The citywide youth voice TAKEOVER!
In January, one of Leeds City Council’s annual ‘youth takeover’ events took place. The takeover events are run by the Voice, Influence and Change team. They work with members of different strategic boards, to bring together these ‘decision makers’ members of the board, and young people whose lives are affected by the board’s decisions. It is Child Friendly Leeds wish 3 in action!
This particular takeover was of a ‘Children and Young People’s Partnership Board’ meeting, and the young people who took over the meeting came from various different ‘youth voice’ groups across the city.
Who attended?
Young people and youth workers from 12 different groups attended the takeover. They were:
- Barca VIP
- Change by Shine (St Luke’s Care)
- Children in Care / Care Leavers Council
- Getaway Girls
- Gipsil
- LEAP (Leeds Young Carers Support Service, Family Action)
- Leeds City Council Youth Service
- LS14 Trust
- Leeds SEND Youth Council
- Members of Youth Parliament / Leeds Youth Council
- Youth Collective
- YouthWatch
As well as the young people, there were lots of ‘decision makers’ in the room (i.e. people with some influence over decisions that affect young people’s lives). These included staff from Leeds City Council, probation workers, police officers and NHS workers.
What was discussed?
The whole takeover event was run by young people, and led by the Leeds Members of Youth Parliament who took to the stage.
The topic of the event was all about ‘crime and safety’ as this was voted as the top issue for children and young people in Leeds in the 2024 Make Your Mark Ballot, and links to Child Friendly Leeds wish 2.
Topics the young people wanted to address ranged from gangs and violence, to online safety and peer pressure and all the groups had a chance to bring up their concerns with decision makers in the room. Some of the discussions from the event have been summarised below, with the ideas of the young people given under each.
Increasing safety of parks
Make lighting in parks better and have street safety officers.
Creating young-people-friendly-spaces
Develop open spaces and consider lighting, plants and mirrors.
Create a youth hub with sports, crafts, dancing etc.
Create night time spaces in the community that educate through activities.
Address conduct issues in schools
Have a nominated school nurse in every school.
Make PSHE lessons engaging and coproduce them with young people so they are linked to reality.
Raising awareness of safe places
Use schools and social media.
Making public transport safer
Training for bus drivers. Public transport is often needed to get to a safe place so it needs to be clean, regular and affordable.
Improve current youth groups and clubs
Increase funding for resources and sessions around life skills to improve the number of young people who have access to a trusted adult.
What next?
Each decision maker was asked to make a pledge before they left. 17 pledges were received and each decision maker will be required to feedback to the Voice Influence and Change team by July 2025 about progress they have made.
A glimpse into the evening…
Are you a young person who wants to have a say in decisions that affect your life?
If you are a young person who doesn’t know how to have your voice heard or have a say in decisions that affect your life, check out the YOUTH VOICE GUIDE for your area. Just click the Wish 3 button below.
