According to Lundy (Lundy, 2007; Welty & Lundy, 2013), to truly respect and give voice to children’s views, four separate factors require consideration (Figure 1):

Space: ‘creating an opportunity for involvement – a space in which children are encouraged to express their views’ (Welty & Lundy, 2013:2);

Voice: recognizing children’s many languages and enabling diverse opportunity of expression, using as many ways of listening as possible to ensure that children have the opportunity to explore and represent their perspectives in their own terms (Moskal & Tyrrell, 2015);

Audience: ensuring children that their views are listened to by adults, especially by those who make decisions;

Influence: ensuring that children’s views are not only heard, but that they are taken seriously and, whenever possible, acted upon.

Meaningful learning experiences are needed, through formal and informal education, so that children can become knowledgeable, responsible and active citizens in their communities (Council of Europe, 2010).