Leeds Youth Voice Groups Takeover @ Civic Hall
We welcomed 32 young people from youth voice groups from across Leeds to have their say on issues around health; transport; education; play and inclusion.
What happened on the night?
All the youth groups started arriving to the Banqueting Hall at Leeds Civic Hall from around 4:00pm. They ate some food and got prepared for the evening…
The young people were leading the meeting as it was a youth group takeover!
After a warm-up game, the youth voice groups headed to their stands to tell the Councillors, Officers and Senior Leaders (‘decision makers’) about what their groups are all about.
The young people spoke to as many of the 21 decision makers as possible in 30 minutes.
Then, we split into groups for workshops on different topics…
The young people lead the workshops, which linked to the Child Friendly Leeds 12 wishes, and spoke to the ‘decision makers’ about the issues that were affecting them.
After the young people had highlighted some of the important issues, the workshops split into smaller groups and, together, young people and decision makes discussed the next steps and possible solutions.
A summary of each workshop is given below…
Play
This workshop was led by the Youth Service and Youth Association groups. In this workshop various issues were discussed:
- places to play and hang out in local areas
- safety in local areas
- assumptions about children and young people
Transport
This workshop was led by the Youth Collective and the Gipsil AIM project group. In this workshop, various issues were discussed:
- isolated bus stops that can feel unsafe
- more staff in stations to improve safety
- reduced travel fares for younger travellers
- lighting around the city centre to make safer walking routes
Education…
Opportunities…
and Inclusion
This workshop was led by the SEND Youth Forum, the L.E.A.P group and Barca VIP group. This workshop included various issues:
- support and understanding of SEND and neurodiversity in schools
- support and understanding of social, emotional and mental health difficulties
- support and understanding of racism
- support and understanding of individual student behaviours and needs
Health…
including Mental Health
This workshop was led by the Members of Youth Parliament as well as the Leeds Mind Steering Group and the YouthWatch group. This workshop covered various issues:
- access to dental care and the impact it has on attendance, confidence and mental health
- support for young people who are on waiting lists for CAHMS/assessments
- awareness of mental health support and services available for young people
One Response
[…] Young people commented that ‘it was perfect’, they felt ‘real change was made’ and that it was ‘a valuable opportunity for young people to share their voice in Leeds’. Requests were made to ‘do this more’, to have ‘more time to talk about issues and experiences’ and have ‘more time to speak with decision makers’. Read more on the Child Friendly Leeds blog. […]
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