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In 2003, the Government published a document called
Every Child Matters. As a result of the report, the
Government is aiming for every child to have enough
support to achieve five things: 1) Be healthy, 2) Stay
safe, 3) Enjoy and achieve, 4) Make a positive contribution
and 5) Achieve economic well-being. To make sure this
happens where you live, the Council asked the National
Children’s Bureau to come and talk to children
and young people about what they think of local services.
We spoke to 122 children and young people aged 10 to
18 years, 57 boys and 65 girls. 19 young people came
from black and minority ethnic groups. They included:
•
children and young people attending primary and secondary
schools;
•
children and young people not living with their families;
•
children and young people who had brothers and sister
with special needs; and
•
children and young people who were not in school because
they were having a difficult time.
Here’s a summary of what you said.
Education
Most young people think education is important because
it will help them find a job and do well in the future.
There are a number of things that encourage young people
to go to school: making friends; teachers and parents
expecting them to do well; not wanting to let the school
down; and wanting to do as well as brothers or sisters.
Most young people we spoke to in schools thought that
generally they were getting a good education.
After leaving school young people not living with their
families found it difficult to carry on their education.
Even though they want to go to college or university,
these young people often cannot afford to because they
have to find a job to pay their bills.
Children and young people would like to have counselling
at school if they wanted it and private places where
they can go for this support.
Some young people told us that when they had been out
of school because of family troubles or because they
had been in trouble with the Police; it often took
a very long time to get them back into school.
Having more services in schools
Overall, young people had mixed feelings about the
idea of Extended Schools because they don’t want
too many adults in their space, and they are not sure
if their school is safe if it is used by people they
don’t know. But, students like the idea of health
services on school premises, especially school nurses
and they already enjoy having sports and after school
clubs.
Social Workers
Some young people that we spoke to were happy with
their social workers, but felt that support should
be more regular. They also said that too many staff
leave after a short time and it was difficult to get
to know and trust them. These young people feel that
the Council should do more to keep their staff happy
so that they stay for longer.
Some Council workers were criticised for stereotyping
young people and not understanding their situation.
Young people who had not been living with their families
and were leaving social service care, suggested that
these Council workers have training and meet with young
people to find out what their issues are and learn
how not to talk down to them.
Everybody we spoke to had concerns about people sharing
information about them. They were worried about information
being kept without their permission, and were really
concerned about the Police having access to their records.
Young people also want to be able to look at their
own files without having to fill in too many forms.
Anti-social behaviour and crime
Younger children talked about being scared of teenagers
and areas in parks where it was not safe. Most young
people feel that they will be victims of crime at some
point in the future. There is also the feeling that
the Police target young people too much, even when
they are not doing anything wrong. Many of the young
people we spoke to thought they were unfairly blamed
for anti-social behaviour that was mostly done by people
in their late teens and early twenties. Most of the
young people we spoke to said there are not enough
interesting things to do in Havering, which they can
enjoy and afford.
What happened to all the information and ideas you
gave us?
All the things you said were written into a big report
for the Council to look at. We also gave a presentation
at a conference in front of lots of people who work
in Havering and told them what you said and shared
some really good examples with them.
What happens next?
The Council are really serious about listening to young
people and have now asked to have training so that
they can be better at involving you in the future. |
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