Shropshire Council is one of the pilot areas for the national Youth Transformation Project, aiming to create a new and coordinated youth offer, embedding youth work across all areas.
Part of this work has been the creation of Youth Advisors, young people aged 16 -25 years, who will work together to make decisions about services for young people in Shropshire. This opportunity is open to any young person who lives or studies in Shropshire and young people from the SEND Community have been encouraged to get involved.
We have spoken to three young people who are known to PACC, and who have been successful in their applications to be Shropshire Youth Advisors. Jess, Tom and Hugo have all participated in the PACC Healthy Lives Programme and in particular joined the Rocking Horse Media film sessions last year, which resulted in the short film ‘Spark’ exploring the community experience of young neurodivergent people.
They explained to us that they had attended one of the projects 3 introduction events (which were offered online and in person) and felt very welcomed. There were lots of different young people present, but importantly Tom told us there were fidget items and snacks and it felt like they were saying “we get you and you are welcome here”.
Jess told us that over the summer there will be a range of workshops for them to join and opportunities to codesign a Youth Advisory Board and system. They will then be able to apply for Board roles and help shape services and support for young people in Shropshire.
We talked about the difference that they would like to make. Tom told us that he hoped they could focus on “the stuff that matters” and that he “wants them to be in the room with the right people” because they have “real experiences that can help a lot of people”. Hugo spoke about improving the experience of young people with SEND on public transport and in community spaces, which can be very unpredictable. Jess would like to “raise the profile of young people with SEND, especially in health care and education”.
We wish them all the very best in these new roles and are excited to hear more about what they have been doing, when we catch up again in 6 months’ time.