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NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 80
Here are 2 articles from this edition of the newsletter. To read the full edition click here which will open the PDF version. If you have a problem with this, please contact the web administrator.
Editorial So here it is, my second editorial! I’ve been racking my brain for days thinking of what to write about to welcome you all to this issue. After reading through all the stories a few times I discovered there are loads of things to talk about and perhaps my editorial’s not long enough! Also in this issue a little bit of information about the MALAP Reference Group, The Listening to Children Strategy Reference Group and all the different groups which we have here at IiC. There are a few articles about a topic that is important for all children and young people, schools! We may not like it but it gives us a great start in life and the government initiative “Building Schools for the Future” is explained to us by a member of the Building Schools for the Future team. There is also the chance to find out more information about the initiative and keep up to date with the government plans.
In keeping with the “Building Schools for the Future” theme, the competition for this issue is designing your perfect school. Full details can be found within the issue. The rant this issue is by Anna Roebuck and is all about underage drinking, if there is anything you agree or disagree with in the article feel free to write or email your thoughts on the topic. Just before I go off to enjoy the sun, I would like to wish everyone who is either currently sitting exams or who has just finished their exams the best of luck ☺ Don’t forget if you have any burning issues, you can get in touch in the usual ways…… Have a good summer ☺☺☺ Supported living Hi, we are Sarah and Abbey. We are young people who work closely with Investing In Children and the Listening to Children Young people’s Reference Group. Our latest piece of work has been to get young people’s views and opinions on Supported Living and the general support provided to young people when they are separated from their families. We have found out that Local Authorities are no longer responsible for monitoring standards of supported accommodation. However, after speaking to other young people we have become aware that the standard of some of the accommodation is deplorable and at best concerning. It would appear that nobody is taking responsibility for monitoring and inspecting these. Whilst there have been some improvements since the Care Leavers Act of 2000, this is not the case for all young people. For example, a young person over the age of 16 who never had any contact with social services before, presented themselves to social services housing. Instead of being able to offer them appropriate needs led accommodation they were offered sub standard accommodation and given little/no option or choice. As you can imagine young people who have been separated from their family are very vulnerable and need more than a roof over their head. The impact on young people’s lives is immense. Young people do not always get the support they need or that has been promised. Also young people in supported accommodation can be regularly stigmatised due to a lack of support and an undeserved reputation. We feel if supported accommodation provided the support that they are meant to and had regular inspections to see that standards have been met, these problems could be overcome. We believe the Government needs to regulate and inspect private and voluntary sector accommodation. We feel young people in supported accommodation do not have enough of a voice and feel neglected. As a group, we have written to the Secretary of State and our local Members of Parliament to express our concerns. We are now awaiting their reply, so watch this space and we will let you know what’s happening. Abbey and Sarah Building schools for the future Hello my name is Mel and I am part of the Building Schools for the Future Reference Group. So what’s that I hear you ask? The Building Schools for the Future is the largest, single, government investment in improving school buildings for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew every secondary school in England over a ten to fifteen year period The personal aim of the group I am involved with is to get all young peoples voices heard so that they can be treated equally during the debate. We want all young people to be working closely with the adults so that they are constantly involved in the planning and development process. Young people have fresh experiences of school life, whether it is bad or good and the future generations need our experiences to be perfected. The current group consist of people from different areas of County Durham and the ex-assistant commissioners, a previous government youth group. We are hoping to hold events to encourage young people to give their views and also welcome them to join the group.
We met recently to discuss any ideas we have, a few of the issues we thought could be changed or developed were;
The main issue that was raised was that a lot of young people go to school to socialise with their friends, the school timetable and layout should be more flexible for the comfort of the students, giving them designated areas to socialise with other students. We would like all young people to be involved in the debate we DO NOT want adults making all the decisions. The group hopes to grow, researching international and national ideas, to become experts so that we can pass on our knowledge to others. Thanks for reading this Mel MacPherson.
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