The Youth Development Board will be a programme to involve young people in the planning and delivery of Eikon's services. The board will consist of young people who meet on a monthly basis to discuss the needs of their peers and how we can best support them. By formalising our consultation with young people we believe that our services will be more in tune with current need and enable us to respond more easily. Each young person on the board will have their own personal development plan too.

The young people we work with have a variety of differing and often complex needs; from learning difficulties to social, emotional and behavioural issues. The programme will span the range of ages Eikon works with (predominantly 11-19 years olds). We believe that this diversity will give us a better understanding of how needs change throughout school and how Eikon can best support young people. The board will benefit not only those who take part in it, but all those who use our services.

For those young people on the board, an investment in their personal development, including mentoring to develop social, communication and leadership skills, and activities designed to build self confidence. In terms of outcomes for the charity as a whole, we believe the Board will help us better understand existing and emerging need and be able to respond in the most effective way. Local communities will also benefit as we will be encouraging young people to take a more active role in them.