|
Youth Consultation
Peterborough Youth Service
2003 - 2004 Report
Major Events & Milestones
Over the last year we’ve encompassed a lot of new skills with the experiences
we’ve encountered. A significant project we have been involved in was the
Peterborough Learners Forum, where we were charged with finding out what young
people think about education, and to ask their opinion on what needs changing.
It wasn’t an easy task; we had to find and interview four hundred thirteen to
nineteen year olds, asking them questions like “what does equal opportunities
mean to you?” and “what do you think needs changing in education?”. There were
quite a few qualitative questions and quite a few quantitative questions so that
we could get both statistics and detailed opinions. We then processed the
information and put them onto a site, which is viewable on the www.ycp.info/lfr
site.
Shortly after the Peterborough Learners Forum came to a conclusion we got
involved with redesigning the hospital. The Greater Peterborough Health
investment wanted us to be involved with developing a £250 million extension on
the hospital. The young people put together designs of how they thought it could
look in a scrapbook. Some of the ideas suggested were to add more colour, but
not a blaring amount, and to incorporate larger gardens. It was nice that the
local NHS wanted to include a young person’s perspective on the changes and it
also shows that they have an open mind and a fresh outlook.
We also began working on a project called “Give us your time”. Cambridgeshire
Constabulary offered the Young People’s Office £1500 to develop a report on
young offenders. Through peer research and interviewing, the young people
developed a final report and also converted it into a webpage format.
Towards the end of the year we found ourselves needing to move from our original
office, in the Town Hall, to Bayard place, where we had an office specifically
built for us. The reasons behind this were no-one’s fault, but there were
certain problems at the time with the move. The Young People used a mature
approach to solving their problems, arranging meetings with the people in charge
and specifically writing about our queries and worries. The problems were
quickly dealt with and we have settled in very nicely here at Bayard.
A major event for the Young People’s Office was the Quality Audit inspectors
coming to visit. The inspector seemed quite impressed with the work that was
going on in the office and we all talked to him about what we do and how we feel
about the general environment. It was quite a friendly and relaxed atmosphere
and we got a good report. Here is part of what was said; “An example of good
practice was found at the Young People’s Office. The work seen typified the
youth work agenda and empowered young people to take active roles in decision
making throughout Peterborough.”
A group of young people were also invited down to Downing Street to present the
“Young Person’s Agenda for Democracy – One Year On” report, which had been a
follow on from the Y-Vote? Y-Not? initiative by the Children and Young People’s
Unit. The report was concerned with the decline in interest in politics among
young people. The youth are the voters are tomorrow, but yet they weren’t being
encouraged to take an active role in the political decisions that affect them
now. The young people presented the report to an official in Downing Street,
specifically being able to go past all the security and outside the house.
One thing we have been involved in is interviewing; some young people have been
involved with appointing staff within Youth Services. This gives the young
people not only interviewing skills, and a link with outside work, but a sense
of real responsibility and non-tokenistic value. Young people took an active
role with appointing the Head of the Youth Service and development managers.
We have encountered a few hurdles both internally and externally. Within the
group in the Young People’s Office there is obviously quite a large mix of
individuals getting involved. We have had, from time to time, a few problems
with team building and possibly just personality clashes. We developed a policy
to overcome this to keep things fair and equal within the office. This meant
there would be no name calling or abuse between people, because a big part of
the Young People’s Office is self growth and development, and conflicts between
people diminish the progress greatly. We’ve also had a few problems with
computers and equipment going wrong, and trying to get things replaced or
installed quickly enough. Sometimes there have been delays and misunderstandings
but these have all been dealt with accordingly.
|
HOME
PAGE
Contents
Introduction
Young
People’s Involvement
Budget plan
Acknowledgements
Take
Forward & Improve?
Our
Recommendations
|
