with the principles of the Learner Engagement Code, is the belief that learners should have a voice because their perspectives, insights and lived experience are invaluable in shaping implementation of this guidance. Youth voice and co-production are central to this project, creating space for learners to act as partners in the process and influence governance within their schools.

Commenting on the project, Hannah Reilly, Senior Learner Engagement Manager at Medr, said:

“We firmly believe that learners should play an active and meaningful role in shaping decisions that affect their education and experiences. We’re delighted to be working with Children in Wales on this project which embodies Medr’s collaborative values and the principles of the Learner Engagement Code by ensuring learners are key to the development of resources.”

The final co-produced digital resources will be shared in Autumn 2026, supporting schools, governors and learners across Wales to implement the Learner engagement code.