Youth Voice: Positive Stories (November 2014)

Youth Voice: Positive Stories November 2014

UK Youth Parliament, House of Commons Sitting, 2014

Bonus Edition: Featuring Youth on Board Awards

Youth Voice: Positive Stories A report by youth representatives and the workers that support them November 2014 Welcome to the November 2014 edition of Positive Stories. Our format reflects part of our commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child Article 13 - Freedom of expression ‘Every child must be free to say what they think and to seek and receive all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law,’ (UNICEF UK).

The British Youth Council will share this report regionally and nationally, with local councillors and MPs, and certain media outlets, in order to raise the profile of the fantastic local work that we know is happening every day.

The case studies and stories of the work of young people in their local communities are reproduced here in their own words. If you would like to find out more about one of the projects you read about in this report, please email: mail@byc.org.uk The online survey remains open and we produce reports once a month, providing young people the opportunity to shout about the great work they have been doing in their local areas during the previous month. Previous reports are available online: http://www.byc.org.uk/ukwork/youth-voice The British Youth Council would like to thank all the workers and young people who took the time to promote and complete November survey and we look forward to hearing more from everyone over the coming months.

This month we have also highlighted the recent results of Youth on Board (YOB) Awards which are an exclusively youth-led rolling award scheme that recognises innovative and exciting youth participation, both from young people and the projects and organisations that support them. See the end of the report for the results and for more information go to: http://www.byc.org.uk/training-services/youth-on-board-awards.aspx The online survey remains open and we produce reports once a month, providing young people the opportunity to shout about the great work they have been doing in their local areas during the previous month. Previous reports are available online: http://www.byc.org.uk/ukwork/youth-voice The British Youth Council would like to thank all the workers and young people who took the time to promote and complete July’s survey and we look forward to hearing more from everyone over the coming months.

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Contents Young People’s Stories East Midlands East of England

4 10

London

14

North East

26

North West

29

South East

38

South West

45

West Midlands

67

Yorkshire and Humber

77

Northern Ireland

96

Scotland

99

Support Worker Stories East of England

101

East Midlands

102

London

104

North East

105

North West

108

South East

114

South West

116

West Midlands

118

Yorkshire and Humber

120

Youth on Board Awards Innovation Award

126

Inspiring Project Award

131

Make a Difference Award

137

Youth Led Award

141

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Young People’s Stories

East Midlands Derbyshire Adam Hoyes, Youth Representative On the 14th November 2014 I was given the amazing opportunity to attend the UKYP House of Commons debate for the third time. Whilst it was a last minute decision to attend only the night before, I was honoured to be able to debate in such a prestigious chamber in one of the most famous parliaments in the world.

After two months of work to collect as many Make Your Mark ballots as possible, it was great to see so many young people come together to debate issues which have received such strong support from the young population of the UK. It was also amazing to have the debate opening by the Rt Hon William Hague MP, to have the debate once again chaired by the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, and to have so many other MPs in attendance, especially my own MP, Natascha Engel, showing powerful support for the work of the UK Youth Parliament.

It made me proud to be part of an organisation such as UKYP whilst watching the quality and passion in every debate in the House of Commons, seeing people I have come to know well through UKYP speak so powerfully from the dispatch box, and I was pleased to be able to have my say on the final topic – Votes at 16. To decide on such important and relevant campaigns for young people was also a major positive step, and I look forward to working on these campaigns over the next year.

Lucy Boardman, 15, Member of Youth Parliament and Youth Councillor On the 14th of November I had the absolute privilege of representing the East Midlands as a Debate Lead at the House of Commons. This was my first time at the House of Commons with the UK Youth Parliament and the experience was one of the best of my life, it was such a phenomenal opportunity to be able to speak at the same Dispatch Box as some of the greatest leaders of our time. I am so looking forward to working on our two national campaigns, Living

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Wage and Mental Health, over the next year and I am so unbelievably proud of every single Debate Lead that represented their regions so brilliantly well, and every MYP that made the day so fantastic and memorable.

Odin Eyden, 16, Member of Youth Parliament At the beginning of the year, while in the process of being elected into the Derbyshire Youth Council, I carried out a survey to find out what is the most wanted thing in the community for the young people. It happened to be a skate-park, so I planned how I could start the campaign for one, after working closely with the local youth service and attending different kind of meetings with councillors and residents, I managed to get funding for the skate park, unfortunately however, the council in its infinite wisdom decided to go against every bodies wishes, and completely forget about the idea, even though the funding was there.

Rachel Wibberley, 16, Member of Youth Parliament Firstly, the biggie, the thing we've all been talking about for weeks/ months... The House of Commons annual debate! This year was my first year & I was honestly astounded by the quality of the speeches and debates and so honoured and proud to have the opportunity to debate in the prestigious House of Commons. On the day, I was savouring my moment to speak in the debate for better mental health services. When John Bercow called out a speaker from the East Midlands I jumped up rapidly, waved my hand manically in the air and gave him the creepiest stare imaginable..... It didn't work.

Unfortunately I didn't get chosen however, mental health still won our vote so I'm extremely pleased! The 14th November is my best memory so far as a MYP the whole experience was unforgettable & meeting John Bercow and William Hague was amazing. I also need to say how proud I am of all of my friends in UKYP because everyone was fantastic that day, and you should all be truly proud! :)

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After the HoC debate, I attended a local council meeting where we shared the results of Make Your Mark with local youth councillors and even got to enjoy some "make your mark cake" to celebrate the huge number of votes this year. We also launched our new campaigns in the youth council meeting and put forward action plans as to how we could drive forward the national campaign in our local authority. It was a huge success and we collated lots of ideas that we shall be putting into action between NOW and the 17th January, which is when we will meet again to discuss progress! :)

Leicestershire Daria Eckert, 14, Member of Youth Parliament I had a wonderful and rewarding experience in the House of Commons. Following the event I wrote an article about what we did in the House of Commons, the results and why we were there. I then sent this report off to various places including:• To my school to be put in my schools newsletters so that all the news of our new campaigns would spread though the school.

• In my local youth council’s (Oadby and Wigston Youth Council) newsletter which will be sent to all schools in Oadby and Wigston as well. I have also sent an email to my local MP Sir Edward Garnier talking about what we did and whether we could disuse the UK Youth Parliament’s new campaigns. I hope this is a good start to two wonderful campaigns.

Portia Berry-Kilby, 16, Member of Youth Parliament The visit to the House of Commons for our annual debate was a great success! To be speaking from the same benches as those who have made the decisions that govern my life was a privilege and honour. Fortunately, I was chosen to speak for my region regarding exam resits, and I hope that my argument was delivered articulately and clearly. It was brilliant to meet John Bercow, William Hague, the Sergeant at Arms (as well as all other attendants) who were most welcoming and pleasant. Since returning, I wrote an article about the event for two local newspapers, both of which printed my story!

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I believe it is of upmost important to report to those that elected me. I hope it is the start of more public speaking and offer opportunity to influence other decision makers. Thank you to UKYP, BYC, John Bercow, my Youth Workers and all gone unnamed for allowing me this incredible opportunity.

Rina Roy, 17, Member of Youth Parliament On 14th November, three Leicestershire MYPs, including me, along with two media representatives, went to London to House of Commons, which was an experience of a life time.

We were there to debate the top five issues from the Make Your Mark ballot where issues were voted on nationally and locally. These were mental health, work experience, living wage, vote at 16/17 and maths and English re-sits. It was incredible to see over 280 MYPs sitting in the House of Commons, from across the country, who were all so passionate about what they had to say. The House of Commons debates come as a result of over 865,000 young people across the country voting, showing their interested in democracy and voicing their opinions – another incredible achievement by UK youth parliament representatives.

I think as a young person we achieved a lot, learning lots of new skills from campaigning, getting young people from our local area to vote on what they think is important, and taking the issues to the House of Commons and debating. It’s a privilege that we are allowed to sit on the green benches where, other than us, only MPs are allowed and being able to do that on behalf of all the young people in Leicestershire and Charnwood Borough makes it even more special. The national campaigns that have gone through and that we are campaigning on next year are improved mental health services for young people and a living wage and I am really happy to be planning to campaign on those issues. I think we can raise awareness and I am going to start working with my local youth council and schools in my area very soon. Our

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County Youth Council also has a residential in December where we are going to plan how we’re going to campaign across our county.

Sian Vincent, 14, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament On November 14th 2014, Members of Youth Parliament from across the United Kingdom gathered in the House of Commons for their 6th annual debate. As a Deputy Member of Youth Parliament, and also a member of CYCLe (County Youth Council Leicestershire), I was invited along to the House of Commons to be a media representative for my area. I was accompanied

by Chloe Southam, who was also a media representative.

Upon arrival, we were taken to the Press Gallery just above the Chamber, and told of the rules that we had to follow. Between then and the time of the actual debates in the chamber, I went around and got one MYP from each constituency to answer two questions; What topic they'd like to have as the UKYP's annual campaign, and why they are passionate about it. Two common campaigns that came up in their answers were Votes at 16 and The Living Wage, many of the MYPs felt strongly about this and wanted to make their opinions on this topic heard.

It was such a fantastic experience to witness young people of the ages 11-18, being so passionate when they debated about the topic of their choice. Many emotions were felt as hearts were spoken from and determination took over those who stood; I had never come across something quite like it.

When the debates concluded and we found out what the UKYP's campaign would be for this year, there was a round of applause as the MYP's thanked and congratulated each other, also saying goodbye to one of the members of the House of Commons, whose last UKYP annual sitting was this very one. After such a brilliant day, I am determined that next time I will become a Member of Youth Parliament and stand as I speak passionately about my views, just as the MYP's did this year.

Rutland Kirah Gordon, 17, Member of Youth Parliament On 14th November I was fortunate enough to attend the House of Commons debate. The annual event holds significant importance as indicated by the great numbers of us who cast our ballots to hear issues discussed. I had a lovely day, it was great to see everyone but most importantly, it was amazing to be involved in such an exciting event in order to improve the lives of young people in the UK. Being able to sit on the same green benches as many of the MPs who inspire me daily was an honour. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to speak but everyone who did, spoke wonderfully, demonstrating informed and passionate ideas.

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'A living wage for all' was also chosen as the priority campaign for England. As well as this, ‘increased mental health awareness’ was also chosen – both of which I voted for. Consequently, I was very happy with the outcome of the campaigns.

The enthusiasm from everyone was incredibly motivating! I left feeling inspired and ready to tackle the next steps. To start off, I shall be submitting a press release to my local newspaper and hopefully getting in contact with my MP in order to raise awareness and achieve our campaigns for next year.

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East of England Central Bedfordshire Michael Ita, 18, Member of Youth Parliament Central Bedfordshire House of Commons Debate 2014 by Michael ITA the House of Commons was a fantastic experience, I felt honoured to be able to speak and it is something I certainly won’t forget. The fact that my name will now be down in a book with my speech on the living wage makes me absolutely lost for words. Just being able to speak in the House of Commons would have been enough but as it was for a topic I deeply am passionate about and relate to I am glad. I was most certainly very pleased with the campaign outcomes also as both the ones I voted for were the campaigns.

I may not have fully represented my constituents but the arguments I heard for mental health and the fact we already have a capacity to resit and get work experience whereas understanding of mental health is certainly not understood. The day itself was amazing, I mean being immersed in the grandeur and history of such an amazing building was fantastic and I even got to take a few selfies (even one with John Bercow in the background, the speaker of the house).

I also very much like the markings and statues there being able to see a representation of Winston Churchill was certainly inspiring. Then it was being actually able to sit on the benches (especially the opposition ones) was really enjoyable and they were surprisingly comfortable. I will probably never have an experience like it and am feeling upset that this is my first and final year of being an MYP as I would have loved so much to do it again

Colchester Jakub Makowski, 17, Member of Youth Parliament November was exciting! The highlight of UKYP's calendar - House of Commons, and it really was fantastic. Opening remarks by The Right Honourable William Hague MP show that the government is taking us more seriously each year as higher ranking ministers are coming to join

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the debate. Colchester reflected the national picture in Make Your Mark with Living and Mental Health motions being the top two issues, on which we are campaigning. I am proud of the quality of House of Commons debate, which seems to be better year on year, and that the mutual respect that we all have for each other and the high standard of debate is teaching MPs a lesson.

Campaigning on Living Wage started straight away. We have launched 'Raise the Wage' in Essex and I have been in contact with my MP and the council leader. Martin Hunt, Leader of Colchester Borough Council wrote back to me saying that all employees of the borough council and its contractors are being paid the living wage. This is fantastic news, but it does not mean our work is done. I will meet with Cllr Hunt to discuss how he could help to further this campaign. I also heard back from my MP Sir Bob Russell, and we have arranged a meeting to discuss this. In general, the response of local decision makers was fantastic and very prompt.

Suffolk Natasha Graves, 17, Member of Youth Parliament Prior the House of Commons debate this month, I sent out a survey for 11-18 year olds in my area to answer. The survey included questions about the 5 debates that the House of Commons sitting concerned. I read the responses thoroughly and prepared ways in which I could directly represent my constituents if I was chosen to speak at the sitting. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to speak, however the response to the survey were very useful, helping me build up a picture of the young people's views in my constituency.

After the decision was announced that Better Mental Health Services and a Living Wage would be our 2015 campaigns I immediately discussed ways in which we could have a local impact on these campaigns with my fellow MYPs. We discussed the prospect of making a film to raise awareness for mental health issues and getting schools to sign pledges to provide mental health education. I also suggested we carried out our own mental health awareness campaigns within our own schools.

Therefore, I decided to contact my Head teacher, I asked him if sixth formers could show a short video that de-stigmatised mental health issues in a tutorial session to years 9-11. The sixth formers would then discuss the issues raised within the clip with the class. My head teacher agreed and we are now working on this project together. I hope that we will be able to come up with even more ways to spread awareness of common mental health problems.

I have also written letters to my local MP and Council Leader regarding the Raise the Wage campaign, asking to meet with them in January to discuss the future of the campaign. I have also been working with my council to host a youth question time next week at my high school; 11

the aim of the session is for young people to voice their opinions on how North East Ipswich can be improved for young people. The session will end with local decision makers pledging what actions they are going to take after hearing the young people's opinions.

Toby Jeffert, 16, Member of Youth Parliament It has been a very busy month for me. One key experience that I was privileged to enjoy recently was the annual debate of the UK Youth Parliament in the House of Commons.

Watching passionate MYPs speak about young people was an honour. I voted for Votes at 16 and improving mental health to be our national campaigns for the next year. I am pleased to say that the latter was chosen, along with a living wage for all employees.

The Bury St Edmunds Youth Forum, an organisation that I chair, has now had its third meeting with a good number of young people attending. The points contributed from young people have been very interesting and informative. The leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Natalie Bennett, has confirmed that she will be speaking at our meeting in March 2015.

I was also recently given the opportunity to present a youth Question Time event in Stowmarket, where a panel of influential decision-makers listened and answered to young people in the audience, who spoke about safety, development and wellbeing of young people in the area.

I have also been honoured in being asked to speak at a Trading Standards event at Parliament in February, based on my work regarding young people and age-restricted sales.

Thurrock Joshua Aldwinckle-Povey, 13, Youth Councillor Here in Thurrock, we've been doing an incredible amount to raise awareness of young people's voices over the past month and in the coming month. I'll start off with a Youth Cabinet supported campaign called Greatness Over Bullies. G.O.B have been incredibly successful in that they have managed to win a ÂŁ300 grant from O2 Think Big to help deliver The Support Room, a young people run support route for young people.

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The campaign also hosted a hugely successful event on the 31st October called Let's Talk About Bullying, where we had young people from the local area, from Brentwood and Epping Forest come to Grays to hear from a panel of 7 people, made up of people like Nick Alston (Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex), Paul Hanmore (Training and Development Manager for the Diana Award Anti Bullying Ambassador Programme), plus young people like Saania Ali, who is one of our own ambassadors for the campaign and a youth councillor, like myself, for Thurrock and Leonora Troshupa, who is a youth councillor for Epping Forest. The campaign had an incredible afternoon with this, and they thank anyone who came who is reading this again for supporting them. But the campaign isn't the only local success in Thurrock. Whilst it may be slightly late to report on, during Local Democracy Week, we ran our third annual Youth Debates event, where councillors debate top issues with our young people. This year, we debated which out of the 10 Make Your Mark topics were the most important and whether bullying can ever be eradicated. We had an enjoyable evening with this and we look forward to our next Youth Debates event in 2015.

Another thing that's been extremely significant in Thurrock is that youth services here are being reviewed, and the local council wants to reform them. Several of us on the Youth Cabinet are now on the Group looking at this, ensuring that the youth services are reformed but with young people in mind. But I think it's fair to say that the thing here in Thurrock we are most looking forward to is the Thurrock YouthCon 2014. Thurrock hasn't hosted a youth conference for young people from across the borough for several years, but when the idea was brought back up again earlier this year and was given the formal approval by our Director of Children's Services, we've had the final say on everything, from the workshops to the catering. It's been an enjoyable experience, and it all culminates to the big day on the 28th November. We've enjoyed the past few months of representing young people, and we're sure it will lead to many, many more.

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London Barking and Dagenham Faraz Hanif, 18, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament With the national government imposing cuts across the country, local councils have had to make quick decisions on where to save the finances. Myself, Stephen (MYP) and the local youth council have been actively involved in making sure that we are consulted on the decisions the council wishes to make. Cuts to the youth service were proposed and this would result in the Barking and Dagenham youth forum being cut and going to the voluntary sector.

Every young person in the forum felt that the voluntary sector could not cope with the scale of the work we do. We invited the leader of the council to our youth centre so that we could hear his side of the argument and also present ours. We also attended a children services meeting in which we argued why the youth service should not be cut. We are now waiting on the final decision and hope that the youth forum along with other youth groups are not cut.

Stephen Abordo, 16, Member of Youth Parliament Unpropitious news soiled the ears of the young people of Barking and Dagenham and brought great despair to the hearts of many , upon hearing about the huge potential financial cuts in our youth services (over the next two years) and also the possibility of the youth services being handed over to the voluntary sectors; regardless of the cuts; which means that the youth forum (and other vital services accessed by young people) as we know them today may not be the same, and in worst case scenarios, it may not even be there at all thereby emphasising the fact that some of our adults are satisfied with the idea and notion that young people are but just a bunch of statistics; which greatly saddens not only me but the youth of my community - to think that young people remain just a bunch of statistics to the vast .

In my short life so far, I have observed and come to the realisation that for one’s future to be bigger, brighter and better, one has to invest time, effort and whatever it takes to make that future GREAT; in this case money; and if truly the older generation believe that young people are the future of tomorrow, why then even consider such huge cuts that will have drastic effects on the youths and the future as a whole? I am almost forced to believe that according to some of our leaders “children and young people are the future leaders of tomorrow� is just but a mere saying. On the contrary, we as a youth forum managed to achieve over 900 petitions signed by young people in the borough against the financial cuts in our services and 14

most of our young people continue to flood our councillors with emails and mails asking questions and raising concerns to amplify our voices and to let our leaders know that we are not happy about their decisions. The youth of Barking and Dagenham were also fortunate to be invited into the chambers of the Barking Town Hall (into a select committee meeting) to voice out our opinions and to ask questions in relation to the cuts. We truly hope that we were not only heard this time around but also listened to!

On a rather positive note, on Friday the 14th of November 2014, I had the honour and privilege of representing the youths of Barking and Dagenham and being involved in the UK Youth Parliament’s annual debate in the House Of Commons , where we debated and voted priority campaigns and following on from the votes, chose the equal Living Wage for all as our national priority campaign for the upcoming year .We believe everybody should earn enough to be able to have a decent standard of living and afford the basic necessities in life.

As part of this, a national day of action (24th January 2015) has been set aside and letters and emails will be sent off to my MP’s and Councillors requesting a meeting where the young people and I will be engaging with MPs through a range of campaign ideas; seeking their help and support for our campaign - first of all by asking the local council to become Living Wage employers and to ensure that all their contractors are the same.

Hopefully, we will gain the support from our councillors and MPs to help promote the campaign to local businesses as well. Last but not the least, one of our sub groups in the youth forum; who are responsible for working on a PSHE coordinated video on sexual health and contraception, continue to work hard in researching and in the production of an educative video to help teachers within the borough educate young people (by the young people) to potentially help raise awareness, as well as reducing the high rates of teenage pregnancy etc.

We should be due to finalise everything and release it to schools within the borough before the year runs out.

Barnet Louise Hawkins, 16, Youth Councillor and Youth Select Committee Member At the start of the month the UK Youth select committee had the launch of their report, it went really well and the report is amazing! Also on Friday the 21st it was take over day and I shadowed the senior management which was great because I hope to work in youth services.

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Brent Maansi Luhar, 16, Member of Youth Parliament Brent Youth Parliament – Steps to Youth Employment It’s a cycle – you can’t get a job due to inadequate experience, but can’t get experience because you don’t have a job. Brent Youth Parliament, in one of their monthly sessions at the beginning of their term, unanimously agreed that Youth Unemployment was the issue to tackle in their next annual campaign. Many members felt that a large factor of the alarming figures was the lack of work experience and education in relevant skills, which is now absent from the curriculum. However, this isn’t just an issue that Brent faces alone, but rather one that is present nationally.

According to the Commons Library Standard Note, in 2014 there were 733,000 young people who were unemployed. We decided to approach this matter in Brent by holding a career’s day for young people, where they could acquire skills that could better prepare them for the world of work. On the 28th of October at Brent Civic Centre, members of Brent Youth Parliament’s planning committee hosted a one day event for young people in Brent aged 14-19, where they

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could attend various relevant workshops as well as see many performances. These included: ‘The Next Step – what to do after compulsory education’; A drama showing the rights and wrongs of what to do at interviews; an inspiring Spoken Word performance by Jean-Pierre ---, Mock interviews, several dance performances by ‘Da Unit’ and ‘Revolution’ and much more.

Feedback after the event was extremely positive and outlined the day as ‘useful’, ‘inspiring’ as well as ‘informative’. Those involved in planning the event were extremely proud and happy about the way the day was run. Cllr Mitchell-Murray, the co-chair of Brent Youth Parliament concluded the event with an inspiring and motivational speech of his journey to becoming a councillor and some exceedingly useful and applicable advice. The successes of the day were due to all of the preceding hard work and planning from the members of BYP as well as the involvement of all the young people.

Written by; Maansi Luhar and Roisin Healy

Camden Hannah Morris, 15, Member of Youth Parliament Extremely Citigroup week! It all started with my WW1 Commemoration speech at the House of Commons. The nerves were strong but I managed to control them and I was extremely happy with my speech. All the other speeches were also amazing.

Due to this I was later on BBC Parliament that evening and on BBC Radio 4 the day after.

In the past week I have also opened a Destinations Fair at Westminster Kingsway College, where I cut the ribbon made a speech, cooked some pancakes and explored many exciting stalls.

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Yesterday I attended the lunch of Camden’s Takeover day. I met Martin Pratt and other councillors at this event as well as many of the children participating in the event. I ended the lunch with the cutting of the magnificent Takeover Day cake.

On Monday morning I gave a speech with Martin Pratt (Director for Children, Schools & Families in Camden) at the Confederation of Heads of Young People's Services. My speech was about life in Camden for under 18 year olds. It highlighted on pressures we face and cuts. At the event I met James Cathcart the chief executive of BYC who congratulated my speech and the event as a whole was a success.

Yesterday I attended my first ever scrutiny committee! I loved it and put forward points on extending services to 21 for care leavers and make young people more aware of the complaints procedures as the collected data of complaints would be bias. I also presented the topic of Youth Participation where I was able to propose the prospect of allowing the youth council social media sites.

I was asked many questions and many people supported the youth council’s actions.

Ealing Ashvarya Madhani, 15, Member of Youth Parliament On Friday 14th November, I represented the young people of Ealing along with my MYP Pervin Kaur at the UKYP (UK Youth Parliament) annual House of Commons debate, which was chaired

by MP John Bercow (Mr. Speaker). It was an amazing experience and a great opportunity for me, as MYPs are the only people apart from MPs that are allowed to sit on the green benches in the House of Commons! Besides, William Hague, the Leader of the House of Commons, delivered a highly inspirational speech on the day and it was great to see how interested politicians are in youth voice and the issues affecting young people.

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Being able to sit on the prestigious green benches was an absolute privilege and my experience at the House of Commons was certainly a memorable one. It was great to hear passionate speeches from many MYPs across the UK and to witness how debates on significant political issues are chaired in the actual sittings in the House of Commons. It was great to it marked one of the most important days as my role as an MYP (Member of Youth Parliament), as I was able to represent the views of young people in my constituency on a nationwide scale and cast my vote on an issue that will determine the Youth Parliament’s top campaigns for the year ahead. The issues chosen were; the Living wage (to be raised to 7.85 for everyone) which will be a UK wide issue and the improvement of mental health services which will be a campaign in England only. These campaigns will be the top two campaigns for UKYP in 2015. I look forward to participating in these campaigns and promoting them next year!

Although I did not get a chance to speak, I fully enjoyed my experience and it was fantastic to hear excellent political ideas from other MYPs across the UK and the atmosphere created by young people in the House of Commons on that day was just amazing!

I have recently been asked to conduct an interview for the London Live TV channel about young game changers in London and I am really looking forward to sharing my ideas and amazing experiences with UKYP on that interview! By doing the interview, I will be representing the youth voice of young people in Ealing and London, so it will be a great opportunity to get my voice heard publicly, as well as, to voice the views of my constituents. The interview will be aired in December.

Pervin Kaur, 16, Member of Youth Parliament As my role of Member of Youth Parliament, I was given the amazing opportunity to represent the youth of Ealing, including the 14, 807 young people who participated in this year's Make Your Mark Campaign which was a 57% turnout for Ealing, in the House of Commons debate held on 14th November 2014. This was where the top five topics voted in from the MYM campaign were debating to get the top 2 nationwide campaign for the following year. Although during the debate, I was unable to speak due to the fact that there were many others more eager to let their voices heard, I was fortunate enough to be given the absolutely wonderful

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chance to seat on the exact same green benches where people who govern the UK assemble weekly to make important decisions. I was able to witness the extraordinary debate arguments put forward by my fellow MYPs that challenged not only my viewpoint of issues but it also triggered me to think on a wider scale.

Moreover, this has also given me the time to meet more incredible people and catch up with old friends. I was fortunate enough to have meet Tony Benn's son, Stephen Benn and be able to take a selfies with him. I am grateful to be able to be part of a remarkable event that has been the highlight of my role. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this event and each individual who made this possible not forgetting all our youth workers who brought us there and worked tirelessly during the MYM campaign and the PGs who made the whole event possible.

Following on the debate, the top 2 campaign were to improve the Living Wage and Mental Health which would be our main campaign for the following year. As for the mental health campaign, Ealing has done some work on this in the past years but all of which were not completed. After going to a Health and Wellbeing Board meeting with local councilors, we have decided to continue on with our work that was left off. This includes finishing off a resource pack for schools which consist of mental health issues and activities that would be given to each school in Ealing. Other ideas that we have discussed is to seek young people who have experienced various mental health issues to anonymously log their experiences (format yet to be decided) focusing on enabling more dialogue with young people around these issues and better promotion of support services. This will be further discussed in the next meeting in the first week of December where I would also go to a Children's Trust Board Meeting to raise awareness of this issue.

Greenwich Kim Emenike, 17, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been an exceptional month; I had the opportunity to attend the House of Commons sittings 2014. I am not too sure of the figures, but I am certain, the average young person, does not have the pleasure or the privilege to state that they had the opportunity that I had, to be involved in such an event. The House of Commons was an experience, that I am proud to say that I was part of. Even though, I was not successful enough to actually speak, and represent Greenwich, I feel that I represented my constituency by being there .This is an achievement, as last year, Greenwich had no representatives present in the House of Commons. Moreover, I am proud to say that a picture that was taken of me while I was in the House of Commons did manage to make it into the media (its currently UKYP’s twitter header!!!!!), which is positive.

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I think that overall, all the speakers (debate leads and people who stood up to speak) this year were incomparable. Especially London, I believe that everyone should be proud of themselves, we collectively, managed to prove people, who think of young people negatively wrong. I believe we started a revolution for all young people in country. We have shown the nation, that young people are interested in politics. I can say without question, that I am proud of the work we (MYP’s, DMYP’S, youth councillors and young people) have done. Thank you for reading

Hackney Ife Grillo, 16, Member of Youth Parliament and British Youth Council Vice Chair of Campaigns and Communications Helped train all the new members of our local youth parliament. I'm also working on creating the FHA which is a project around tackling homelessness in Hackney by giving food and resources.

Harrow Ravhi Karia, 15, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This month 4 of our members of our Youth Parliament were given the opportunity to sit on a panel that helps decide which candidates for higher paying jobs in the council were suitable.

Attending the training showed me how vital certain people are in the running of the council and how they influence the lives of young people.

Zak Wagman, 16, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been an amazing one for me. At the start of the month, I was invited to travel to Bethnal Green for a live recording of BBC Three’s Free Speech, a version of Question Time, but for young people, where they were hosting a Q&A with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. I was again lucky enough to be chosen by the producer to ask Mr Clegg my question, which was regarding why young people

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should trust him at the General Election in 2015, after he failed for us on some grounds since 2010. It was a fantastic experience to be talking to and seated just feet from the Deputy Prime Minister.

I have been involved recently with an organisation called the National Citizenship Service (NCS) – The Challenge. I was a ‘Dragon’ during their ‘Dragons’ Den’, where young people had to pitch for money to run a charity-campaigning day, which was a truly fascinating and empowering experience. However, the main event during my month was of course the UKYP Annual House of Commons Sitting. Around 300 MYPs from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland descend on Westminster for what is a unique day. The debates are chaired by the Speaker himself, and this year, were attended by many MPs, including Leader of the House of Commons William Hague, and Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson.

Of the 300 young people present, due to the nature of the day and timing constraints, only around 70 people get chosen by Mr Bercow to speak during the day, which is broadcast live on BBC. However, I once again was very lucky, as I was chosen to speak during the third debate of the day, about mental health.

To speak on the famous green benches of the Commons is an experience I will never forget, and something that very few people get to do in their lives, let alone by the age of 16, and it is a memory I will cherish for a long time to come. A week after, I almost matched the highs of that day.

I was chosen as one of 30 students across the country to take part in a day of policy-making run by the Civil Service and the Cabinet Office. The day, held at the building around Horse Guards Parade, featured a number of keynote speakers including Richard Heaton, Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet, and Ben Page, Chief Executive of polling giants Ipsos MORI. As we were preparing to present policy solutions that we had worked on throughout the day, the organisers surprised us by announcing that we would be going around the corner for this part.

Little did we know that 'around the corner' was Downing Street.

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We were lucky enough to make our way up to Downing Street, through the gates and have our photos taken by the famous black door. Then we were taken inside where we were then told we were presenting our ideas in the Cabinet Room, in a similar fashion to where all major policy in this country has been debated, at the famous long, green table. As we were leaving we also bumped into George Osborne who was arriving home. The event was a fantastic experience to debate at the most important table in the country, and go through the most recognisable in possibly the world. I have had the most amazing month.

Hounslow Dunja Relić, Member of Youth Parliament I definitely feel like the House of Commons sitting is a highlight to any Member of Youth Parliament.

Knowing that were elected to represent the views of the young people in our borough and we get to do so by sitting on the green benches that only our democratically elected MPs get to sit on almost like the ultimate platform - is surreal.

When I was elected MYP for Hounslow, I specifically stated that my main concern would be to focus on increasing political education amongst young women. Being that I also go to an all girl’s school, most of my voters were female so, I thought the only way to do my term justice is to focus on how it affects young girls/women. Even though I did not get the opportunity to speak to the House of Commons, I did prepare points for all 5 (I will attach below for people that are interested).

Everyone should be paid at least the Living Wage of £7.65 per hour (£8.80 in London). Anyone who works, regardless of age, should have a decent standard of living.

- Why is this a women’s and girls’ issue? Everyone knows that women are paid, on average 15% less than a man doing a comparable job. However, it is just as important to remember that women are disproportionately represented in the lowest paid occupations – in cleaning, care and so forth and that Living Wage legislation could lift thousands of women out of poverty at a stroke. Bring back exam resits in Maths and English, in English schools, and help us achieve our potential.

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- Why is this a women’s and girls’ issue? There is a clear correlation between achievement in maths and future earnings as well as a shortage of girls studying STEM subject and taking up related professions. It is generally believed (prove this if you can, please-SH) that boys do better than girls in final exam subjects as opposed to those with continuous assessment. Work Experience. We should have the chance to do at least a week’s placement, at a place of our choosing. We should have access to professionals who inspire us.

- Why is this a women’s and girls’ issue? Work experience, organised by schools and freely available to all has historically been a powerful tool in exposing girls to trades and professions not traditionally associated with women workers and helping to break down gender gaps in pay and employment. Depriving girls and young women of the support of schools and LEAs in finding work experience is a retrograde step. Votes at 16. Give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in elections and referendums.

- Why is this a women’s and girls’ issue? All the girls in the room know that the arguments against 16 year olds voting are recycled from 100 years ago when they were used against women –they don’t know enough about politics, they haven’t the life experience, they don’t pay taxes, they’ll just vote how their fathers vote. Those arguments were wrong then and are wrong now. Girls and young women of 16 and 17 are engaged with society as workers, students and even parents and can no longer be considered to be less than full citizens. Mental health services should be improved with our help. We should all learn about common mental health issues at school and negative stereotypes should be challenged.

- Why is this a women’s and girls’ issue? Mental health is a gendered issue in all kinds of ways.

Statistics show that men and women suffer mental ill health in different ways and that stereotypes around masculinity and femininity, female irrationality and male stoicism both contribute to and exacerbate mental illness. A society in which young people can be in the forefront of breaking down these stereotypes is a society in the process of making itself happier and healthier.

Islington Hiba Warsame, Young Mayor Under pressure?

It is estimated that one in four people experience mental health issues at some point in their lives.

Exams, relationships, family problems – there are a lot of things that can cause stress and anxiety for young people. So when we in the youth

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council chose our priorities earlier this year, we were keen to include health and wellbeing. We know from experience that a lot of young people have these stresses and pressures in everyday life, and we want to make sure that they can access help and advice when they need it.

To help us find out what services are available to young people, we recently attended the Islington Children and Young People Health Strategy meeting. We facilitated a workshop to help find out what young people think of the health services in Islington, and what could be improved. We’ve shared these findings with Islington’s Public Health team and we hope to help them use this information to write a new health strategy.

There is a lot of help and advice on izzy-info.com – the website specifically for young people in Islington. So if you’re stressed or worried about yourself or someone else, please go online and seek some help, or visit your GP. If you’re nervous about going to your doctor, check out www.docready.org which is a great website to help young people feel more confident about going to their GP about a mental health issue.

If you want to know where to look for help in your local area, go to www.findgetgive.com.

You can also go to moodbug.me and find out about a really cool app for iphones. A few of the youth councillors have this app and it really helps if you’re not having the best of days.

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North East Hartlepool Shay Miah, 18, Member of Youth Parliament WOW! November 2014 best month and definitely the best year!! 7591 young people in my town voted in the UK largest Youth Consultation - Make Your Make which gave Hartlepool a 79% turnout and number 1 in the country!! Those 2 weeks off college were so worth it! After gaining a 79% turnout I proportionally involved more young people to take part in the Make Your Mark Ballot than people who voted in Hartlepool's last general election!! As the MYP with the highest turnout in my Town I had the upmost privilege to close the Youth Parliament debate at the House of Commons on Friday 14th November! - The House of Commons! What can I say to share a room with 300 passionate MYP’s from all around the UK to fight for change for the young people across the country was just simply amazing!!

Further one from the House of Commons I was announced the winner of Prime Ministers Points of Light Award for my high turnout and engaging young people of my town in politics!! The award was presented to me by the Minister of Civil Society Rob Wilson MP for Reading! Which I received a certificate and a personal letter from the Prime Minister! And that alone is the biggest achievement of my life - and my parents have never been more proud of me!!

Honestly I have so many people to thank for receiving just award and making amazing friends my youth workers for their support and help, the schools for their support, the young people of my town for taking the opportunity vote and also a massive thank you to all the MYP's I've met along my journey! You've made me feel apart the UKYP family! But with every good news theirs bad news; with great regrets I have to stand down as member of youth parliament in December 22nd as I turn 19! But I promise I will fight for young people and support the UKYP when I start

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my political career! Because we are the future, the next generation! So remember if you become a politician Vote Shay Have Your Say!

Northumberland Annabelle Cooper, Member of Youth Parliament November 14th was the much awaited House of Commons sitting for UKYP. It was my first time taking part so I had no idea what to expect, but it's safe to say I would not forget it, ever! I was lucky enough to be chosen by the PGs to deliver a WW1 commemoration speech on behalf of the North East. I was certainly scared and nervous is an understatement but once I sat down, it dawned on me that only us and elected MPs have the privilege to sit on the green benches (they are definitely comfortable).

Standing up at the Dispatch box was a surprise, to be honest, but a dream I have had for years! It was an honour and one of my proudest moments to represent my region, and I thank the other commemoration speakers for their support and congratulate all.

The debate leads were inspiring and each one was passionate about their issue. The debates were incredible and it was really interesting to hear what everyone had to say and there were fantastic points made. I believe the two national campaigns; mental health and living wage, are the right two campaigns for my area and the whole of UKYP would strive to meet both!

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Sunderland Brian Terry, 15, Member of Youth Parliament On 14th November 2014, MYPs gather at the House of Commons from across the country as they do every year. Of course, Sunderland's MYPs were there to represent their constituency.

After a day of debating, the MYPs decided on the "Raise the Wage" campaign as well as "Mental Health". In addition to this exciting event, Sunderland Youth Parliament hosted its "State of City Debate" engaging young people from across the city. At the event, young people in Sunderland voted for the local Youth Parliament to campaign for exam resists in Maths and English GCSEs to be re-introduced.

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North West Blackpool Kirsty-lee topping, 18, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament Blackpool youth voice have recently been very busy with Make your Mark getting the highest number of votes ever for Blackpool receiving 4,871 young people's voices heard from Blackpool on a local, regional and national level, tripling the amount from last year which was 1,445! The members of Blackpool Youth Voice did really well. We also have had recent contact with one of our local MPs and attended one of his just listening events for young people to share our views and with other local people getting our voices heard.

Bolton Ebony Cropper, Member of Youth Parliament The House Of Commons 2014.

On November 14th 2014 every MYP from across the UK gathered at the House of Commons to debate the top 5 issues that YOU chose during Make Your Mark: Living wage, Work experience, mental health, votes at 16 and Maths and English exam resits . It was a very early morning with a 4:30 am wake up to get ready for our day in London. Getting past the tiredness, my excitement took over. With it being my second time at the HOC I just knew it would be amazing.

On the train at just gone 5 we prepared for the daily events. Rush hour in London was the craziest thing, and I know the cramped tube was not my favourite either. As I arrived in the great hall, I was met by hundreds of excited faces welcoming me. Quickly doing the formalities, I then went and reunited with first my fellow North West MYPs then my friends I had made from across the country at the previous annual sittings. As I watched the others prepare for the debate I smiled with joy.

There were long tables filled with morning refreshments, TV interviews for the BBC and the debate leads supporting and discussing with each other their speeches they were about to do.

Before we went in we all took loads of pictures as mementos and promotion of this huge televised debate. We entered region by region, the only other group apart from Parliament allowed to sit on the green benches. One of the commons door keepers who had been with us

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for 6 years made his usual formality speech; he then told us this would unfortunately be his final year with us.

Out the greatest respect for what this gentlemen has been doing for us over the past few years all the MYPs, staff, PGs stood with a standing ovation and great roar of appreciation for his service and support. It was very overwhelming to see his reaction and everyone else’s in the room, a very touching moment to be a part of. We then stood as John Bercow (the speaker of the HOC arrived). He opened the event with a great speech as well as William Hague and Natascha Engel. Then invited up were 13 young speakers 1 by 1 to recite their speeches in the memory of WW1. Some very educational and hard hitting speeches were said. I was filled with proudness when a fellow North West MYP Rose Warburton took her turn and for a young lady, who would usually seem shy, enchanted a room of hundreds mesmerising them with her sentimental speech.

After we took a minutes silence remembering those who have falling, we started the first debate. There was no taking it slow in starting the debate; we were thrown into the enticing debate of Living wage. Opening speeches was announced, and as we opened up to the floor we all giggled as people from each region literally pounced up to speak in this debate. I couldn't help but admire Emily Kay from Bury who was the only person in the North West who chose to stand to speak in this debate, and with elegance and ease she put her stance on her view in this debate. Seeing Mr Speaker say Minhaz from Leeds "you're a model or sartorial elegance before you've even spoken" as he buttoned up his suit jacket, this made my day!

Ciara Brodie representing Merseyside's closing speech was confident and humorous. “Happy meals won’t be so happy when they're a fiver" this quote from the young lady herself will never be forgotten in the history of youth parliament. Debates went on and next it was the exam resits. Many people speaking for this, had personal experiences.

Miss Simran in her closing speech quoted Drake "they started from the bottom now they're here" I thought to myself, this is what UKYP is about, showing that the youth can be part of politics, and that it isn't traditional; we can modernise it!

Work experience was next, the highlight of this debate for me was Mister Ife Grillo. His speech portrayed to me a next world leader; he had charisma, humour and facts. "When I was 5 I was cool, stylish and wanted to be the next James Bond. But there was no work experience related to that." Way to win over an audience!

Mental health was the main campaign I wanted to speak on personally, however it was Dylan Mcaughey from Oldham who spoke from the North West and I am so glad he did. Dylan did the whole of the North West justice speaking with passion and urging this issue to be picked with every bone of his body! Votes at 16 was last and obviously a very mixed debate, however it was Noah Aldous who made an impression by waving a owl puppet in the air to get chosen by Mr

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speaker. Over all to conclude my day, it was the most inspiring event I have ever attended, the standard of speeches were unreal. You won’t see a bigger group of articulate, passionate and determined young people in one place. It was a pleasure to be part of such an amazing opportunity and the final outcome was Mental Health, and Living wage were picked by our votes and I couldn't have been happier.

Votes at 16 So next week Councillor Christopher Peacock will be attending our Bolton youth council session in regards to his motion in the council about votes@16. Now personally I am completely FOR votes at 16. I think that so many young people aged 16/17 that currently don't have the vote can benefit a lot from this opportunity. I have met hundreds of young individuals who have proven that young people can be engaged in politics, it doesn't even need to be politics, if you believe in something or want something changed or a say in what happens in your near future and what happens to the taxes we pay from our wages, then the vote is the way forward. It beats the stereotypes older people have and prove we are NOT "the lost generation"! Now I know that not all 16/17 year olds are interested and I appreciate not everyone will want the vote but the same can be said for all ages, not everybody who votes is politically educated, but it is one of the few ways to get involved in democracy and I think we should grab it with both hands and prove that we are worth it.

Gulwali Passarlay, 20, Youth Representative A short summary of my activities during November.

On Monday the 3rd, I attended National Security Group meeting with cabinet office Youth Policy Team. We discussed current policies around youth and future plans and challenges.

Mainly looked at civil service and what young people understanding is of it, my space centres and much more.

Votes at 16 launch event with youth representatives above

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During the first week I had many more meeting for PaliaMentors project and Manchester leadership programme with different groups of people who I was engage in my project about religious stereotypes.

Between 14-16th November, we had the NHSYF residential, to work on the youth forum priorities and to plan ahead for our campaigns.

It was a great weekend, reflecting on the events we organised for mental health day, attendance at NHS citizen assembly and other conferences and meetings we take part in were discussed. We were working closing with professionals from NHS England to see what we have achieved and where we heading next. It was also nice to catch with PGs and other NHS Youth Forum members.

In the last week of the month, I participated in the 3FF training for PaliaMentors to learn about leadership and work towards achieving my social action project objectives.

I had the chance to be in the audience at BBC Free Speech to share my thoughts in the programme on extremism, foreign policy and issue around religion. It was an interesting and thought provoking debate.

On the 26th, I was invited to the Chief Nursing Officer Conference and talk about the NHSYF and how to engage more young people within the in NHS. I thought it was an impressive summit and I was able to share our youth forum work with health professionals and encouraged them to get young people involve in decision making.

And finally I went to the Active Citizen Programme leadership training for the weekend with NCVYS. Learnt quite a lot and was able to contribute to the discussion around young leaders and how we can make a difference. Overall a busy but productive month. I shall continue to speak up for children and young people's rights.

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Cheshire West and Chester Ciaran O’Shea, 18, Procedures Group The 14th November was a fantastic chance for Members of Youth Parliament to come together and show not only MPs but also the general population what we are made of. As a PG Representative, I had the honour of watching the MYPs I have (hopefully) inspired over the past year put their skills into practice and fight for the causes dear to them. It's always an amazing experience to be inside the Chamber at that time, and especially so for me as this was my last Sitting. I was incredibly impressed with the standard of debate (as is the case every year) and I very much look forward to watching it next year on BBC Parliament! In my opinion, the campaigns chosen (Living Wage and Mental Health) are two very worthy causes and the fact that they both featured so highly on the Make Your Mark ballot goes to show the level of representation to which the MYPs hold themselves.

Cumbria Will, Youth Councillor Cumbria's young people are being given their voice on the UK Youth Parliament with their upcoming elections between the 8th and 12th of December this year. Since the beginning of November, candidates have applied to become a candidate, received information and training about the role and begun campaigning!

Liverpool Ciara Brodie, 16, Member of Youth Parliament November 2014 was probably the biggest month of my life. Elected to represent the North West as a debate lead in the House of Commons, this was always going to be a daunting task! In October I found out that I would be summarising the Living Wage motion in the UK Youth Parliament's annual debate. Summations are always difficult, because you have to lay your personal beliefs aside and be balanced. The Debate Lead Residential Boot Camp definitely helped me with this. We were given master-classes on the content and delivery of the speech and of course the opportunity to get to know the other debate leads from across the UK. I found it really interesting, when writing my speech, to learn about how topical the living wage issue is- the fact that 1 in 5 workers in the UK earn less than living wage.

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The living wage is the amount, economists have worked out, is the minimum wage needed to live decently and adequately provide for a family. But at the moment, around 5.3 million workers earn less than that. At the moment, the Living Wage is £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 an hour in the rest of the UK. However, employers aren’t just so mean that they don’t want to pay their workers enough to live. This low wage is an economic problem- and raising it for everyone won’t actually solve the underlying issue. A lot of (small) employers simply can’t afford to pay their workers more- and if they were made to by law, they would have to lay off staff in order to make ends meet. Would this be good for the economy since we are emerging from a recession?

At the end of the debate, Members of the Youth Parliament voted on our campaigns. Therefore our UKwide campaign is now ‘A Living Wage for All’, and our England priority-campaign is ‘Better Mental Health Services for Young People’. It was an amazing day- something I will never forget. With a General Election next year, it is so important that young people are given the opportunity to speak up and be heard. There is an assumption that we’re ‘not interested in politics’ or it somehow doesn’t affect us. The fact about it is, politics is all around us- just as it is to anyone else. It is affecting us- GCSE reform by Michael Gove being a perfect example. You don’t have to be able to say you’re Labour, Conservative, or any other political party, to care about politics. We are the decision makers of the future so it is important we are taken seriously!

Oldham Mariam Inayat, Youth Councillor and Trustee This November, I was lucky enough to attend the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg. The event was hosted by the Council of Europe. Three hundred young people were invited from around the world to come together and represent young people’s views on how to revitalise democracy. Other objectives were to discuss youth participation and influence within democratic processes.

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I was able to take part in organising labs, presentations, meeting young people and sharing ideas about how democracy should work. We were also invited to an event hosted by the local young people of Strasbourg which was fantastic. The rest of the time was spent at the Council of Europe, attending the different workshops that covered a variety of topics all relevant to democracy and young people.

I was especially interested in ‘Youth Participation in Elections’ lab. We watched guest speakers like Jeremy Rifkin. As well as debates in the Hemicycle, where young people were invited to ask questions and express their views.

Salford Laura Edwards, 16, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament & Youth Councillor Following a meeting I had with the Assistant Director of Salford's Children's Services, Salford Youth Council are working in collaboration to improve schools. We are hoping to establish a network of school councils that meet as regularly as the network of head teachers. This way, they can present city-wide school issues to the head teachers to ensure education is always at its prime for Salford's young people. Our first task is to ensure the way schools operate does not hinder pupils in their GCSE years. By finding the common issues amongst the city (such as coursework deadlines all being at similar times), we can work with head teachers to find the best way around this solution.

As well as helping to improve education, we are hoping to share best practice amongst school council's, in order to empower the students to make a real, positive change to the way their school is run. I'm sure in the following months; there will be multiple positive stories from the work of this group.

Sefton Laura Curran, 16, Member of Youth Parliament & Youth Councillor November was a rather important month for me this year as it was the first time I could take part in the UK Youth Parliament House of Commons debate! With this being my first year being

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involved in UKYP, this is the first time I've ever took part in things such as the annual sitting; make your mark and the HoC debate. I've was extremely excited for all of these events, yet have to say I was most excited for the debate. This was also the first time I had ever had to get the tube in London. I have to admit I did stand on the left side of the escalators at first (sorry) but then I got my head around it all and arrived at the House of Commons safe and sound. And not only were Sefton on time, but we were also the first ones out of the North West to arrive (this was a momentous occasion for us)!

Taking in all the atmosphere, I felt so excited and privileged to be there. Very few people manage to be in the House of Commons and even sit on the green benches, yet the fact that I did so that day made me very thankful for the opportunity. The debates themselves were full of passion and conveyed with lots of energy and commitment. The debate leads and the World War One speakers stood out in my opinion, I am especially proud of the ones from the North West; Rose who spoke about World War One, Aidan in the Votes at 16 debate, Ciara in the Living Wage debate, and my fellow Sefton MYP Eleanor who I was so proud of when speaking in the Mental Health debate.

I believe I am safe to say that most people, if not everyone, were on the edge of their seats awaiting the results from the votes after the debate. The issues that were voted to be the UKYP campaigns were Living Wage and Mental Health. I along with many others were very happy with these results and are now eager to get going with these campaigns. I will be feeding back what happened during the House of Commons debate to the youth cabinet in Sefton, 'Shout It Out Sefton', at our next meeting later this month. Also this month, there was a #TakeOverChat on Twitter.

During this I mentioned the Young Commissioners/Inspectors program we have in Sefton. This is where groups of young people apply for a youth led bid up to ÂŁ10,000 to start of their group/project they have. A panel of young people go through the ideas presented to them and decide whether they are successful or not. A couple of Model Westminster ambassadors who also took part in the #TakeOverChat saw this and said they will try to implement this process into their local authorities. I emailed them more details about the process. Just goes to show useful social networking can be. Hopefully more local authorities within the UK can be able to have schemes such as Young Commissioners/Inspectors in the near future.

Wigan Grace Thompson, 18, Youth Councillor Once again, we are writing during a very busy period in Wigan Youth Cabinet’s life. Last month (October) we had our Health Event, which was a great success in terms of young people attending, enjoying and contributing. The views that young people have expressed at this event 36

will be fed through to the Wigan Clinical Commissioning Group, who are actively trying to mould their services to the needs of young people and are trying to improve health services in Wigan generally.

We were also delighted at the fantastic results we have received from the Make Your Mark campaign, where we achieved over 6000 votes from this area! It is crucial to Wigan Youth Cabinet that the voices of youths from all over Wigan are heard and represented by our very able Members of Youth Parliament, Alice Wilcock and Naomi Midgley, their deputies Rory Gilmore and Leighton Waterworth, as well as all members of the Cabinet.

We will strive towards making sure that the issues which were voted as most important to young people will be debated strongly in the annual sitting, for which we are currently preparing. Finally, I think it’s important to reflect on why we do all these things, both in our Cabinet and in cabinets up and down the country...we represent specifically, the youth of our areas. We are their voice. After all the efforts put in for the Make Your Mark campaign – it is not over. This is only the beginning and it is our duty, now that we have canvassed these opinions, to make them known.

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South East Buckinghamshire Laura Gonsalves, 15, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament I did a pod cast event for Takeover day with four other young people. We talked about issues that are affecting young people from sex education to politics to drugs. It was an amazing experience. I went on mix 96 and did the travel live on the radio. I have been tweeting and Facebooking about takeover day. I had a youth parliament meeting. Saleem and I are going to campaign together.

Saleem Iqbal, 13, Member of Youth Parliament We are in the process of planning a convention which will educate 1st time voters about the upcoming general election. MYP's will also be there to give speeches and answer any questions regarding this matter

East Sussex Member of Youth Parliament On Friday 14th of December I had the honour of speaking in the House of Commons on the topic of exam resist which affected most of my constituents!

Hampshire Sam Longmore, 17, Member of Youth Parliament As part of Takeover Day, I was the Leader of Hampshire County Council for the day! It was so interesting to see how a large County is run; I met with executive members in the cabinet meeting, sat on a select committee for transport, met with the Chief Executive of the Council and spent a bit of money for a variety of things. I am also meeting with teachers at a secondary school in my constituency to discuss and plan a politics event that will run from January to May to educate the students about politics. They will then 'go to the ballot box' and internally, within the school, vote for the party that they think should make up the next parliament. The aim is also to have a type of 'televised' debate between parties that the 38

students will represent. Helping me with this is my MP and the Prospective Parliamentary Candidates in my local constituency! More recently, I have been chosen on behalf of Speaker of the House of Commons and the House of Lords as one of sixty MYPs to take part in celebrations to mark the 750th anniversary of Montfont's Parliament of 1265. This is an amazing opportunity and hopefully I will be able to meet Mr Speaker, The Rt Hon. John Bercow MP and the Lord Speaker, the Rt Hon. Baroness D'Souza!

Kent Angel Layer, 17, Youth Councillor This month was full of fun events in my role, not only was it parliament week which meant that I got the amazing opportunity to go to the House of Commons, but I also ran an event for Parliament Week in my local area to get young people involved. Firstly, I'll talk about House of Commons. I got the chance to speak at the Dispatch Box in commemoration of World War 1. I was able to represent my lovely region of the South East and was surrounded by lots of others who also did their region proud. House of Commons was incredible, and the rest of the MYPs did the UK very proud in representing their areas.

After the House of Commons, I held an event on the 15th November called 'Parliament Week Party'. I have been planning this for a couple of months with funding from Vinspired and the young people in my local area got very involved as well as having the chance to meet their local MP and Councillors. I am absolutely honored to be representing an area that enjoys getting involved in local events.

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Finally, there was the Kent Youth County Council 'Question Time' event where young people from across the county got to ask our County Councillors their most important questions. It was very successful and it has played a big part in what our plans are for the chosen campaigns in the year ahead. This month has been successful in my role and I have enjoyed representing my local young people.

Maddie Springett, 17, Youth Councillor I am currently chairing an Anti-Bullying Campaign at Kent Youth County Council, in which we are producing a training booklet for young people at schools and youth groups to engage with.

The idea is that they become KYCC Anti-Bullying Peer Mentors and then this training runs in a cycle, and hopefully bullying will decrease in schools, youth groups and the community. These are being distributed across Kent on the run up to Anti-Bullying week with an aim to get schools engaged! We have also produced a Cyber Bullying Policy which has been made by young people with steering from specialist groups and this has been implemented in some schools across Kent and we are pushing for more to get involved! Along with other resources, made by young people of KYCC. Tamanna Miah, Youth Representative Apologies, I have been SO busy that have not been able to write something up since the July issue, it has been a very busy few months! Here goes...

August August was a much quieter month in terms of youth participation due the summer holidays, family and work commitments I had.

As trustee I had a National Youth Agency board meeting, discussing developments and updates within NYA. I also wrote a blog for NYA to celebrate their 50 year anniversary #NYA50. See here for my post: http://www.nya.org.uk/fifty_faces/tamanna-miah-studentcampaigner-nya-trustee/ I also had a meeting at Young Minds. I had a meeting with a group of young people in Haringey to discuss the planning of our Mental Health radio show that was due to be broadacast later in September. I also attended a meeting at the Anna Freud centre to discuss mental health for young people with practioners .

September Along with my fellow activists I went to the Brit School with Young Minds to deliver a talk on my experience of racist bullying and

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mental health, as well as plugging my Fixers project too. I had a great response from the audience who asked lots of intersting questions!

On the same day I was invited to attend National Lottery Awards ceremony filmed at Pinewood studios with Fixers winning Best UK Charity 2014! Twas’ a very exciting once in a lifetime experience to represent them along with some other succesful Fixers! It was very inspirational to meet the other projects and hear their great stories, seeing how much of an impact they have had on people’s lives. I also had the opportunity to mingle with various stars on the red carpet such as John Barrowman, Liz McClarnon (Previously band member of Atomic Kitten), Gaby Roslin, Cheryl Fergison (Heather from Eastenders) and was also nice to meet Tinchy Stryder and Nitin Ganatra (Masood from Eastenders) again. I also had the opportunity to talk to them about my Fixers project also felt a bit starstruck too! Also nice to to meet Stephen Sutton’s mother, brother and friends and good to see them picking up an award on his behalf. I was lucky to see Ella Henderson and Pixie Lott sing live to us and was a great expereince on set seeing all the outtakes too! There was lots of photoshoots, selfies, photobooth and filming included too! The awards were aired on BBC 1 on Friday 19th September. There was also lots of press coverage on this great news too, such as the Sevenoaks Chronicle and the Canterbury Times: po.st/iYxdAW It was an amazing experience which I would love to do it again if I had the chance! #NLAwards #LottoGoodCauses Here is the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_MvmR6AbM As I am a part of the National Citizen Service Youth Commissioning team I attended a residential approving, reading and scruntinizing potential delivery provider’ bids. I also had a campaign meeting at Young Minds discussing how we could move forward with our mental health campaign and the various other strands too. On Twitter I was quoted in the Sevenoaks Rail Association’s Storify questions to Rail Minister Claire Perry on renewing Southeastern’s contract, as myself along with many other customers were very unhappy with the standard of service and were distraught at Southeastern taking over our railways yet again!

I also had a Youth Management board meeting at National Council for Voluntary Youth services with updates from NCVYS, future plans and training by Gethyn Williams, a previous employee on some video/photo editing software and how to

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make campaigns more creative and effective. I was also working with the Young Facilitators to plan the Communications strategy for NCVYS and its work for the year #actionASP. While representing Young Minds I teamed up with Unity Radio Online and Haringey’s Wellbeing Champions to launch a new radio show aired on the 29th September 2014 to discuss depression and mental health among young people. The Well Happy Hour pilot radio show was used as a platform to highlight the issue of depression and mental health. Here is the link to the website for the launch of our show: http://unityradioonline.com/new-radio-show-launches-tackle-depression-among-youngpeople/ Amongst all this I passed my second year at university and started my third and final year! I also attended my first party conference for the Conservatives. It was a very interesting experience, lots to do and see! I don’t think I have ever seen so much blue in my life! I represented the NYA at the Conservative party conference held at the Birmingham ICC on the 28th Sep – 1st October 2014.

Initially I attended a Q&A with Nicky Morgan MP, the Education Secretary of State, on various youth issues such as votes at 16, housing, youth unemployment which was held in the youth zone. This was followed by a policy discussion with Tim Loughton MP where I questioned him on the NCS programme. I am a part of the NCS commissioning team and wanted to understand why the government had chosen a specific age for young people to participate in the programme.

This discussion was followed by the League of Young Voters UK Question Time with British Youth Council chair Mita Desai, Chloe Smith MP and Head of Communications for the Conservative Party.

The next day we held our NYA breakfast meeting with Chloe Smith discussing the report and findings on our Commission into Enterprise and Young People consultation and gathering of evidence. Jon Boagey, deputy CEO of NYA who has been heavily involved in the commission, talked about the critical role of youth

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workers in fostering enterprise. Overall there was lots of great feedback on the report and how well the commission has progressed.

After this me and my colleague visited the stands in the exhibition area, networking and gaining lots of freebies as well as trying out the Microsoft car driving race simulator where I failed terribly. We met lots of politicians like Theresa May, Eric Pickles, Philip Hammond, Oliver Letwin and Grant Shapps. Finally I attended the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists debate and went to visit the youth zone to see everyone from the youth sector which is always a delight! All in all it was a very interesting experience as my first party conference, there was so much to do and see that I didn’t want to leave!

I also blogged on this too for NYA see here: http://www.nya.org.uk/2014/10/blog-youngtrustee-tamanna-miah-conservative-party-conference/ I also had a Young Minds meeting too! That was a quick snapshot of what happened in August and September the rest to follow in next month’s issue! Thank You for reading! :)

West Sussex Kelly Balmer, 14, Member of Youth Parliament On 28th October, a group of young people, including myself, who run a campaign group called Free Your Mind - Founded by Kai Moore. Free Your Mind held a convention which had 34 young people attended and 25 professionals. I attended the day, and helped run the Workshop #YourInfo. The reasoning for the #YourInfo workshop was to let the young people who attended voices be heard, as in the near future the Free Your Mind group is planning and designing a new leaflet. We wanted to find out: 1) What information is missing?

2) How the young people would want it to look 3) How they would like to access it The workshop was ran well and we got lots of varied feedback. Another workshop was the Build Your Own CAMHS. This was essentially feeding back to CAMHS and getting the young people to talk to them, say what they want to be improved with in CAMHS. The third workshop Unwrapping Your Mind, where they asked the question: What does ‘mental health’ mean to you? To demonstrate this they got the young people to get creative by giving them a shoe box and various other arts & crafts items. They then got asked to put what they see in their minds and put it into a shoe box. This workshop was to help the Young people see

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into their minds and discover how different a person's mind with Depression or Anxiety maybe compared to a person's mind without them.

We also had a market place where groups of people such as the Find it Out group and Health Watch were there. Then throughout the day we had speakers such as: - Kai Moore - Emily Fox - Steffie Banatvala - SHOUT The speakers were brilliant and all brought something new to the day, whether that was their personal experiences or in Kai's case watching the group grow into what it has become.

Other groups of people who came to the event to help run it: -

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Coastal Mind Healthwatch West Sussex Public Health, Health and Social Care Commissioning Speak Your Mind Advocacy Project Sussex Community NHS Trust Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust University for the Creative Arts, Farnham Youth Support and Development Service Yourspacewestsussex.co.uk - Young People!

Time to Change

Overall it was an extremely successful and productive day, I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who was involved and helped run the day!

Wycombe Saleem, Member of Youth Parliament We are in the process of planning a convention which will educate 1st time voters about the upcoming general election. MYP’s will also be there to give speeches and answer any questions regarding this matter

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South West Bath and North East Somerset Beccy Thompson, 16, Member of Youth Parliament It is only recently that I have taken over from George Aylett as BANES' DMYP and my first month has been made one of the busiest with all our Youth Forum's preparations for National Takeover Day. National Takeover Day was an opportunity for all of us to meet some of the influential people in the decision making processes of BANES and feedback to them, having our say on the issues we know and care about. The day went fantastically with a surprise performance from BANES Youth Forum and the Senior in Care Council inside the Guild Hall council chambers. (Videos will soon be shared I'm certain, so don't think you missed out!)

In addition to all the work for National Takeover Day, Ed Joseph and I met with Peasedown Councillor Nathan Hartley to discuss our current campaigns, upcoming events in BANES and the importance of getting young people engaged with politics. In an attempt to encourage this and, after seeing the success of the event at Bath Studio School with all Bath General Election candidates, I contacted each party and/or their candidate and enquired about similar questiontime events in Bath Secondary Schools. The response so far has been incredibly positive from all parties and I am currently in the process of organising, with the schools and candidates, how these events should be run to get maximum interest from our young people.

We must not forget, of course, the younger people of our areas that we also represent. That is one of the reasons why Ed and I visited St Saviour's Junior school to consult the primary school children from the area (and some secondary school students) about the proposed plan to build a skate-park in Alice Park. The feedback was unanimously positive and great news for Joanna Wright, one of the key figures in the campaign. Hopefully we will be seeing the skate-park project come to life in the following months and a lot more exciting opportunities for Youth Parliament and myself!

Ed Joseph, 17, Member of Youth Parliament As well as going to Parliament, this month has been a hectic one! To start with I met with Bath’s Green candidate, Dominic Tristram, who gave me some great directions for the youth forum and I’s campaign on the environment which was based on a good knowledge of groups such as GreenPeace – with suggestions such as bike racks on the front of busses, banning heavy lorries from the city and even a Bath bypass to stop motorists travelling through the city to get to the A4/M4. I then attended a Tedx event in Bath which had some inspirational speeches from local 45

youngsters and an encouraging talk about voting from Bath’s Labour Candidate, Ollie Middleton. I then attended and contributed to a consultation about whether Alice Park should have a skate park. I circulated a survey around local secondary schools about whether Bath needs a young person friendly café which would be a young person led initiative, with live gigs from upcoming bands, movie nights, young people’s art and would most importantly have young people at the heart. The responses are so far positive, although more are still needed.

Off the Record, the charity which supports me and over 1,000 young people in B&NES needed a new ‘Operations Manager’ which I spent a Saturday interviewing for, and then I went on to spend several hours bag packing after Bath’s Sainsbury chose OTR as their charity of the year.

The day after a Youth Forum meeting at which we planned for our flash mob about our three campaigns: The Environment, Equality and an improvement to Mental Health services, me and the Deputy Member ran a consultation at St. Saviours primary school with about 30 children, about whether they thought Alice park should have a skate park – the response largely positive.

We also used the opportunity to ask if they knew who to speak to when they felt sad, whether they liked where they lived – and if not, why not? We also consulted them about if when they speak, they think they are heard? I then met with the big local partnership who are getting £1 000 000 over 10 years, who agreed it right for me to set up a youth council and give them £4,000 in the first year then £8,000 in the next year to spend how they wish on local projects.

I met a local councillor with Beccy Thompson, Deputy MYP for B&NES, who helped us with several campaigns and gave us a good sense of direction. After that I went to Bath’s new school – the Bath studio school – who were hosting a debate with the 5 Bath candidates for the 2015 parliamentary elections. Considering the students had not picked up a camera before September, they made 76 minutes of watchable television. It was great to meet the students as well, and since I knew the 5 candidates already, they were happy to see me. I will be looking at replicating this debate in my other schools, sometimes with councillors though.

The debate can be watched here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoFDn0Wjhe8 The next day I went into Oldfield school to do a presentation about what I have been doing as MYP, what they can do, the results of Make your Mark and I used the opportunity to consult them about Alice Park and whether it should have a skate park. I was told there would be 60 students, so I took 60 booklets about my Bus fare reductions but there were way more students! It was great to see so many students giving up their lunch to hear what I had to say.

After that I went to Specsavers to get my glasses fixed (yay), then made my way to Bath to work with the B&NES Youth Forum and a dance instructor to create the flash mob! It was great, with dances followed by poems.

The next day was National Take Over day #TakeoverDay ! I worked with the Director of Children services, with other Youth Forum & Young Peoples Equality group members working with characters such as Equalities officers, LGBT managers and even the Deputy Mayor! I finally met

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the Leader of the Council and the CEO of the council, both whom I have been intending to for quite some time. We had a couple of important meetings, and then gathered for a meeting at which we did our flash mob! It was very successful, with several cabinet members, the leader of the council and B&NES officers seeing it – as well as lots of young people. We will be doing the flash mob again at full council, so the other cabinet members, 65 councillors and the chairman can all see and hear our issues.

Cornwall Member of Youth Parliament This month has been a very exciting one, for one main reason - the House of Commons event.

This happened on the 14th of this month. We, from the Cornwall locality travelled up on a sleeper train in order to arrive in London very early in the morning. Having never visited Parliament before, it was a hugely exciting moment when we walked into the Chamber, and sat down on the green benches which are enriched with history. During the day we debated five topics - the living wage, exam re-sits, work experience, votes at sixteen and mental health services. The debates were so insightful and it was incredible to listen to so many passionate young people.

If you watched this event, you must agree that it's impossible to say young people are disinterested in political affairs. The winning campaigns were increasing the living wage and improving mental health services - two extremely worthy causes. These will now be our national campaigns for the next year, and we aim to make a massive difference. After attending this event I feel so inspired and so passionate, and also realise how lucky I was to have the opportunity of debating in the hallowed chamber. It was an incredible debate and I am so 47

honoured to have been able to be there in order to represent the young people from Cornwall.

This annual UKYP sitting is crucial - it allows young people to have a voice that otherwise, they may not have.

Tabitha Wethers, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been a very exciting one at that for MYP’s. We, 285 Youth Parliament members, attended the annual House of Commons debate. This was my second visit, but for someone, it will be their only opportunity to do so. We discussed 5 topics, Mental Health services, Votes at 16 and 17, Work Experience, Living Wage and Exam resits. It was a very successful day in which many Members of Youth Parliament got the opportunity to speak passionately about the topics. The debate leads, one particularly being from South West, were great and got the ball rolling on each of the debate topics. Although, still being too small, I didn’t get chosen to speak, I am glad to say that others covered all the important messages for each of the topics. The day was inspiring and overwhelming. After 5 hours of solid debate and different views of each of the subjects, we voted for our national and English/Wales campaign, and they are Mental Health Services and the Living Wage.

The House of Commons really reminds me of how great young people have and continue to be great and getting involved with politics, and it really shows how interested and passionate they are about improving not only their local communities, but nationally try to make change. The young people and UKYP make me appreciate the opportunities and experiences I have received and will further receive. I hope to stand again next year as the Member of Youth Parliament of East Cornwall to further improve my own knowledge on politics nationally and locally, and inspire other young people to stand up and make a change for the better.

Devon George Downs, Member of Youth Parliament This month I attended a meeting with Cabinet Office civil servants in Westminster as the National Scrutiny Group South West representative. We discussed the reputation of Whitehall and ways to de-stigmatise apprenticeships into the Civil Service. One suggestion was that the different departments do more to appeal to students with more specialised career interests such as the DoH and DEFRA advertising to those studying the sciences at secondary school or the FCO and DFID to language students. Furthermore we contemplated whether the formation of the new centralised website GOV.UK may have hindered the appeal of departments to potential apprentices.

The civil servant with responsibility for the MyPlace programme talked to us about the future of the 63 youth centres nationally such as Red Rock in Dawlish. I raised the issue that Red Rock

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was intended to be taken over by Dawlish Community School, a contradiction to Cabinet Office policy which emphasised the use of the centres independently from the education system.

However it looks as if Red Rock has been saved from the school's influence when the bid collapsed in the last few weeks.

I found the House of Commons a truly rewarding experience and over the following weekend I worked with the NHS England Youth Forum to develop our mental health campaign which now has the backing of the Youth Parliament in England following it being voted as the priority issue.

I also attended a national strategy weekend for Unite the Union Young Members (16-30yrs).

During this we discussed the development of youth-led campaigns for decent employment and housing. We considered how we could collaborate with organisations such the British Youth Council on the promotion of the living wage which was voted the UK-wide priority for the Youth Parliament. I talked with youth activists and shop stewards from across the UK and the Republic of Ireland about our Save Devon Youth Service campaign which salvaged 8 youth centres and 53 youth work jobs. The campaign was praised as being a great example of collaboration between Unite Community youth activists and Unite CYWU industrial members.

Kieran John Curtis, 18, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been very busy for all MYP's / DMYP's across the country. We all have been working very hard as quite a lot of us have been to the House of Commons on the 14th November. Across the UK MYP's have debated, and voted on the 2 campaigns which will be our priorities next year. These two shall be a living wage for everyone and to address mental health services for young people. Not only is mental health services a priority campaign for the UK Youth Parliament, it is a major concern to the NHS youth forum.

As well as visiting the House of Commons this month, I have been working very closely to the Exeter, East & Mid Youth Panel in Devon. At the moment we are all trying to help reshape our new youth service. Recently we have had major cuts to our youth service where we have gone from 32 youth clubs across Devon; we now have a small amount of 8. It has been very tough to the young people of Devon as many of them have to travel very long distances to get to their nearest youth club. It is also hard as the support that our young people use to receive has also fallen which means it is hard to meet the individual needs of every young person within our constituency.

Olivia Welsh, 16, Member of Youth Parliament This month I went to the House of Commons and joined in on a huge debate to decide our two topics to campaign. It was my second time I have been with youth parliament and it was absolutely amazing! I have also been gathering general issues which concern the young people in my constituency and will be forwarding these on to Devon youth parliament in the December

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meeting. Other than that I have been making slow progress on our body image/natural beauty campaign in the spare time which I have.

Sharon Adams, Member of Youth Parliament UK Youth Parliament ‘Question Time’ debate On Saturday 11th October, 50 Members of UK Youth Parliament aged 11 – 18 years from across the South West invited five panelists to take part in a “question-time” style event in Taunton. The discussion was based around how to engage disadvantaged young people in education and give young people a voice. Taking part on the panel was Tessa Munt MP, college Principal Dr Peter Avery, youth work specialist Gill Millar, one of the South West’s MEPs William Dartmouth representing UKIP and Independent Devon County and East Devon District Councillor, Claire Wright.

The debate was very lively and when questioned on UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s recent comments on refusing entry to the UK for HIV positive immigrants, William Duncan suggested that we need to make a moral choice whether our over-stretched and under-funded NHS should treat world citizens or only UK citizens. This generated an angry response from the floor who felt the NHS should not discriminate. Dr Peter Avery responded by stating such health care costs were only marginal and that issues such as tackling obesity would be a much more logical way of saving valuable NHS resources. In a debate on education, Tessa Munt made the point that the coalition government had introduced the ‘Pupil Premium’ which funds students from lower-income families to study in Post-16 sixth forms and colleges. However Dr Peter Avery emphasised that schools are only one aspect of a young person’s life and that other services need to play an important role in involvement and engagement. This point is indispensable in a time when local authorities are slashing their budget for youth services, with thousands of disadvantaged Devonian young people being put at risk.

The short-sightedness of the youth cuts was highlighted by Devon County Councillor Claire Wright. She claimed that by reducing preventative spending on youth services today, we are jeopardising future budgets on reactive services tomorrow. Claire devoted her attention to the fact that the one of the biggest issues facing young people in Devon is a lack of self-esteem – greatly responsible for a cycle of self-harm which would only be exacerbated by youth service cuts. However UKIP’s MEP, William Dartmouth stated that we cannot expect to run these services when the government is spending money elsewhere.

For example the large amounts going to Brussels, some of which is then spent on non-EU countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey. William emphasised that increasing spending on International Development will mean more tough decisions will have to be taken on domestic issues nationwide, such as services for young people. George Downs and Kieran Curtis Members of Youth Parliament for Devon

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Picture – Question Time panelists together with Member of Youth Parliament and chair of the debate Jess Elms. From left Gill Millar, Tessa Munt, William Dartmouth, Jess Elms, Claire Wright and Dr Peter Avery.

Dorset Crystal-lily Mills, 16, Youth Councillor Hi I’m Crystal-lily I’m part of Dorset youth council today I did a training day and did my video to run for youth parliament next year I’m going to be campaigning of challenging negative stereo types while promoting positive publicity for young people I am currently going to be doing a talk at the domestic violence conference on the 27th of November and in very up and going with things in my area.

Grace Hill, 12, Youth Councillor Hi, I'm Grace Hill and I'm standing in the election for Youth Parliament this year. This month I have attended a DYCE meeting, anti-bullying conference and a Youth Parliament Training Day. Grace van Zyl, 14, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament Since I missed last month's positive stories deadline, I'm going to be talking about what I've done over the past two months! My manifesto (cheaper leisure facilities for young people) is going really well. I am working with the Max card; this card enables Young Carers, young people in care and those with disabilities discounts in many facilities. These include: coffee shops, museums, leisure centres, swimming pools, gyms and even farms! A group of young people, involving myself, will be campaigning in the February half term to include more businesses and to create publicity for the Max card.

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In my local Youth Council; Dorset Youth Council Enables, we are making an amazing Fixers project with the charity- Fixers.org. This project will be tackling the negativity between bus drivers, youth and the disabled furthermore it will also try to tackle the negative stereotypes involved with those groups of people. I have also attended an anti-bullying conference which was very inspirational.

Over the course of that day we had workshops that included making a step-by-step plan to potentially stop bullying in schools! Personally I was surprised at the variety of age groups that went, ranging from 9-17 years old. There was a lot of positive feedback and I am pretty certain there will be another anti-bullying conference soon! Speaking of inspirational things, I attended the Dorset UK Youth Parliament information day and training day for the 2015 elections. I met many new young people, all fiery and standing up for what they believe in.

On the information day, we were joined by Sharon Adams (BYC representative) who gave an amazing introduction to UK Youth Parliament for the new candidates and Dawn Ball (my youth participation and support worker) included many fun, and informative, workshops. Were we got to develop our manifestos and have discussions with the other young people. The training day was awesome! Unfortunately there are only eight of us standing for Dorset this year but I wish good luck to everyone. Over the day we explored our ideas and manifestos before we were filmed! Can't wait for the results!

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Cerys Pumphrey, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This month I managed to earn the biggest opportunity I have ever had- to go to the House of Commons. It was an experience like no other where I managed to seat in those green seats and debate upon five very pressing and unique subjects for young people, to decide which one would be Youth Parliaments next national campaign. There was Votes at 16, increasing the living wage, improving mental health services, giving young people a chance to have more work experience and bring back exam resits for Maths and English. In the end, we voted for increasing living wage for our campaign in England, and improving mental health services for our national campaign.

Personally, I have also been focusing on my campaign to combat the stigma and ignorance of mental health, for my local area, Dorset. Together with the charity Fixers, I have managed to sort out the best course of action for how I'm going to carry out the campaign, and what I should focus on. For example, I am hoping to give a series of accounts of young people who suffer from a mental health issues in assemblies, so that young people can see what it's like in the minds of young people that suffer from mental health issues. As our national campaign is now to focus on improving mental health services, I am glad to know that such campaigns like this will be spread throughout the country, as it is an increasingly important issue in this country for young people to deal with. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Jack Dunne, 16, Youth Representative Hello to the world of the youth or those who choose to read this document. This is my first ever Positive Story. Now after reading some other stories I thought it would be best to mention something about myself. My name is Jack and for the first time I am standing for the UK Youth Parliament as an MYP in Dorset. I attended my first DYCE meeting which obviously I found really interesting. So as you all know to become a candidate and participate in the elections I had to go to the information/training day, cue inspirational movie montage. The first day was very informative and I learnt a lot about what I can do as an MYP Candidate for young people in my local area, which being Dorset isn't exactly local anymore. The day allowed me some insight into UK Youth Parliament and how it was run and what my manifesto point should be. The second day was far more exciting with Jane and I filming my manifesto video and Dawn taking photos. On about the 9th take and once the laughing had stopped I managed to complete the video. Once the video was completed I went into the committee rooms to socialise with the

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other candidates for my area and managed to get through a whole box of Quality Streets. I am now looking forward to the next DYCE meeting so I can start getting more involved. Signing out on his first Positive Story Jack James Jones, 14, Member of Youth Parliament On November 4th, I attended the Dorset Youth Council Enables meeting. Was a great meeting for our council, we mainly focused on the HOC trip and a few PCC (Police Crime Commissioner) bids which involve benefitting young people.

Lucy Armstrong, 16, Youth Councillor Aside from turning 16 this month, it has been a really busy month for me personally. I have attended many events and have decided to stand for UK Youth Parliament in the upcoming February elections. I have been doing lots of work this month with Dorset Youth Council (DYCE); I have been attending conferences on bulling where we have been devising a new strategy schools can use when pupils informed them they've been bullied. It is a completely youth devised plan, which will give teachers a better guidance on what pupils want. I'm really excited to start my youth parliament campaigning in the upcoming weeks having filmed my manifesto this morning. I hope to be getting much more involved in regional and more local meetings in the next few weeks and meeting other young people from around the region and country.

Owen Shepherd, 12, Member of Youth Parliament This month has got to be the most astonishing and over whelming month I've ever had in the UKYP and in my life with the House of Commons annual sitting I was very excited before going and I was very happy afterwards this day brought a very happy feeling to me to just think of the fact that I got to sit in the House of Commons with the other astonishing MYP's from all across the country. Although I did not get chosen to speak I still thoroughly enjoyed myself! This wasn't the only thing this month I did; I also attended my local anti bullying conference and youth council meeting. This month has been jam packed full of fun and learning.

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Sarah Trott, 12, Youth Councillor At the moment I am a Youth Councillor within DCYE. I'm also standing for election into Youth Parliament early next year. This month I attended my first DYCE meeting. I also attended an anti-bullying conference with my school where we discussed how we can combat the issue of bullying and we even created an anti-bullying flowchart that explains how we would like the issue of bullying dealt with in our school.

Today I just got back from the Youth Parliament training day where I filmed my manifesto DVD and started to think about how I could meet my manifesto point which is to reduce instances of bulling in Dorset schools. I can't wait to start campaigning and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone at the South West Regional Convention on December 22nd!

Gloucestershire James Bennion, 17, Member of Youth Parliament It certainly has been busy recently regarding Youth Parliament. Most importantly, this month we have had our Annual House of Commons debate which I have been fortunate enough to attend twice now. It is such an honour to debate in such a historically significant place. I believe UKYP conducted themselves magnificently. The debates held were thoroughly interesting, well expressed and a joy to take part in. Locally, we are distributing the website for youth activity in Gloucestershire which is wonderful to see the website almost finished with Fixers. Are new annual topics are mental health which I believe it vital in a today's society where mental health is rising with services to cater for such illnesses are being cut. Everyone is entitled to minimum wage which equates to the living wage shall also be interesting in times where the cost of living is on the rise. Both these topics have drawn huge interest and passion and many people and I am sure great success will arise.

Nathan Howarth, 16, Member of Youth Parliament I have recurrently attended the debate in parliament which was an extremely special event and I am privileged to have had the chance to sit in the iconic green benches. I also meet with MP's and shared ideas with them. In other events I have taken put in a debate between schools to promote the youth voice and show that the youth have a position in politics. In which I was voted individual debater I have also started to look at how I can help the mental health campaign. We have also been working as team for the website including so Skype meetings.

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Isles of Scilly Zoe Jenkins, 15, Member of Youth Parliament Going to the House of Commons sitting was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. It was my first (and probably last, as next year I will have swapped roles with my DMYP). It is an incredible feeling knowing how privileged you are to sit on the green benches, as only elected MPs and MYPs are permitted to do so. I know I’m really lucky!! It being set out like a real debate, with Mr. Speaker chairing made it even more exciting.

All the speeches were amazing to listen to; so inspiration and motivating, even if you did agree with the point that was being made. Unfortunately I didn’t speak and I had never planned to, although during the mental health debate, I was on the verge of standing up to get picked. I really regret not doing so, because I know it is unlikely that I will never get another chance like it. I didn’t feel prepared to speak, everyone else had neatly written out speeches with statistics and I just had a few sentences that I’d made up in my head five minutes ago.

I have always had strong feelings about mental health, and I’m now going to write what I would have liked to have said in the chamber: Just because mental health issues aren’t a physical injury, can’t be seen, people don’t care. Do they not care? Or do they not know how to care?

Excuse me if I’m wrong, but I’m now halfway through year 11, and don’t ever remember being taught about mental illnesses in school.

I’ve known people with mental illnesses, and although I don’t know a great deal about it, I’m lucky enough to have the ability to try and comprehend what they might be going through.

Others don’t. They have no idea. Those who are brave enough to go to the doctors about it may be given pills to help them relax, or put on a nine month waiting list to be referred to a socalled specialist. That’s all very well, and I’m sure it can help to an extent, but professional help isn’t enough. Having a friend to turn to, to support you, being given a genuine smile across the street, feeling understood, feeling as though someone cares, knowing you’re not alone, having someone believe in you. You may not think it, but these small things could make a big difference to someone. It could even be the difference between life and death. But they don’t happen. Instead, people are stereotyped to be psychopath, retarded, mad, crazy. She’s making it up. He looks fine to me. Not enough people are aware. Aware of what mental health is.

Aware of the impacts. There have been many people, on the small group of islands I live on, who have been depressed, had personality disorders, anorexia, bulimia, been suicidal. They feel trapped, unable to speak out, isolated, unwanted, misperceived, and scared. Something needs to be done and it needs to start now, with my generation. As was said in the House of Commons, ‘we never hear anyone say, oh it’s just cancer, get over it.' Like cancer, mental health can kill’.

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After I read out that speech on my local radio, the interviewer said ‘those are powerful words’.

Yes they are powerful words, but that is all they are at the moment, words. If we all work together, I believe we can make something happen.

You can listen to my local radio interview at: http://www.scillytoday.com/2014/11/25/mypzoe-jenkins-on-her-recent-visit-to-parliament/

Plymouth Jon Cummings, 17, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This month I'm attending a q and a session as part of parliament week as well as beginning to plan another question time event for young people Katherine Newnham, 15, Member of Youth Parliament This month had been the most exciting and incredible experience. I had the opportunity to represent my constituency in the annual House of Commons debate! This experience was one

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of the best days of my life! It included me and the other MYP from Plymouth, Shannon Kowalski, going to London for the debate! Shannon was lucky enough to speak and I can honestly say that she did an amazing job.

This month I managed to attend a week’s worth of assembly's in my school to talk about make your mark, this was very successful as a managed to get just over 1000 make your mark ballots completed! This month I will be attending the House of Commons debate which we will debate the top 5 chosen by young people across the UK. Sarah Staples, 17, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament The last two months have been my busiest to date! Along with MYM (which we all know is beyond stressful), I was also lead fixer on a fix to host a Question Time style debate called Our Question Time. The event, held in Plymouth on the 10th of October, was attended by nearly 100 young people. I chaired the panel that featured Alison Seabeck MP, Gary Streeter MP, William Dartmouth MEP, Andy Pratt and Dr Karen Stears.

The debate was lively and discussed issues from youth engagement in politics, to ISIS, to tuition fees and many more topical issues. That same day I attended a conference on sexualisation and body image hosted my Alison Seabeck MP, the event was engaging and gave me the opportunity to discuss issues important to the other young people attending. I have sat on stakeholders meetings for the Plymouth History Centre project and tried my best to represent young people and their views to this decision making body.

Poole Francesca Reed, 17, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been incredibly exciting! On the 14th of November I represented the South West region at the Dispatch Box in the House of Commons during Youth Parliament's Annual Debate chaired by the Rt. Hon John Bercow MP. On this day 285 MYPs came together from all over the country to debate the 5 most important issues chosen by over 875,000 young people. I had the huge privilege of speaking in favour of mental health becoming Youth Parliament's new campaign and I am so pleased that this, along with the living wage, was selected. With over half of the MYPs there being female and 34% being of ethnic minority, I am so proud to be part of such a diverse, empowering organisation.

As a result of this amazing experience, I have had the opportunity to share the amazing work of Youth Parliament and the importance of improving mental health services for young people with BBC News, BBC Radio Solent and ITV.

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On a local level I have also been campaigning on the issue of mental health. During Poole's Annual Youth Conference on the 30th October, of which I was an organiser, I planned and ran a workshop with the support of CAMHS for young people around mental health and the stigma surrounding it. Poole's Annual Youth Conference was a huge success with young people from all over Poole taking part in workshops and presenting their ideas and opinions to local decision makers.

This month I also chaired the 'Youth in the Community' funding panel through which, along with 3 other young people, I was able to listen to young people's brilliant presentations on projects they had been working on and decide which projects could be given funding. Finally, on the 21st November I attended an event run by Model Westminster and the Cabinet Office for Parliament Week; 'Policy School - Next Generation', through which I heard talks from senior civil servants within the Cabinet Office and various other brilliant speakers around successful policy making and their roles within government. Through this event I developed my understanding of the civil service and had the privilege of presenting in the Cabinet Room within 10 Downing Street.

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Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This has been a great month for Poole as Francesca Reed, MYP for Poole, was a debate lead for the national UKYP debate in the House of Commons and featured on television on a whole host of interviews. She was able to excellently represent young people from across Poole and the south West and was incredibly successful in delivering one of the best speeches heard in the houses of commons. In addition we have continued our work back at home to the same vigour, to work on creating our PSHE lesson plans and managing to consolidate plans to have them hosted on the borough of Poole website!

Somerset Cat King, 18, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been massive! First off the House of Commons, what an amazing experience, and sadly my last one. For I am too old now! But it was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it. I even got to speak, during the Re-sit exam debate, a topic I know was popular in MYM for my area (South Somerset). For a full House of Commons report please visit our website: www.somersetyouth.co.uk where you can see reports from all the Somerset MYP's! I have also been had a huge response to my 'resource pack' that I created with the help of ITV Fixers, I have been asked to speak at a conference next year as the charity whom asked were very interested in my project! Also the youth service in Somerset love the resource pack and have agreed to fund some more copies as they think schools and youth clubs would benefit from their use.

Ellen Collard, 18, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been jam packed full of some great meetings. The priority this month locally has been developing our pledge for local organisations who offer volunteering for young people.

The pledge is encouraging the organisations to promote what they provide, and perhaps improve what they provide. We have been consulting with a local Somerset County Council employee who has expertise on volunteering in Somerset. Furthermore, we took part in some local funding to young people who have significant disadvantages and the fund allows them to undergo a positive activity such as horse riding. As always, the applications are hugely humbling and as an advisory group we are grateful to be able to allocate funding to people in such need of it.

Lastly, a day was fuelled by passion, drive and excitement- The House of Commons debate 2014 was a huge success. I voted that Mental Health Services should be the devolved campaign, as I felt that it was a campaign where youth parliament could really make a key difference to lots of young people how are suffering. For my constituents, travelling around in a rural area is always 60

a key issue. So having a campaign which says that metal health guidance should be provided in schools would be vital for the young people of Somerset as they will have easier access to these services. This is an issue affecting all young people of today, and I feel privileged to get the opportunity to campaign on this topic.

Thrinayani Ramakrishnan, 17, Member of Youth Parliament On Friday 14 of November I attended the UK Youth Parliament House of Commons debate where I got to sit on the green benches in the chamber of the House of Commons and debate the issues that young people across the UK votes (in the make you mark ballot) for MYP's to debate. The experience was incredible and the magnitude of the chamber that I debated in is something I will always cherish and remember. I spoke in the first debate of the day which was on living wage and represented my constituency of Sedgemoor, Somerset by speaking about how the living wage can change the lives of people who currently earn a wage that is not even sufficient to live on.

At the end of the day, MYP's from across the country voted in the chamber for their top issue to become UK Youth Parliament's national campaign and I am pleased to say that the Living wage has become our national campaign for England and mental health has become our UK wide national campaign for youth parliament heading into 2015.

The whole day was exceptional and the quality of every single debate was so heartfelt, compassionate and inspiring. It was a great way to complete my term of office as an MYP (which ends in February 2015) after two unforgettable years of completing the aims of my campaign which is employment for youth. I am so thankful to be part of an amazing experience.

I would like to thank every single young person that voted me in two years ago and I am so grateful that I could have the privilege to represent the young people of an area that is so close to my heart. The UK Youth Parliament House of Commons debate was aired on BBC Parliament and BBC Democracy live. The debate can also be found on BBC iplayer.

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South Gloucestershire Owen Stillman, 17, Youth Representative Positive activities panel is a voluntary panel of Young people. This involves us looking at applications and withdrawing information that corresponds to our chosen questions. This was done a few months ago, which then allowed us to be able to look at some applicants which meant analysing them and judging their worthiness of the funding requested.

This then goes off to the main council for their input which will mean they take our views into account. I enjoy the input this gives us into what the councils money is spent on which gives me an insight into all the different activities that may be soon available. Also, it is good for my confidence as you have to give your own views amongst others who you may have not ever seen before, and so don't know. It is also a worthy thing to do as it lets you learn good analysis skills due to the need to draw information out of the forms, not just read every word from the application as a lot of it is worthless to what we need

Swindon Ellie James, 17, Member of Youth Parliament Just before the start of November I joined the Reading MYP and DMYP in their trip to Parliament for a PoltiCOOL event. This event aimed to raise awareness of their organisation and give a political education which was just fantastic. It took place in Portcullis House, part of the Houses of Parliament which was an achievement in itself for it to take place in such a venue.

This gave me huge inspiration to do a similar thing in my area, for my young people in the run up to the election. I have been planning with teachers at my school to do an event (which will act as a pilot for me) to teach all years about what a general election is and why this event, and politics itself, is important.

I have discussed with other adults who have vital links to other schools about making this a Swindon wide thing; they thought this was a brilliant idea. I also sat on a Children's overview and scrutiny board presenting my personal campaign and Swindoneon issues to adults who can help me push this forward. I showed them the products of my Fixers project including my short film and news feature. We are now putting into motion an 'educational aspirations' pack for schools including my Fixers film from the feedback of the meeting. We are looking to complete this is January/February.

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For the Children's Commissioner Takeover Day I worked with my local MP Robert Buckland to shadow and input about what young people think. It was a varied day with a visit to a new primary school, who have invited me back to talk to the children about what I do as a role model and representative of other young people. I then sat in on an Elderly people's board expressing their most pressing issues for their age group which I was able to give an alternative perspective on as a young person. A Halifax community ambassador then visited Mr Buckland on what local charity they should adopt next year. Fortunately, Mental Health support was brought up and I couldn't have been more pleased. I suggested as this is now UKYPs new campaign that I would love to be involved and we have now swapped contact details.

Next was a visit to our main academic college in Swindon for Politics students to ask him questions about his role - which I was able to take part in as I too study politics. Finally I helped him run an MP surgery and was able to sit in on a few discussions to see how he deals with problems directed to him from his constituents. It was an eye opening day. Finally, and most importantly, was the UKYP House of Commons debate. To my privilege, I was able to represent the South West in commemorating the WW1 100 year anniversary.

Not only did I get to sit on the front benches but I performed my speech at the Dispatch Box - a moment I will never forget. To be in the company of such inspiring, motivating and passionate debaters and young people filled me with immense pride that is now engrained in my memory.

The speeches were so powerful and made it very difficult to vote on the national and devolved priorities for the year ahead, however, a decision was made and I hugely look forward to my last few months as an MYP before I become DMYP. Deputy Member of Youth Parliament It is anti- bullying week at my school either next week or the week after. I'm hoping to get some posters distributed around college for that. I've also got an Overview and scrutiny meeting on the 12th of November to give a presentation.

Torbay Sam McCarthy, 17, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament -

This month the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin came to Torbay to have an audience with me and Isaac Frewin concerning transport for young people in our area.

Concluding with a switching of details and an offer to write to the head of stagecoach to correct certain timetable anomalies.

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Our incumbent MYP visited the House of Commons on November 15th participating in the debate over what champions for Youth Parliament will campaign for this current 63

year, as a national objective. This was decided to be Mental Health and implementing the Living Wage. We shall whole-heartedly throw ourselves into these campaigns, and are set to schedule a meeting with council and key decision makers to discuss further the living wage.

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The Torbay Youth discount card has had a setback to launch did to our partner company having a fire; no-one was hurt and a new launch date shall be confirmed next Tuesday. early election nominations for new members of UKYP have been sent for, we have currently received 8 nominations for places and the elections are months away!

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I now have the contact details for multiple local councillors, and I will be getting in touch with them to the effect of having a larger role for UKYP in council and local decision making

Sophie Hunt, 16, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This month has been very busy not just with youth parliament but we have still got a fair bit done. We started off by celebrating our make your mark result after the conference. We fed back to the others from the conference about the ideas which were talked about when we shared what project we are doing locally like young commissioners etc. We have nearly completed our project on the discount card for Torbay, all we have to do is finalise and launch it. Also we have started out election process for the new UKYP members. I officially completed the youth voice award which I am so excited about. Next month is going to be super busy with the elections fast approaching and new projects being put in place. Onwards and upwards!!!!

Wiltshire Chloe Lintern, 16, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament & Youth Councillor November has been a busy month with nonstop work load but of course it's all part of the fun!

At the end of October I got a tour of Corsham campus where I finally saw the actual building I have been involved with helping to design. It's an amazing building at the heart of the community that includes everything from a cafe and the library to a gym and spacious rooms.

On the 10th of November I attended a Wiltshire Assembly Meeting in which we did updates about various boards we had attended over the last month.

We then looked at in detail a new plan/strategy for payment for young people who took part in interviews or looked at tender applications. We discussed whether the young people should have to go through a training programme before they are allowed to take part but also the payment/accreditation that they should receive. Looked at a document for young people that had a conference about them and their safety.

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We looked at the graphics and content of the wording and whether this was appropriate for children aged 8 and upwards. It then came to the most exciting moment of the day, deciding what to do for our Christmas Party after a vote we decided that we are going out for a meal next month with festive clothing. 21st November was Take Over Day in conjunction with the Children Commission and I was very very lucky to be offered a work-shadowing placement with Cabinet Office. Very early that morning I got on a train to Swansea where I was off to Swansea Pension Center to work-shadow Robert Dereux who is the permanent Secretary of the Department of Work and Pension. The day was AMAZING I cannot put into words how much I loved the day and it also gave me a very good insight into what work goes on within the department but also how hard the job can actually be. I'm super excited for December with lots of events in the diary and Christmas ever looming.

Courtney Pickering, 15, Member of Youth Parliament This month I have been extremely busy representing Young People in my area. I attended 'Talk Time' in Salisbury where Local representatives e.g. John Glen came and answered questions raised by young people from in and around Salisbury. This was a very interesting event and it was good to see the views of other people regarding issues involving Young People. I also contacted John Glen regarding the housing development in Old Sarum.

This month I was lucky enough to attend the House of Commons sitting with the other Members of the UK Youth Parliament. Here we debated the top five results for Make Your Mark and we decided our campaign for the next year. The speakers and Young People were very inspirational and made some very passionate comments towards the debates. I was so proud to be representing the Young People from East Wiltshire when I attended. Finally this month I have been encouraging Young People to get involved with the UK Youth Parliament and our local group Wiltshire Assembly of Youth. I have been successful in this and have got many Young People interested and I am going to continue to encourage many more.

I am also going to be attending a meeting regarding the development of our new community lead Youth Group for the Young People in my area and we hope to have this up and running by the beginning of next year.

Kieran Mulvaney, 16, Member of Youth Parliament Hello, this month I attended the annual UK Youth Parliament debate in the House of Commons where I took great interest in the debates. I stood up to talk for the mental health section as it is something I am passionate about. The mental health campaign that I'm running is slowly getting closer to launch, we recently recorded our first short film and we plan to show case it in February. I will keep you up to date with information about my campaign, thank you

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Jordan Green, 14, Member of Youth Parliament This month I attended the houses of commons in Westminster in London. It was an amazing experience and I would happily go back. I have also decided to go up for elections in 2015 for a post on UKYP again as I have loved the experience and I want to learn more facts about Politics.

We also had a local meeting and we planned our Christmas meal, we also talked about a health leaflet which we debated on the content and what we good and what was bad. Next month I am going to start planning my manifesto and get my friends and other young people helping me!!

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West Midlands Birmingham Alia Khan, 17, Member of Youth Parliament Friday 21st November 2014… Sounds like an ordinary Friday right? Wrong. It was Takeover day!

In Birmingham, members of UK Youth Parliament and Children in Care Council had the opportunity to take over someone of our choice. This was our first year participating so we were slightly nervous -even though we tried not to show it! We decided to take over Peter Hay, who is the strategic director for people in Birmingham. In the morning we had the chance to interview him for an hour and put him under the limelight about the future of Birmingham’s young people. A few hours later, he tweeted “The #TakeOverDay trio makes one scary interview panel!” Throughout the day, we had a snoop around his office and met with people of different departments working for the children’s services. In the afternoon, we caught a taxi to the Mac at Cannon Hill Park as we were attending a Bullying Conference.

We met with people from different organizations working to minimize bullying. It was also an extraordinary experience to have watched drama performances put together by children from schools across the city. Our day wasn’t over yet though, we also managed to take over Councillor Brigid Jones who is the cabinet member for Children and Family services in the afternoon too. We discussed potential opportunities available for children and young people throughout Birmingham and we hope to put this into action very soon! Towards the end of the day, we met with Sir Bob Kerslake who is the head of Civil Service to discuss youth engagement within the council- it was a bit of a tight squeeze rushing from the Mac to the council house; but we made it in time! All in all, it was a brilliant day; we can’t wait for next year!

Philip Cornish, 17, Member of Youth Parliament On the back of a highly successful Make Your Mark campaign, I was delighted and honoured to represent Birmingham in the annual 2014 UKYP House of Commons debate. Myself and 4 other MYP's represented Birmingham, with Vikram Patel delivering a fantastic speech as debate on behalf of Birmingham & the West Midlands as a whole. It was a fantastic, although long day in which MYP's from all over the country debated the top five motions from MYM. 'Secure a Living Wage' and 'Mental Health' were not only voted on as UKYP priority campaigns, but they were also amongst the top five most important issues for Birmingham young people. This means that as Birmingham UKYP approaches 2015, we can remain confident that the national campaigns were also deemed most important by the young people of Birmingham. Needless to

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say, it was a brilliant day in which we got to hear and discuss the issues with fellow MYP's both in and out of the chamber, although Birmingham didn't get to speak much during the debate within the chamber. We can remain confident that we represented the young people of Birmingham with pride and enthusiasm.

On Friday 7th November I was proud to meet MP for Yardley John Hemming who was attending a question and answer session at a college within Birmingham. The Q&A session was an excellent opportunity for local students to put forth their queries about a whole range of issues.

During the session a lot was discussed, a key area was how youth political participation could be enhanced ahead of the general election, as well as how all parties can increase participation across the pool of voters. Although the session only lasted for an hour, it was a fantastic experience in which the young people of Birmingham were able to express their views on many issues affecting them.

Throughout Birmingham UKYP we are developing greater links with councillors; MP's and other authorities to further strengthen the voice of young people, as we prepare to embark on the next series of campaigns which were decided at the House of Commons debate.

Vikram Patel, 17, Member of Youth Parliament On the 14th November 2014, I arguably had to be one of the most memorable days of my life so far. It had just turned past 11:45 and after hearing the heart touching WW1 speeches, I was called by Mr. Speaker to open the debating on the biggest day of the Youth Parliament’s year.

The copious amount of drafts that I had been through on the debate lead residential and the amount of ideas that I had, all came to a conclusion in a three minute speech, which I am so grateful for MYP’s from across the four nations for picking as their national campaign for the following year.

I honestly haven’t watched my speech on YouTube or the TV recordings that my mum has managed to get of every media appearance of me on the day, just thinking about the day still makes me nervous. Even the last few minutes collectively outside of the Commons chamber the debates lead representing every UKYP region, we stood together holding hands in a circle, as being debate lead introduced you not into a journey but also a family, where we all had each other’s backs, so to speak, and that we all supported each other from the day we all first met on the debate lead residential.

Being elected out of 14 candidates for the West Midlands was a privilege and in a region and in my home town of West Bromwich and the city of Birmingham I represent, the injustices that we debated on the day and the living wage issue that I lead, are hard hitting to a large proportion of young people that I represent and live side by side with. The UK Youth Parliament isn’t an apolitical organisation which trains you to be PR savvy, politically minded lead individuals who

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strive to be the next Prime Minister, but young people from all walks of life that want better for their communities, and this was seen with the passion and heart that people spoke during all of the debates. When I was allocated a debate, which was for the implementation of the living wage, it led me to look into the whole issue a little bit deeper. It made me reflect on the injustices that young people face due to their age today in terms of the wage they get, to the families that are having to choose between providing a hot meal for their children or their school uniform, and unlike the vast majority of self-centered politicians and Whitehall officials we know the people that we are elected to represent, and what they want and challenges they face on a daily basis. As a reflection on the whole experience of being a debate lead, I would recommend any MYP to stand for debate lead, personally I felt as if it was the cherry on the top of my youth voice cake, after being a young representative for the last four years, and the challenges that I have had to face.

My mum for the person who she is has never been a big supporter of all the work that I do, every meeting, every campaign rally, every weekend that I am out of the house working with different groups, yes I do admit life as an MYP is time consuming, and she recognised that seeming I want to be a doctor, but seeing me in my element delivering a powerful emotional speech on something that I had grown to believe in, standing at the dispatch box she for the first time believed every minute of my youth voice journey was worth it. I would like to at this point thank every youth worker (you know who you are ☺) that has helped me throughout my journey not only as a young social activist but as a young person and always being there for me.

Everyone of the Birmingham and West Midlands MYP’s, as well as every MYP, DMYP, youth councillor that I have got to know throughout the long haul and every friendship that has developed. Everyone of the debates leaders who were there to carry me through the weekend and throughout the process, Brendan and Doug who were amazing to work with and constantly replied to my long winded speech adjustments.

A last message from me before my last ever positive youth story. A long time ago when I first stood as an MYP for Sandwell in 2010 and didn’t win, it made me stronger. I then stood again in 2011 for Birmingham and managed to become an MYP, at first I thought the Youth Parliament looked smashing on my CV (which it does) and it was a ceremonial tick box organisation. If you’ve lasted this wrong and still reading this, to every decision maker, UKYP means business, I have had the chance to not only influence but change government policy, the chance to work and run some amazing projects from sexual exploitation to transport, and I will look back at these days with great joy, because I HAVE truly represented the people I was elected to represent with a great deal of joy.

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Dudley Maisy Neale, Youth Councillor This month, as a representative of Dudley Youth Council (DYC) I attended a question time session with local Halesowen MP, James Morris. I attended this event as part of the Takeover day (UNCRC) This event -"ask James" was an opportunity for local residents to quiz James on his local Conservative policies as well as nationwide issues that might affect us. I was the only youth representative at the event and so I quizzed James on what he was doing for the youth!! I will be soon reporting back to the rest of DYC. Becky and I also got the opportunity to do a presentation about Bullying for a Dudley Training day. This was because our (DYC's) campaign is on Bullying because of last year’s MYM; this was a great opportunity to develop our presenting skills as well as learning how Bullying is addressed in schools. As part of the presentation we also showed a PowerPoint on UNCRC :) This was in addition to the normal DYC meetings where we discussed our Dudley Youth Awards and UNCRC as well as further developments to our bullying campaign. I hope you have enjoyed hearing the extra things happening with DYC!

Staffordshire Clarke Lear, 14, Member of Youth Parliament This year’s England-only campaign is to campaign for and hopefully improve the mental wellbeing services our country’s young people use. People who need to use these services often don’t get the chance to, however. Because of this, my personal objective for the past few months has been to set up my own ideas for change. Me and the constituents I have approached all seem to agree that a radical reform of our current system may be ineffective and my local MP worries about how budgets could upkeep a system like this.

Therefore, along with a growing connection with Young Minds, I plan to first change our system in schools.

A letter I received back from the NHS agreed: instead of inschool counselling, a referral system is needed to services like CAMHS. This can put less

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pressure on schools and make them much more likely to agree, whilst also definitely lowering negative statistics nationally if a successful system is soon put into place.

Joe Porter, Youth Councillor Politics needs to become more digitalised Last month I attended a UK Youth event in Coventry about whether politics needs to become more digitised. The ‘Talking Day’ events have been taking place up and down the country to bring this debate to life amongst young and old people from a whole diversity of backgrounds.

Young people have also been chosen at these events to participate in an intergenerational debate in the House of Lords chamber with members of the University of the Third Age on decision making in a digital society.

Nowadays, social media is monopolising many our lives and developments in digital communication now mean there has never been easier to reach certain sections of the electorate. Many political discussions, particularly amongst young people, have moved from formal meetings and institutions to online platforms. As a result, digital communities can talk; think and problem solve issues together. How can Westminster and local councils afford to ignore this cultural change and its potential to bring politics more into the 21 st Century?

So, how should politicians meet the demands of a digital society?

A first step would be to ensure that every MP has an assistant trained in how to use social media and ideally all local councils would have a social media officer or press officers who understand how to use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other forms of social networking. Local councils should also follow Parliament’s example by having a live video stream on their websites. Politicians would then become more inclusive as members of the public would be able to access and watch council meetings. After all, formal meetings and institutions are not for everyone and we should seek to engage with this section of the public through modern methods of communication. Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles’ new ‘right to report’, which allows the press and public to film and digitally report from all public meetings of local government bodies, will help make this happen.

I urge all readers interested in the debate around digitising politics to watch the House of Lords debate between young people and the U3A on ‘Decision-making in a digital society’ on Friday 28th November. The debate will be shown live on BBC Parliament between 13.00 and 17.15 and can be watched afterwards on the House of Lords’ YouTube Channel.

The NHS is vital to our communities Amongst the economy and immigration, the NHS is ranked in the top few most important issues to Britons. So I was very happy to attend last month’s health and social care event that

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was organised by Staffordshire Health Watch and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. The NHS has never been under so much pressure to provide an excellent level of service for patients – which is why public opinion on how to improve services is so crucial at the moment.

The event bought together members of the community from across the Staffordshire Moorlands at Haregate Community Centre. Health and social care providers had stands at the centre for the latter part of the afternoon where we were able to ask them questions about their services and find out more about their importance to local people’s wellbeing. Deputy Leader of SMDC, Cllr Arthur Forrester then opened the Q&A session with the Chairman of Health Watch and local health decision makers. The session was very lively and the questions were about topics ranging from local hospital services, ambulance services, GPs surgeries, hearing aid funding, to the important issue of cancer care. I was able to ask the last questions at the end of the session. I asked about how they are involving young people in their NHS decision making because lots of younger members of our community use the services, but do not necessarily have the same say as others on how they are provided. I also asked about what are doing to protect local GP surgeries in rural areas as many people in our communities struggle to access their surgery so it is important we keep these services going and localise services more.

Therefore, I was particularly pleased when the CEO of UHNS mentioned about the possibility of more services being transferred from the Royal Stoke University Hospital (formerly the ‘City General’) to our Leek Moorlands Community Hospital in the near future as this will help to improve the quality of life of so many local people in the Moorlands. A massive thank you must go to the Health Watch and SMDC staff for organising the first of many successful community health events.

I would always want to see our NHS protected and services kept open in our communities. That is why I am pleased the Government have ensured the NHS budget has risen by £12.5 billion in real terms since 2010 – something which I hope will continue with whoever forms the next government.

Some inspiration from Boris and Winston…

Last month I was able to attend the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson’s book launch and Q&A session with the Daily Telegraph at Imperial College London. The interview was conducted by the Telegraph’s Head of Books, Gabby Wood and about 800 Boris fans were gathered in the great hall for the massive event. I was, purely by luck, able to find a seat in the third row in front of Mr Johnson’s family and book editor. I was even able to speak to his parents and have a selfie with his father Stanley Johnson when I was collecting my signed copy of the book.

During the Q&A session the Mayor spoke about his new book ‘The Churchill Factor’ and his political career. I am personally a huge fan of Sir Winston Churchill and Boris Johnson. But this book particularly interests me because it is about celebrating the outstanding character of

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Churchill and many of the fascinating things about him on the eve of the anniversary of his death in 1965.

I stood up and asked Mr Johnson a question when Gabby Wood opened the floor to questions from the audience. I asked him: “What three tips would you give to young people standing in next year’s local and General elections?” He mentioned the clichéd, but important, notion of young candidates being true to themselves and demonstrating conviction when out campaigning. He also advised that candidates should try and remain apolitical and stick to local issues if possible. All of this was really good advice which I will take on board for when I stand as a candidate in next year’s local elections. I also look forward to finishing reading what is already a really entertaining book about Winston Churchill because we, as young people, have a lot of inspiration we can draw from Churchill’s great achievements, for example his leadership during the First and Second World Wars and his massive role in introducing welfare to his country through installing the first tea breaks. We can also learn a great deal from his mistakes as a politician, which is a very subjective area of debate.

PCC Visits YAK! At the last monthly YAK meeting on the 27th September we were joined by Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis. He was invited to attend YAK so that we can try and work in partnership with him in the future to build stronger links between young people and the police force.

The meeting was started off with Mr Ellis explaining what his role as a PCC entails and what he was achieved so far since being elected back in 2012. This then led onto a Q&A session where YAK Members were able to direct their questions to Mr Ellis, ensuring that he is accountable to young people. The questions ranged from ones about his PCC role and achievements in office, to what he intends to do to engage with young people and what his main priorities are.

The meeting resulted in YAK Members learning a great deal about the important role of a PCC and everyone was able to participate in the lively discussions we had about local issues. We were able to also discuss YAK’s new ‘Knife and Violent Crime’ campaign with the PCC, to which

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he gave us his full support. Mr Ellis proposed that YAK came to his office in Stafford within the next few months to have further, more detailed discussions how he could give us some financial support for our campaign and involve YAK more with his youth engagement programme.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Ellis said: “I really enjoyed meeting with YAK to discuss youth engagement with the police and I was particularly impressed by the level of knowledge in the room about crime issues. I’m pleased that we are in agreement about my funding proposal and I look forward to working with YAK in the future.”

TeenTech Event Strikes Success!

Staffordshire hosted its second annual TeenTech event on the 25th September. The event was organised by Entrust with the help of YAK members and representatives of TeenTech. Over 200 Year 8 students from over 20 Staffordshire schools attended the day which was aimed at encouraging them to pursue careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Organisations from the private and public sector including: JCB, JVC, Perkins, KMF the BBC, the National Grid, Staffordshire University and many others, where present at the event to deliver workshops and sessions to the students about their industry field.

YAK members helped to facilitate the event at Uttoxeter Racecourse throughout the day by showing the students and teachers around, promoting ‘Make Your Mark’ to all the young people and generally making sure the event was as friendly and inclusive as possible. During the preparations for the event, YAK was actively involved with helping to organise it all. Kate Roberts and Lisa Buckley from Entrust said that: “It was another great TeenTech event.” and “It was a great experience for the young people who are getting a real buzz out of it.”

The venue was split into three key zones: Challenge Zone, Insight Zone and Innovation Zone. The Challenge Zone gave students the opportunity to participate in teams and have a go and some of the practical industry processes. The Insight Zone was a room full of stands for each of the

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organisations and students spent about 5 minutes participating in workshops at each stand and then moved onto next one. The Innovation Zone then allowed students to formulate their own ideas for apps and making the world an easier and better place in which to live. Adam Barr, who helped show the students around the different zones said: “I’m really jealous of the Year 8 students – I would have loved being a part of the amazing workshops!”

YAK members James Cain, Megan Collins, Matt Mansell and Chelsea Stones delivered a workshop on employability during the day. James said that: “It was great to see young people actively engaging in the workshop to explore their current interests and consider their future careers.” Then Matt commented that: “The workshops worked really well and hopefully we’ve inspired more young people to research job prospects at a younger age.”

Over 500 photos were taken by YAK’s Media Officer Joe Porter throughout the day and he will be producing a video showing the various interviews he conducted at the event. Joe said that: “YAK really enjoyed being a part of making TeenTech happen this year again. Everyone enjoyed working as a team to make the day such a success. To celebrate its success, I will be producing a video on behalf of YAK to promote it to other counties and organisations.”

We are all really grateful to TeenTech for coming to Staffordshire again this year and particularly to the organisation’s Directors, Maggie Philbin and Roland Allen for helping make the day such a success. Speaking after the event, CEO of TeenTech Maggie Philbin commented that: “I thought it was absolutely amazing! I always get so much energy from all of the students who arrive”. Then when asked the sum up the day in one word she said: “inspiring”.

Megan Collins, 16, Member of Youth Parliament Staffordshire's Youth Action Kouncil (YAK) members visited Staffordshire's police headquarters as part of their second meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis. They were first given demonstrations of how dogs were used in police investigations followed by a tour of the control systems in which all 999 calls were made to in Staffordshire. The meeting was then held to discuss how young people could be more engaged with the police. It was discussed that a survey could be done to find out the young people's most important issues when it came to policing. Matthew Ellis also showed interest for YAK to become his youth advisory group to engage himself and the police in more youth-related matters.

Jack, a member of YAK said:

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"I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was amazing to see firsthand some of the fantastic work the police do. I also found the meeting with the PCC a great way of engaging with young people and I hope that we can engage more young people throughout Staffordshire".

Walsall Jade Spruce So I think that a positive thing that I have done is that whist doing Make Your Mark I visited nine primary schools, two cadets , two youth clubs , two libraries and my whole school. This is because I wanted to reach a broader range of people, to get more out and get even just the profile raised if nothing more. I sent each of the schools a pact with a cover letter; a leaflet about me and about Youth of Walsall (YOW). So I didn’t just raise my profile I helped raise YOW's profile too.

All of these are going to be followed up with a letter so that they are all aware of how their efforts helped.

I think this is positive as there were places that were giving no ballots back. However people were finding out about it then other places would be extremely interested and some even wanted to watch the live show.

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Yorkshire and Humber Barnsley Leah Harston, 15, Member of Youth Parliament This month I had the opportunity to be a part of the UK your parliament love debate in the House of Commons, thanks to the young people of Barnsley who elected me to represent them! There were so many amazing inspiring speeches and different viewpoint on each of the campaigns and gladly one of Barnsley’s top 3 has been voted as a national campaign! It was truly an honour Tom Yems The NHS Youth Forum met at the beginning of November to review the year so far and think about our plans for the forthcoming year. On our priority of mental health, we held a large event in July to celebrate good practice surrounding mental health services for young people.

We are also about to publish a document outlining in a clear and concise manner some helpful information for young people about consent, confidentiality and giving comments/complaints to services.

We have had a very productive year, and are looking forward to holding an event in March, which will focus on making the health service more young people friendly.

Pegah Moulana, 17, Member of Youth Parliament The ability to speak in the House of Commons is a privilege itself, yet representing the words of the youth of your town is an honour that can only be earned through the hard work you do for the community. I had the chance to speak on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humberside regarding to the mental health issues. This is not only a national top category concern but Barnsley young people have had a big struggle towards accessing help. I could do nothing but to let my heart speak out and prove to the young people outside the chamber that their concerns were raised and are never forgotten, this is our job as an elected member and I am ever so proud to be given the chance to be one of the members who spoke out.

On Friday 14th of November 2014, everything seemed magical and every single motion had an everlasting spark to encourage every single young person to jump off their seat in order to represent their young people. It is appraisal for anyone to be a member of this group and organisation with the honour to sit on the Green Benches and decide for the youth of today. At

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level of times, it was hard to not cry from amount of passion that was driving the speakers, with the ability to impress even MP's sat amongst us. It made every single one of us proud, and I am certainly proud they are also.

Calderdale Ella Beevers, 14, Member of Youth Parliament This month has been a rather successful one for Calderdale. Firstly, the Takeover Day was a huge success! Secondly, the Fairer Fares 4 Youth campaign has collected 2,500 signatures so far (not bad considering Calderdale is the second smallest LA in Great Britain!) and finally, I had the most amazing time debating in the Houses of Commons.

I had the opportunity to speak on behalf of the young people in Calderdale on the topic of Votes@16, an issue that many of my constituents felt strongly about.

They were all very proud of me which makes doing my job even more worthwhile! A good month for Calderdale all in all.

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Olivia Holmes, 17, Member of Youth Parliament In Calderdale, we are currently focusing on our Emotional well being campaign. This campaign started in May and is still ongoing. This month all of our youth council have come together and created a survey which we would be able to pass along to both staff and students at the local schools. After creating the survey, almost every member managed to take this survey to their school and have both staff and students to fill it in. With this we were able to see which schools needed more support to improve their support systems. We were also able to gain the feedback which we needed to help us come together and create ideas and ways which we could improve the emotional well being of our authority. The youth council has done an excellent job this month.

Doncaster Aysha Ahmed, Member of Youth Parliament 14th November 2014 will always be a date that I will remember, not only because it was my second and last time attending the UK Youth Parliament debate, but also because I had the amazing opportunity to represent my region as the World War 1 speaker.

On the morning of the day I was very nervous more so than ever before, but when I arrived at Parliament I became excited because I got to tour the Speaker’s house, and have an official photograph with John Bercow and William Hague (I even got a selfie with the Speaker).

Speaking at the dispatch box where previous prime ministers have spoken was a big honour and the experience I had at this year’s ‘Make Your Mark’ debate will be hard to match. I enjoyed it thoroughly and am proud of everyone in my constituency and region.

I come to the end of my term as a Member of Youth Parliament feeling fulfilled that I have accomplished everything I wanted to achieve and more during my time as a representative for Doncaster.

Caitlin Boyle, Youth Councillor Today I was part of the young people’s interview panel for the recruitment process for an Assistant Directors post. This was a terrific opportunity for me and I really enjoyed it, I really got to see how the interview process works and managed to pick up some great tips for when I start looking for a job. I will definitely look through the job description and prepare my answers based on the information about the job.

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Chloe Green, Youth Councillor As part of my role I was asked if I wanted to participate in an interview panel, this is something that I have had the opportunity to do before and I have benefitted from being involved in terms of my personal development and confidence. I think it is important to involve children and young people particularly when the role involves working with and supporting children and young people. As part of my involvement I have not only increased my confidence and learnt all about the interview stages, I have also gained an Asdan award that will look good on my CV. If you ever get the chance to be part of an interview panel I would definitely recommend it.

Rachel & Phoebe, Youth Councillors Friday 21 November was the Children’s Commissioner Take Over Day and we had the opportunity to take part in the Annual Partnership Summit in Doncaster.

Take Over Day, meet and greet and sign people in, lead on a workshop based on an ‘Appreciative Enquiry Model’, we also had the opportunity to sum up the event and do the closing remarks.

Today was very positive and we are pleased that we were given the opportunity to be involved.

Leeds Amy Eckworth-Jones, Leeds Young Mayor When I was told that I had been short listed for Leeds Children’s Mayor I was over the moon. I knew that it was a great achievement but I also realised that I was up against some amazing students from Leeds. I was not expecting to get through to the top ten so I was extremely happy with what I had done no matter what happened next.

When I was told that the first meeting of the final ten was at the civic hall I could have touched the stars! On the first meeting of the final ten candidates we were shown in to the room where we would all get to read our manifestos, I was stunned by just how beautiful and AMAZING the civic hall is. I was really looking forward to going to finals night but also a little worried at the same time.

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On finals night I was so scared. All day at school I had been shaking like a leaf. I had never been so anxious in my life! But I still did it. I arrived at the civic hall last! We played an ice breaker game called human bingo to relax us all. In my opinion in made me more nervous because it was at this moment that I realised just how many people I would have to speak on front of (let me tell you there were a lot!) I don’t normally worry about speaking in front of people but when you are stood face to face with the most important man in Leeds you start to worry just a little bit. Anyway.......I did it apparently confidently.......didn’t feel like that at all!!!!!! The mayor then announced that I was Children’s Mayor of Leeds 2014.

My first engagement as the Leeds Children’s Mayor was to be part of the Christmas Lights switch on in the centre of Leeds. This was an absolutely amazing night, I got to meet all of the stars Sam Bailey, G4 ,Leeds Rhinos and many more .I had my photo taken with them all and got all of their autographs I felt so proud and special. When I went on to the stage with the Lord Mayor I was shaking but loved every minute of it, looking out at thousands of faces all looking at me and the Mayor on the stage just waiting to hear how I had won such an amazing role. Words cannot describe how happy and excited I was to play such an important part on that evening. We did not need fireworks as I could have lit up the sky with pride it was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity which I will never forget.

I am so proud to be the 10th Children’s Mayor and when I wear my robes I feel like I can achieve anything. This year is going to be one to remember without a doubt .Watch this space.

Amy Kitchingman, Youth Councillor My school council recently promoted the UK Youth Parliament’s ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot and collected votes on the issues put forward.

We found that the opinions were split; mainly between five topics and our winner was ‘curriculum for life’ which one by only a few votes. The passionate opinions of our pupils was interesting and inspiring, despite what people say, young people care deeply about their society and environment.

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Ansa Ahmad, Youth Councillor My first Leeds Youth Council meeting has been very useful and I look forward to future meeting and hope to expand my knowledge on the issues that affect young people in Leeds.

Ben Harper, Youth Councillor I was part of the short listing panel for the Leeds Children’s Mayor; we had 31 manifestos to shortlist to the final ten. The final ten have on the Breeze Leeds website for young people to vote for their favourite. I am really looking forward to attending the finals night on Tuesday 11 th November, at which the winner will be announced.

Bethany Rodley, Youth Councillor In my school there is a new student leadership team being set up in replacement of the old school council. Every student has a chance to submit a nomination form saying why they would be the best for the job. There will be one representative per form and two heads of year and another two deputy heads of year. I have submitted a nomination form and am waiting to hear from members of staff who will decide who gets the role.

I also spoke to every year group in my school by attending seven different assemblies encouraging them to vote for Make Your Mark.

Charlotte Williams, Youth Councillor This month I joined the Leeds Youth Council, I think it is a great opportunity for children and young people to have a say and give their feedback. I am already looking forward to the next meeting in December.

We took part in two consultations during the meeting, one around the Leeds SEND Strategy and another around school food ambassadors. We also chose the LYC campaign for the following year; we will be working on Work Experience as this was one of the top three issues for Leeds in the recent Make Your Mark ballot.

Crystal Miller, Youth Councillor At the Leeds Youth Council meeting we took part in a consultation around the new SEND Strategy for Leeds. This is to help children and young people in Leeds with SEND and disabilities.

This was really interesting and something I am very passionate about.

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Ella Goulding, Youth Councillor Leeds Children’s Mayor Finals So we all know the many amazing opportunities that Leeds offers its young citizens. There are so many and all give young people a voice in how we believe Leeds could become a better place for everyone. One of the most intriguing and exciting things available for young people is the chance to become the Leeds Children’s Mayor for a year.

2014 marked the tenth year of having an elected Children's Mayor in Leeds. Over 600 manifestos were written by children in the city, over 6000 votes were cast and there was a really special awards evening at the Civic Hall. The council chamber at the Civic Hall was set up with areas for the ten finalist’s family, other guests and of course the Leeds Mayor was sat in his oh so fancy yet seemingly uncomfortable chair.

We heard short speeches from Charlotte (the old child mayor), Judith Blake and the Mayor himself before we heard the 10 finalists read out their manifestos. It was inspiring to hear all the amazing ideas that the young people in Leeds have. All of the finalist, and the 590 other applicants truly amaze us each year with the fantastic ideas they use in their manifestos.

After listening to all the manifestos, it was difficult to guess who was going to win. Each idea was brilliant and the finalists stood up and spoke with such great confidence. A few others and I played ‘spot the parent’ as each spoke because you could see how proud they all were as they were all taking photos and videos of their children as they said their speeches.

Finally it was announced that Amy Eckworth-Jones from Strawberry Fields Primary School was our winner! Amy's manifesto entitled "Have fun, play safe" proved to be the most popular and she went off to put on the robes and take quite a few photos.

All in all it was a great evening and on behalf of myself and the Leeds Youth, I would like to congratulate not only Amy on her win but the success of the other 9 finalist and their perseverance to become involved in politics in Leeds. I am thoroughly looking forward to exciting things to come in the future from us young people in Leeds!

Once again, the Leeds Youth Council have achieved something amazing and have won a Diana Award for Active Campaigners.

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We were nominated by the fantastic Voice and Influence Team, and the judges at the Diana Awards have recognised the brilliant work the Leeds Youth Council have done.

I am incredibly proud to be part of the Leeds Youth Council and am so thankful that we work together so well to deliver fantastic things that people can see. It’s safe to say we are extremely excited for the awards even in December.

Emily Radford, Youth Councillor Having been the Chair of LYC working group on Road Safety since April 2013, I have seen the development of the project from its beginning to its final product. In June myself and other members of LYC filmed our ‘Crisis’ video which can be found at; http://www.fixers.org.uk/index.php?module_instance_id=11312&core_alternate_io_handler=v iew_fixer_news_video&data_ref_id=10522&news_data_ref_id=10520&video_no=1.

On the back of this video which will be implemented in schools in Leeds, we were contact be ITV Calendar to film a short 3 minute piece about the film and our Campaign. On Saturday 15th November Thea Smith (a member of the working group) and I were interviewed about the campaign. We showed the video for the first time in front of a group of young people and heart their honest feedback, which was all very positive.

The ITV film will be played on the 4th December at 6 pm. Hopefully now that the whole of Yorkshire will be able to see the video, our campaign will build to bigger and better things.

Holly Lanforth, Youth Councillor This week I’ve been organising a PowerPoint presentation on how women are viewed in the media and how we can change this for the better to improve women’s self of steam and overall get more women reaching for the top jobs. I’m going to present this to a sociology class in my high school and also mention how at a young age things like toys can make girls view themselves in a different way e.g. Barbie dolls, hair salons etc. and boys viewed to be superiors e.g. superman, bob the builder etc. I’m hoping girls in my year will see themselves more positively after my presentation.

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Isaac Grinnell, Youth Councillor I am involved in the Child Friendly Leeds awards planning group, who meet every other week. I have been given the role as presenter at the event in January.

I have also attended School Council Meetings as well as being involved with Leeds Citizens at my school.

Joe Hill, Youth Councillor During the summer we took part in a range of Leeds Youth Events at Breeze. We were able to recruit new members through having a stand and communicating to teenagers the benefits of taking part in the Leeds Youth Council. Young people are able to discuss issues with a variety of representatives.

John Wadsworth, Youth Councillor This month has been very exciting for the Leeds Youth Council, not only did we receive the Diana Award for Active Campaigners but we have also begun to select our campaign for the year. It was great to see active discussion of the issues as well as ensuring feedback on the SEND strategy and school food ambassadors was passed on.

Josie Lee, Youth Councillor I was nominated for a Leeds Rotary Award by a teacher in my school. I have been nominated for the Leeds Rotary Young Citizen award and won a £30 book voucher.

I am also writing an LYC endorsement for the School Food Ambassadors programme in Leeds.

The School Food Ambassadors are pupils who provide feedback to the Head Teachers and Catering staff about the ‘canteen experience’. This will be launched in 2015 and we will be reading out our endorsement.

Jude Mason, Youth Councillor I have been invited to School Council training and I am also working on building up the links between my school / area and the Leeds Youth Council.

Mona-Lisa Curry, Youth Councillor I attended my first Leeds Youth Council meeting. It was a great experience and it was the total opposite to what I thought it was going to be like, in a good way. I really enjoyed how friendly and relaxed everything / one was. I also enjoyed the consultations and group discussions. It is great to know my views and opinions are being listed to.

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Nicole Sabau, Member of Youth Member of Youth Parliament This month has been more than amazing.

It started off with our democracy day, where students from all over Leeds came to be empowered through political education.

We have finished the information pack, which will be sent to all the schools in Leeds, so they too can encourage political awareness in their schools. On the same day we also celebrated our success in Make Your Mark, we got over 19,000 ballots. It was amazing.

To continue on from this amazing day we also had the privilege of going down to the Westminster (House of Commons). We enjoyed the day greatly; having shared the experience of talking in the House of Commons (plus the green sets were a nice touch as well. It was something I wish never to forget.

Polly Foster, Youth Councillor I am on the planning group for the Child Friendly Leeds Awards. We meet every week to go over the detail for the awards, from the decorations to the acts that will perform during the intervals. I’s fun and I’m excited for the final awards evening in January 2015, when everything we will have organised will come together to be a fantastic and fun event.

I am working on the LYC budget, and ensuring that the money allocated to the LYC is all spent before the 31st March. I have been consulting with LYC members on how best to spend the money and ensure we are using it effectively.

Poppy Rowe, Youth Councillor I have recently joined the Leeds Youth Council and attended my first meeting. I will inform my school of all the discussions that took place and collate their feedback.

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Shamim Miah, Member of Youth Parliament The last month has been terrific.

Our make your mark target for Leeds was smashed! Our target was 12,000 however we got much higher than this, due to amazing dedication and communication as a Leeds UKYP team, we achieved over 19,000 ballots! This added well to our region target which we also succeeded in achieving much more than planned.

On the 5th November Leeds held the first ever politics awareness day, giving a chance to all high schools to get involved in something fun and educational. In our “D-Day” we informally taught young people about voting, political parties, local and national politics. The aims of the day were to educate, empower and enlighten young people in politics. At the end of the event we produced goody bags of sorts, so the young people who came can go back o there schools and educate others on what they have learnt and be ambassadors.

The House of Commons was a privileged and fascinating experience. Debating on campaigns and representing the people of Leeds was a proud moment for me.

Szymon Podgorski, Youth Councillor I began trailing a ‘recreation room’ at school in order to make the library a more suitable working environment and I am working with students to evaluate this.

I participated in the UK Youth Parliament Democracy Day session on the 5th November, and learnt more about Britain’s government, becoming more politically literate.

Tommy Schofield, Youth Councillor In the last month I have attended an interview panel for the Head of Social Services. We did a carousel format and voted on the best candidate.

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North East Lincolnshire Member of Youth Parliament This month was my first and last time attending the annual House of Commons debate. This was an extremely honorable moment in my life and I will never forget it, to have the pleasure to sit on the green benches of power. Sadly I was not chosen to speak, and I couldn’t represent my constituency to my full potential. However I will work hard to represent them the best I can on my next opportunity.

North Lincolnshire Jordan, 15, Youth Representative During the Yorkshire and Humber Residential Weekend at Hollowford the young people of North East Lincolnshire showcased their Young Reporters scheme, and it was something that a few of us became very interested in. As part of local Takeover Week two of my fellow youth councillors and I met with the editor of our local newspaper, the Scunthorpe Telegraph. She had helped in the establishment of the North East Lincs scheme and was keen for us to follow suit. We set a few guidelines and agreed that our programme would start in the New Year.

The following day a couple of us spent a day in the newsroom where we drafted an introductory article about the North Lincs Youth Council and some of its current projects. We later went out on location with a press photographer, and discovered how the paper’s Nostalgia section was put together.

This has given us a real taster for journalism and I’m now looking forward to being part of our own Young Reporters programme.

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Rose, 12, Youth Representative On Friday 21st November I visited Humberside Fire and Rescue Service in Scunthorpe. My friend and I were set a challenge by the station manager which was to produce a presentation on the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving. We later went into the community to ask people questions about the subject. Overall I had a great day.

North Yorkshire Hannah Berzins , 16, Member of Youth Parliament On November 14th I ventured out to London to attend the annual UK Youth Parliament House of Commons Debate. Like last year, the event was eagerly anticipated, as everyone was excited to hear all the passionate speakers in the chamber and we were certainly not disappointed. The atmosphere in the room was a combination of amazement, surprise and awe, and when the debate began our fires of passion ignited. There were some wonderful speeches in the Commons; the best ones with the most impact being succinct and well worded statements. I was lucky enough to speak in the debate for better work experience and careers advice, saying the following words: "Work experience is vital to us. We do not want to work one, two or even three years, only to walk blindly in to a job. We should not need to rely on internet research to decide our career choices; we need physical, real life experiences to let us live our lives to the maximum of our potential. Thank you."

This was an amazing experience, and something I would love to do again so if you have an opportunity, similar to this or not, cease it and take a chance, you won’t regret it!

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Steph Spaven, 21, Youth Councillor A 21-YEAR-OLD undergraduate has become the new leader of North Yorkshire’s Young People’s Council. Steph Spaven has been elected to the chair after having been part of the council for the past five years. The YPC is made up of young people who are either currently in care or are care leavers, aged between 11 and 21. It works to improve the care system and the lives of those in care. They regularly meet with county councillors and officers who make decisions which affect the lives of those experiencing the care system.

Steph, herself a care leaver, said: “During my time as chair I have some goals which I hope to achieve. Firstly I aim to ensure all foster carers have a 'personal profile' to give to children and young people to help them familiarise themselves with their new foster family. Secondly I aim to increase the amount of county council documents that are 'Youth Approved' by the YPC, in other words they are user friendly for young people.”

She also hopes to promote the use of social media, increase membership of the YPC, and raise awareness about its work and consultation events and make a real difference to the care system.

The county’s executive member for youth services, Cllr Tony Hall said: “We welcome Steph as the new chair. The YPC does a great job in promoting the views of children and young people who have had experience of care and we are sure that the council will take another step forward under Steph’s leadership.”

Member of Youth Parliament On the 14th is the UKYP's House of Commons debate. Which is a huge mega deal! So this month so far I've been raising awareness and trying to engage as many people as possible on a one to one base. Explaining things to them and answering any questions. It's so exciting to be going down to London for an experience not many will have, but I've tried to share it as much as possible.

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Member of Youth Parliament The big debate this month in the House of Commons, having the amazing privilege to speak was an honour that not many 16 years can say they have had and I would like to thank British Youth Council and everybody who was involved in making it the utter success it was. Each topic was clearly important to the young people of the UK otherwise it wouldn't have been being debated upon. It was also an excellent chance to meet other MYPs from other regions of the UK (oh my though, all the incredible accents).

Rotherham Ashley Gregory, 16, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament With 2014 commemorating the 100th year since the start of World War One, this year in particular was one to pay our upmost respects. UKYP Rotherham, Rotherham Youth Cabinet and The Looked After Children's Council were invited to be part of the Remembrance Sunday Parade on the 9th November. I was chosen to lay the wreath on behalf of the Youth Parliament, something which was both a great honour and privilege to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms and world we have today. Lest we forget.

A second highlight from November is the joint training day with the Looked After Children's Council around mental health. With emotional wellbeing being on the Youth Cabinets Manifesto for 2015, the training was both educational and beneficial for members. It has widened our knowledge of the issue and made us all more passionate about reducing the stigma around mental health. Both UKYP and the Youth Cabinet are also delighted to see that Mental Health will be the UKYP national campaign for 2015!

Finally, although not positive, I'd like to give a quick mention to Josh Parker who unfortunately has made the decision to leave the Youth Cabinet in order to pursue his ambitions into politics. A strong member of four years, Josh's passion and enthusiasm brought so much to the group - and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say he will be a great loss and we're sad to see him go. Good luck Josh!

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Emilia Ashton, 15, Youth Councillor Since our manifesto launch on October 16th members have been working hard with some of the aims and in half term, we had some training on our aim which is emotional wellbeing. This links in well with one of the new UKYP aim, which is mental health. I also have carried on with my exam stress email by not just emailing the department of education but emailing my local MP as well. We were also very lucky to represent young people as part of the remembrance parade in Rotherham. It was an honour to be part of and I know member Oliver Blake and DMYP Ashley Gregory felt honoured to lay reefs on behalf of RYC and UKYP. To celebrate children's commissioner take over day, we did a review of last year’s main aim self harm. This allowed us to quiz health professionals on the recommendations we made.

Congratulations to member Rebecca Parkin who won Rotherham's Young Volunteer of the Year award.

Rebecca Parkin, 17, Youth Councillor I've done a lot of work this week 17th of November - 21st of November, as it is Anti-bullying Awareness Week. Since I was about 15 I started campaigning for Bullying and Mental Health/Disabilities. I've done so many interviews with BBC radio 1, BBC radio 4, BBC Breakfast and recently for anti-bullying week the BBC Ouch Blog and also the Ambitious About Autism website.

For the BBC Ouch Blog I spoke about how bullying had affected me and lead to me dealing with mental health issues and self harm. I was approached by Ambitious About Autism after I had written the blog for their website, which Scope wanted to quote some of my blog and BBC wanted to do an interview with me after they had seen my work on my website officialrebeccaparkin.webs.com Just seeing all the support tweets on twitter is amazing, you never know what people will think when you do some media work, and I’m so blessed that I've been able to make a difference to other people's lives.

That's my main goal - I want to make a change!

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Sheffield Alex Vesuvio, Member of Youth Parliament This month, I have been to the House of Commons for the annual UKYP HoC sitting. Sheffield went down to London on the Thursday before the HoC to do some sightseeing. Some of these places include the Tower of London, London Bridge, HMS Belfast and Buckingham Palace. While I was unable to speak in the Commons, it was great listening to everyone's view on the top 5 issues voted for by the 875,000 11-18 year olds. I really do believe that the top two issues that were voted for by the MYPs are excellent campaigns that will improve the quality of life for all, if not most of the young people in the U.K. Also, this month I helped take part in a young people's consultation about plain packaging for cigarettes. The consultation was at Sheffield Futures and lasted for roughly an hour. The consultation included looking at plain packaging that is used in Australia and whether we believed it would have any effect on changing young people's attitudes to smoking. It was good that rather than choosing whether to go ahead with the campaign for young people, they talked to young people first and then chose whether to carry on based on young people’s views.

Finally, I have helped Sheffield Futures with the UKYP introduction day at Sheffield City Hall as well as the manifesto writing day at Sheffield Futures. It was great to see so many young people wanting to become MYPs, DMYPs and Youth Councillors. While it is rather sad that a handful of them will not get a place, I am positive that the ones who do get a place will be some of the best we have seen yet.

Eleri Kirkpatrick-Lorente, 16, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament This month, I attended the World Forum for Democracy, as one of the young people aged 16-30 representing the BYC and the UK Youth Parliament. I went to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg for the event, and I stayed at the European youth centre. There were people from all over Europe and beyond, who were representatives of NGO’s, Youth organisations and even some young government

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representatives. The first three days before the official opening of the World Forum for Democracy was spent in the youth centre, talking to all the different people and learning from their experiences and views on democracy. While I was there I participated in a number of discussions, including discussing the role of civil society in democracy, the role of political parties in democracy and social resistance within democracy. On the day of the official opening of the conference, I was lucky enough to be able to sit in the Council of Europe and hear talks by important youth organisations and even Jeremy Rifkin, a famous economist.

Over the next few days, I sat in on a Lab about youth parliament, and I was able to meet Aileen Walker, the head of parliamentary engagement. I also met representatives from other structures, like the BYC around the world, and it was very interesting to find out how these systems worked. The conference overall was very inspiring, and I really enjoyed it. I have learnt so much about the rest of the world, and I hope that with the new ideas and with global cooperation, we can improve things for ourselves in Britain but also for others around the world.

Laura Nutton, 17, Member of Youth Parliament As a member of youth parliament, I got the great pleasure of being able to debate in the House of Commons. Firstly, being able to meet all other members in the overwhelming Westminster hall and overall the whole day brought to life for us all how much of an impact we have as a group of young people. First, the inspiring speeches from current MPs their presence showing we are being listened to. Then the WW1 speeches which were a fitting start to the day, all very moving. Then I was fascinated by the incredible speeches not only by debate leads, but backbench too. Each adding something to the debate. Voting was subsequently very difficult; overall the two campaigns - living wage and mental health - are incredibly important to young people, and the day overall showing just how powerful we are.

Wakefield Adam Lofthouse, 16, Member of Youth Parliament In my area I have done lots of different things to help my community. Firstly, I helped my DMYP, Morgan Binnersly; publish the first issue of her Bi-Monthly newsletter 'News For Youths' which enables young children on what is occupant in their local community. Secondly I attended the biggest went of the year, an event that was on the front page of every newspaper (Okay, maybe it wasn't...but it was still a big thing) it was the Annual Houses of Commons Debate. Where I and my fabulous MYP, Simran Jandu, attended and debated on the green benches. In which we chose out new national campaigns.

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Deputy Member of Youth Parliament Well I'm very happy to announce that I’VE had the honour of representing Yorkshire and Humberside as their debate lead at the House of Commons this year! I was summating the "Bring back Maths and English resits" motion. The experience was phenomenal and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, my youth workers, my region and PG, and BYC staff for making it all happen! It was a dream come true! Apart from that Wakefield are also hosting convention 3 at the Hepworth gallery in December and are currently in the finalising process.

Maia Parkin, 13, Youth Councillor Recently I have been elected into my school council. I have been helping in the anti-bullying section because anti-bullying week is coming up. We have talked about activities we could do in the week including an anti-bullying wall, sporting activities e.t.c. I am very excited to help the school and report back to my fellow youth council members!

York Chair of Youth Council Our youth council has been busy this month discussing and consulting to choose our campaigns. We successfully used our make your mark results and (from spending a day with stall and banner) our consultation questionnaire results. I think our campaigns are now steadily progressing, and we have the validation from our young people to know that our campaigns will help them.

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Northern Ireland Fermanagh & South Tyrone Hollie Morrison, Member of Youth Parliament On the 14th November 2014, I travelled to London with the NI MYP's to sit on those legendary green benches in the House of Commons. I had the 4am wakeup call in the hotel to be ready and at the airport for 5:15. We were still hoping we could fly because of the morning weather warning. We were all looking sharp and none of us actually forgot anything for once. I got the full airport experience and got frisked at security! The flight was rocky with winds and we were all just enjoying the ride over, and then having to get the shuttle, where we sat in the luggage bay to all stick together. We took a train, and then got lost trying to find Westminster, arriving slightly late. Oops (all drama before debate even started).

After being pulled aside for a brief interview we went into the chamber. The debates were class, with great speeches and backbench contributions and quotes like "a happy meal won't be so happy if it costs a fiver", Irish being spoken, and Inventive ways to get the speakers attention - there was an owl puppet, a putin mask, jumping up and down screaming "please Mr. speaker!" and people nearly falling over the benches. We had great NI speakers (Neil, Rebecca, Lauren, Christopher and I) and I was AMAZED that I got the chance to speak!

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I spoke against Votes at 16, and even though I was really nervous and shaking like mad and stumbling over my words (I had literally figured out what I was going to say before I stood up) it was still amazing. It was a phenomenal experience and maybe next year I’ll get debate lead :) There's a ton more little moments that you had to be there for, but on the way home we had Lauren walking DOWN the up escalator and lying on mine and Jamie's laps for a good part of the flight and Perrie singing silent night. Great day and I loved seeing everyone and it's an experience I’m never going to forget. And that was all on #UKYPHoC14#

Lagan Valley Ryan, 15, Member of Youth Parliament I am truly honored to have represented my wonderful constituents of Lagan Valley on the House of Commons. It is an extremely memorable moment and a memory which I will

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remember for years to come. I met so many delightful young people, who like me have a burning passion for politics.

West Tyrone Michelle Hamilton, 17, Member of Youth Parliament This month I attended the Annual Sitting in the House of Commons on the 14th November with the other Northern Ireland MYPs. I participated in the vote during the sitting and since then, I have been meeting with local MLAs and MP to discuss my future campaign strategies.

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Scotland Angus Eilidh Collins, 18, Member of Youth Parliament Angus has, like many other Scottish counties, a rich military history. When the opportunity came for someone to speak on the Scottish contribution to World War 1 in the House of Commons at UKYPs Annual Sitting, I felt it would be a great opportunity to share the gratitude that we as young people in Angus and Scotland as a whole feel towards those who fought. It was an incredible opportunity and I got to talk about some amazing figures in World War 1. I also got to represent my constituents by casting my vote on which campaign should be the national campaign for the next year, and I voted as my constituents wished.

Argyll & Bute Katie Burke, Member of Youth Parliament This has been a particularly busy month with the UK Youth Parliament House of Commons trip. MYPs across the country were lucky enough to be able to debate in the Chamber and pick our new national Campaign Raise the Wage - and a devolved issue campaign on improving mental Health Services.

For me feeding this back to my constituents in the

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Highlands and Islands Region is now a top priority. I have recently also sent letters to my local Councillors to highlight this new move - encouraging them to get involved in our national day of action this January.

City of Edinburgh Member of Youth Parliament It has been an exciting month! First of all I would like to mention the fantastic convention in Newcastle which held the national make your mark results day! I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that so many young people were involved in this year’s consultation! Well done everybody! I am very proud to say I was elected PG for Scotland during that convention therefore success all round! I will try my best to represent everybody fairly, equally and confidently!

East Renfrewshire Nicole Dempster, 18, Member of Youth Parliament This month I spoke in the House of Commons- an experience that I feel so honored to have had.

The whole day was completely amazing and has challenged me to make the most of every opportunity. I have been inspired by the speeches I heard and it was a huge day for me as I was so nervous to speak, and although I know I couldn't have done a lot better, I am so glad that I represented Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

The debate I spoke on was the Living Wage, which we chose as our new national campaign. I can't wait to get stuck in to campaigning and will be writing to my local MP as a first step. I left London feeling so proud, proud that as young people we made our mark, we've left a legacy and raised the standard for UKYP sittings to come.

Highland Member of Youth Parliament I was honoured to travel to London for the UKYP House of Commons debates on the 14th of November. While I unfortunately wasn't chosen to speak, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and got to vote on important issues facing young people in the UK.

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Support worker’s Stories

East of England Central Bedfordshire Chiwoniso Mukome, Support Worker House of Commons debate by Chiwoniso Mukome As we all know, Parliament week is marked with one of the greatest annual events – the House of Commons Debate. What better way to inspire and empower young people than giving them the opportunity to take over the House of Commons for a full day. The day started off with a plethora of inspiring yet tear jacking speeches which commemorated our fallen heroes of the First World War. The MYP’s also took this opportunity to thank our current soldiers for their hard work and dedication in keeping this nation safe. After much anticipation on what will be this year’s national campaign, the first motion to be opened to the floor for debate was a Living Wage for all.

Our very own Michael Ita, was a backbencher contributor to this motion, were he eloquently stated the following: ‘‘A compulsory paid living wage would ensure that everybody had enough to get by. Over the past 30 years, people on low pay have been getting less and less. The main employment sectors for young people are retail and hospitality, which pay less than the living wage to 41% and 69% of their respective workers. We are getting the short end of the stick. Some may argue that we have fewer needs and benefit from our parents. However, the Government’s current aim is to get 50% of people to university, which will result in a huge amount of debt. Surely the earlier we start saving, the better’’.

As the day progressed the other motions were debated with great passion and enthusiasm. This continued to fuel curiosity to which motion would become the national campaign. Central Bedfordshire’s Youth Parliament members were pleased to learn that a Living Wage for all was voted a priority campaign for England, as this issue received the highest votes in our local authority. Over the next coming weeks, Central Bedfordshire’s Youth Parliament look forward to putting together campaigning strategies for this year's national campaign and England’s priority campaign.

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East Midlands Leicestershire Nicola O’Neil, Support Worker Leicestershire's Make Your Mark Campaign Our UK Youth Parliament reps across the County worked really hard on the Make Your Mark campaign, with a great turnout of 11,557 young people taking part in Leicestershire and 25 different schools involved. That’s an increase in last year’s turnout of approx. 49%. Over the last 3 years, turnout in Leicestershire has increased significantly, not least because of the commitment of the County Youth Service to support UK Youth Parliament and the process of the ballot.

2011 Ballot: 195 Turnout 0.31% 2012 Ballot: 3,693 Turnout 5.88% 2013 Ballot: 6,903 Turnout 10.99% 2014 Ballot: 11,557 Turnout 18.39% Also this year, our Leicestershire UKYP reps went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that every school had the knowledge, understanding and support to be able to take part if they were interested.

Workers have sent each school results of the ballot showing how their school’s results compare to the County, Regional and national results and hopefully many will also be involved in the campaigns resulting from the House of Commons debate on 14th November.

Top 5 results in the County were: - 1. Living Wage 2. Work Experience 3. Euthanasia 4. Mental Health 5. Exam Resits Five of our MYPs and Deputy MYPs did brilliantly collecting the following number of ballots:- Rina 3,598 Jack 2,351 Portia 1,967 Daria 1,802 Sian 1,699 Ballots were collected through a variety of means from attending and presenting at school assemblies, holding ballots and facilitating tutor group votes. Massive thanks to the schools in Leicestershire who took part!

First Response Mystery Shops in Leicestershire Young People in Leicestershire have been taking part in mystery shopping the First Response Children's Duty team for the County Council. Starting in February 2014, young people were trained and asked to pilot a series of mystery shops. The response was so positive and the learning so valuable, that this has been rolled out on a monthly basis, with 3 mystery shop responses per month being feedback to managers of the team. First Response is the former young people’s central duty team. They answer calls from all sorts of people who have concerns about the welfare of young people (parents, teachers, workers, young people, neighbours etc).

When necessary they refer these cases to Social Care, Early Help or other services to provide 102

support and interventions. Social Care says their main responsibilities are to protect and safeguard the welfare of children in need. This means any child or young person whose health and welfare may suffer if they do not receive help. They work closely with children, young people and their parents, relatives or other carers and also with other organisations to find the best solution to the problem. This will always take into account the child and family’s religious, cultural and social background.

Suggested roles include for mystery shops have included: • 13 year old being bullied at school – “what can I do about it” • 16 year old male or female arguing with parents “what can I do about it” • 15 year old I think I am pregnant “what should I do” • 17 year old living alone – run out of money and food – “can I get some food somewhere” • Young Parent feeling isolated not feeling able to cope The young people are feeding back on how long it takes to get through to an advisor, whether their telephone manner is appropriate, whether they feel listened to and helped, whether they get good, clear advice and are given information about what will happen after their call, what will happen to any notes or records taken and any other information they feel it important to report back on. This has developed into a really successful piece of work and an excellent contribution towards the continuous improvement of the service.

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London Islington Hiba Warsame, Support Worker Under pressure? It is estimated that one in four people experience mental health issues at some point in their lives. Exams, relationships, family problems – there are a lot of things that can cause stress and anxiety for young people. So when we in the youth council chose our priorities earlier this year, we were keen to include health and wellbeing. We know from experience that a lot of young people have these stresses and pressures in everyday life, and we want to make sure that they can access help and advice when they need it.

To help us find out what services are available to young people, we recently attended the Islington Children and Young People Health Strategy meeting. We facilitated a workshop to help find out what young people think of the health services in Islington, and what could be improved.

We’ve shared these findings with Islington’s Public Health team and we hope to help them use this information to write a new health strategy. There is a lot of help and advice on izzy-info.com – the website specifically for young people in Islington. So if you’re stressed or worried about yourself or someone else, please go online and seek some help, or visit your GP. If you’re nervous about going to your doctor, check out www.docready.org which is a great website to help young people feel more confident about going to their GP about a mental health issue. If you want to know where to look for help in your local area, go to www.findgetgive.com.

You can also go to moodbug.me and find out about a really cool app for iphones. A few of the youth councillors have this app and it really helps if you’re not having the best of days. Islington Young Mayor Hiba Warsame.

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North East South Tyneside Alex.D'Ambrosie, Support Worker Poverty Ends Now, (Photograph attached):

A group of young people from South Tyneside are heading off to Westminster next week to give MPs their views on how best to tackle youth poverty.

Four students from the Friends Against Bullying and Junior Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) have been working with other young people from the North East, Manchester, Liverpool and Tower Hamlets on a national Children's Manifesto. They will present their ideas to an All Party Parliamentary Group on 15 October.

The South Tyneside students involved in the project are Willow Simons, Kate Palmer, Lucy Bell and Emma True, who is also South Tyneside's Member of the UK Youth Parliament. The young people are also working with the charity Children North East and Oxford PhD student Rys Farthing to examine the issue of child poverty and participation.

The young people will present their ideas on two themes - 'every young person should have access to three healthy and affordable meals a day' and 'a fair and equal education for all.'

Some of the ideas the group will be presenting at Westminster include providing the first school uniform free of charge and using anonymous uniform banks as well as offering free school travel for pupils on free school meals. They are also calling for politics to be incorporated into the education system, the voting age to be reduced to 16 and a percentage of MPs to represent 105

young people in a bid to encourage greater involvement of young people In order to increase youth participation in the affairs of state.

Councillor Joan Atkinson, Lead Member for Children, Young People and Families at South Tyneside Council, said: "This visit to the Houses of Parliament is a wonderful opportunity to showcase all the hard work and dedication that this group has shown in the formulation of their Children's Manifesto.

"Their thoughtful ideas demonstrate that they have a firm grasp of the issues surrounding child poverty and are keen to make a positive impact in this arena."

Another four members of the Friends Against Bullying and Junior Local Safeguarding Children's Board (LSCB) will also travel to London to watch the presentation. They will then help to implement the ideas in South Tyneside.

Anti-Bullying Awards, (Photograph attached): A special awards ceremony has been held to celebrate the work going on in South Tyneside schools to help tackle bullying.

The annual Friends Against Bullying (FAB) awards recognise and reward young people who are helping to raise awareness of bullying and the impact it has on others as well the efforts they are making to stamp out bullying in all its forms. This year's event took place at Boldon School during national Anti-Bullying Week and featured drama, dance performances and presentations from several Borough schools. The ceremony was organised by the local FAB group with support from South Tyneside Council's Services for Young People.

Councillor Joan Atkinson, South Tyneside Council's Lead Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: "The work our young people do in seeking to stamp out bullying is incredibly valuable. The Council is committed to ensuring that effective anti-bullying policies are in place but we can only achieve real success by working in partnership with our youngsters. It's for that reason that this awards ceremony is so incredibly important."

She added: "Particularly nowadays where technology allows new ways of communicating, it's perhaps more important than ever before to be vigilant against bullying. Here in South Tyneside we are determined to stop bullying and we are always looking for ways to get across our anti-bullying messages. We know that bullying can blight lives and cause deep-seated unhappiness for those 106

affected. That's why it's so important to showcase the positive work that is going on in our schools."

Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day, (Photograph attached): Young people from South Tyneside stepped into the shoes of councillors for the day for Children's Commissioner's Takeover Day. The day saw five young people shadowing the work of Councillor Joan Atkinson, Lead Member for Children, Young People and Families, Deputy Leader Councillor Alan Kerr and Helen Watson, Corporate Director for Children, Adults and Families.

During the day the young people were able to see how local government works by attending council meetings and briefings. They also took part in a range of activities which encouraged them to voice their opinions and shape services that directly affect them.

Councillor Atkinson said: "Takeover Day is a great way of showcasing the work of the Council, and the world of work in general, and is highly effective in breaking down barriers between generations. This day also encourages young people to become more involved in their community and provides the Council with new insights into how we can engage more effectively with young people."

Councillor Kerr added: "We find the energy and fresh perspective that these young people bring to the table incredibly valuable. We know from feedback that the young people themselves find the day rewarding as it allows them to go behind the scenes and see what we do as a Council. It also gives them the chance to experience the world of work for themselves. "

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North West Blackburn Elizabeth Clarkson, Support Worker 75 young people from Blackburn with Darwen have been involved in a Takeover day in the council chambers where they debated on how they would allocate the council’s budget.

Bolton Lena Grant, Support Worker Transport meeting with the TfGM Ryan Wallwork the youth MP Chairperson and Kishan Patel a youth council member attended a meeting with the Transport for Greater Manchester committee in Manchester Town Hall In October to give a presentation on the transport campaign they have been working on for the past 12 months.

They received praise on the high standard and the content of the presentation. The committee sent them a letter of thanks which also included some updates they were making to their bus fare pricing.

The youth council and Fixers have concluded their work on the poster for the transport campaign the strap line ‘fares not fair’.

Speed Rating Event The youth council hosted their annual Speed Rating Event on Thursday November 6th in The Festival Hall. Councillors spent 108

around 5 minutes swapping around tables with different groups of young people seated at the tables. It was a great opportunity for councillors to connect with young people and discuss issues that affect them. While the young people gained an insight into the daily routine of councillors.

The evening was a great success 60 young people and 8 Councillors attended, the groups were; Interfaith Ambassadors, Police Cadets, YMCA, Castle Hill Youth Club, Youthopia, Sports and Active Living volunteers and Youth Council. The story was also reported in The Bolton News.

Councillor Michael Francis was crowned Speed Rating champion by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton.

UKYP annual commons debate Tresor Mbuyi and Ebony Cropper the 2 youth MP’s took part in the UKYP annual Commons debate along with all the YMPs from m across the UK to debate the top 5 issues voted for by 11-18 year olds in the ‘Make your mark campaign” which were; Votes at 16. Give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in elections and referendums.

Everyone should be paid at least the Living Wage of £7.85 per hour (£9.15 in London). Anyone who works, regardless of age, should have a decent standard of living.

Mental health services should be improved with our help. We should all learn about common mental health issues at school and negative stereotypes should be challenged.

Work Experience. We should have the chance to do at least a week’s placement, at a place of our choosing. We should have access to professionals who inspire us.

Bring back exam resits in Maths and English in English schools, and help us achieve our potential.

Mental health became the priority campaign after securing 167 votes against better work experience’s 117; and a living wage for all which secured 156 votes against 117 for ‘votes at 16’ William Hague spoke addressed the young people in the Debate.

Children and Young Peoples Takeover Day Mayor for a Day This year’s Mayor for a Day took place on Wednesday November 19th the winners were Samuel Croston and Martin O’Donoghue both aged 14 from Westhoughton High School.

They had tea in the Mayors Parlour, accompanied the Mayor and Mayoress on a tour and lunch at the new Bolton at home Head Office and the DLO Depot.

Sam and Martin also visited Mount St Joseph’s School to view a presentation and a World War II 109

Exhibition.

The Mayor showed Sam and Martin around the Mayors dining room and spoke to them about the history of the Mayors of Bolton.

Sam and Martin really enjoyed being Mayor’s for the day and the Mayor said they were a credit to their school.

Bury Heather Walton, Support Worker Young people have organised two events for National Takeover Day: Bury Youth Cabinet organised an event for young people in secondary schools to takeover Bury Council. Young people came from secondary schools across the borough and spent a day looking at council services and discussing what should be prioritised. The young people then met with the Leader and Chief Executive of the council to share their ideas.

Bury Children in Care Council organised an event for young people in care in Bury to takeover children's social care services. Young people spent a day looking at the services offered by different teams and discussing how they could be improved. The young people shared their ideas with service managers from across children's social care and the Executive Director and Assistant Director for children, young people and culture in Bury.

Cheshire West and Chester Ron Davies, Support Worker The Cheshire West & Chester Young People's Senate has been invited to have a representative on the Council's Cross-Party Panel taking evidence on 'Unconventional Gas Extraction'. Fracking was written in on their UKYP Election ballot paper by several young people who felt it was the issue of most concern to them.

Alias Buchanan MYP and Elinor Gray DMYP have established a relationship with a Residential Therapeutic Centre for Young People and recently spent an evening taking questions and gathering information on issues which they will feed into the relevant authorities on behalf of the residents.

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Oldham Jodie Barber, Support Worker As part of Take Over Day 2014, Oldham Youth Council took over the Local Newspaper in Oldham the Oldham Evening Chronicle. On the Weeks up to the big Day, youth councillors became journalists, devising news stories all about the work of OYC. On Take Over Day the first 8 pages of the Newspaper were ours - including the much converted front page than ran with the story of our imminent move to a permanent headquarters in the heart of Oldhams democratic processes - the Civic Centre. Articles also covered our regional and national involvement with Youthforia and the UKYP and BYC. Stories of our many motions presented to Full Council, news and updates on our campaigns around mental health and Youth Volunteering and some nostalgia with stories from ex youth councillors about where they are now. It was an amazing day and the takeover provided us with an amazing opportunity to really promote the work of our youth representatives and to celebrate their achievements.

Oldham Youth Council is moving into a new home – highlighting its value to Oldham Council and further strengthening its working relationship with elected members and officers. The OYC will now have its own permanent dedicated space in the Civic Centre to meet and carry out its work.

From this location – alongside the elections office - they will be able to use facilities such as meeting rooms and get support from a range of council departments.

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They will hold their full youth council meetings every fortnight as well as their weekly task meetings. ‘Barrier breakers,’ the forum for young people with additional needs and disabilities, which is currently co-located alongside the youth council will also be moving in and sharing the space. The central location, near to the bus station, also means it will be more accessible for youth councillors and young people.

The new base is the result of a pledge from council leader, Councillor Jim McMahon, to invest in facilities for the youth council and support the work they do.

Cllr McMahon said: “Housing the youth council alongside the elections office demonstrates how valued the youth council is as a part of Oldham’s democracy. It also shows the close and effective working relationship the youth council has with Oldham Council. This is an important step that builds on our overall review of democracy in Oldham that we’ve undertaken as a cooperative council. The Youth Council does a great job and engages young people in the political process from an early age and increases their participation as they move into adulthood, ensuring they are helping to grow our community for the future.”

Members are involved in influencing budgets and commissioning of Children and Young People’s services. Daisy Murphy, Oldham Youth Mayor, said: “The youth council are really excited about our move to the civic centre.“To be given a permanent base in the civic centre is a real commitment from Oldham Council and we are really appreciative of the investment it has made in us. This move shows that the local authority supports Oldham Youth Council and the work we do. We already have an excellent relationship with council and being located alongside the elected members can only enhance this further. “We hope the move will further raise our profile and make us more accessible to the young people of Oldham of whom we represent.”

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Trafford Elizabeth Harding, Support Worker On Thursday 20th November I had the pleasure of accompanying Marike, Katrina, Cat, Nick, Hannah and Sacha to a Celebration of School Nurse Champions at the Department of Health.

What are School Nurse Champions? A School Nurse Champion is a young person who volunteers to give advice to their School Nurse Service to help improve the services young people receive in their area.

They find out what other young people think about what is on offer and how to make it better and work with deliverers and or commissioners to devise and advise on any changes they should make. The young people from Trafford helped us and BYC pilot the process and the ASDAN qualification and so became the first young people in the country to become School Nurse Champions.

CONGRATULATIONS. They were joined by young people from Stoke who have also achieved the ASDAN Award. Following the Celebration we took advantage of the fact we had to wait a few hours for a cheap train home and dashed round London on a punishing sightseeing schedule. A great day and great company.

If you want to know more about School Nurse Champions contact me on 07843434197 or David Clark at BYC Elizabeth Harding

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South East Buckinghamshire Simon Billenness, Support Worker November has been a busy month for Youth Participation in Buckinghamshire. We do Care – Children in Care Council - A renewed and refreshed group of young people signed up to the We Do Care council to represent the views of looked after children across the county. A team building event at Green Park Outdoor Centre the team took part in a series of workshops and outdoor activities which were both fun and helped the group to get to know one another. The day was completed by all the young people signing up and making a commitment to the council.

We do Care Juniors A successful day to introduce our younger children in care about their rights and how they have their voices heard. Of course lots of fun, games and craft activities to keep everyone involved.

Plans are now in place for a Christmas party and another day planned for the New Year.

Participation Residential at half term 27 young people from across the county spent 2 days together at a residential at Woodrow High House in Amersham.

It was a great opportunity to involve new young people and to encourage those who have already been involved in projects. Workshops looked at encouraging young people to take the lead, what they have to offer and to prepare for our Youth Voice event. Animation workshops, work on a rap and posters have been put together to make video to promote how young people can have their voice head and make a change.

Youth Parliament Members of Youth Parliament have been working on their campaigns and met with Councillor Mike Appleyard Deputy leader and Cabinet member for Education. The meeting focused on how young people can be supported and encouraged to get involved. A conference is being planned for March 2015 to debate and promote young people getting registered to vote. A range of other democracy projects are planned with the lead up to the General election to encourage schools and youth projects to raise awareness.

Our 3 Buckinghamshire MYPs were very proud to take part in the annual debate in the House of Commons. It was a great level of debate and looking forward to the new campaigns.

Buckinghamshire is happy to have maintained its record of having a Member of Youth Parliament speaking at every debate in the House of Commons, long may this continue.

Young People interview panels more young people took part in training to be able to take part on youth panels for the recruitment of new staff working with children and young people. A panel of young people were involved in the recruitment of the new Managing Director of Social Care and 114

Learning working alongside the council leaders and senior officers. Youth Voice lots of work has been done to organise the Youth Voice event in Aylesbury of 27th November.

Youth Voice will be the new place where young people can air their issues, have their voices heard and affect change. Young people from across the county, school councils, youth forums, youth groups are being invited to unite their voices to challenge and change local decisions. A more detailed report next month. Youth Voice Steering Group Work has begun with a range of boards within Buckinghamshire to look a new way to connect with young people and to coordinate how the listen and consult with young people.

The group will be chaired by Mike Appleyard Deputy leader of the Council and will involve representatives from strategic boards and young people. The group will support the creation of an annual plan of how children and young people will be consulted and how this followed through to making real change. The members of the steering group will be recruited over the next couple of months with the first meeting planned for February 2015.

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South West Sharon Adams, Youth Democracy Coordinator UK Youth Parliament ‘Question Time’ debate on Saturday 11th October, 50 Members of UK Youth Parliament aged 11 – 18 years from across the South West invited five panellists to take part in a “question-time” style event in Taunton. The discussion was based around how to engage disadvantaged young people in education and give young people a voice. Taking part on the panel was Tessa Munt MP, college Principal Dr Peter Avery, youth work specialist Gill Millar, one of the South West’s MEPs William Dartmouth representing UKIP and Independent Devon County and East Devon District Councillor, Claire Wright.

The debate was very lively and when questioned on UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s recent comments on refusing entry to the UK for HIV positive immigrants, William Duncan suggested that we need to make a moral choice whether our over-stretched and under-funded NHS should treat world citizens or only UK citizens. This generated an angry response from the floor who felt the NHS should not discriminate. Dr Peter Avery responded by stating such health care costs were only marginal and that issues such as tackling obesity would be a much more logical way of saving valuable NHS resources. In a debate on education, Tessa Munt made the point that the coalition government had introduced the ‘Pupil Premium’ which funds students from lower-income families to study in Post-16 sixth forms and colleges. However Dr Peter Avery emphasised that schools are only one aspect of a young person’s life and that other services need to play an important role in involvement and engagement.

Picture – Question Time panellists together with Member of Youth Parliament and chair of the debate Jess Elms.

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This point is indispensable in a time when local authorities are slashing their budget for youth services, with thousands of disadvantaged Devonian young people being put at risk. The shortsightedness of the youth cuts was highlighted by Devon County Councillor Claire Wright. She claimed that by reducing preventative spending on youth services today, we are jeopardising future budgets on reactive services tomorrow. Claire devoted her attention to the fact that the one of the biggest issues facing young people in Devon is a lack of self-esteem – greatly responsible for a cycle of self-harm which would only be exacerbated by youth service cuts.

However UKIP’s MEP, William Dartmouth stated that we cannot expect to run these services when the government is spending money elsewhere.

For example the large amounts going to Brussels, some of which is then spent on non-EU countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey. William emphasised that increasing spending on International Development will mean more tough decisions will have to be taken on domestic issues nationwide, such as services for young people. George Downs and Kieran Curtis Members of Youth Parliament for Devon

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West Midlands Worcestershire Kirsty Fraser, Support Worker The Children in Care Council called 'Who Cares We Care' met with the Head of Safeguarding for Children and the Manager for Independent reviewing officers. They talked about contact arrangements for children who are looked after and how it all works when they get to brothers and sisters who they may not live with.

Worcestershire's three members of UK Youth Parliament went down to London for the House of Commons debate. Jai and Katie both stood up at took part in the debate discussing Better Work Experience and Maths and English Exam Resits.

They made sure that they had their local Make Your Mark Results so that they could represent what young people wanted to see voted in as the biggest issues. Young people from Speak Out and Who Cares We Care ran interviews for a Participation Development Assistance Worker who will join the Participation and Engagement. This post could only be applied for by young people who were care leavers, and the young people on the groups chose who was appointed to the post.

Carer Leavers form Speak Out met with Bristol University and Coram Voice Advocacy to talk about a Bright Spots consultations that will be taking place to find out what young people's experiences are of their life in care. We ran Takeover Day again this year, it went really well. We had lots of young people taking over peoples jobs for the day in Worcestershire.

The whole day was about giving children and young people the chance to work with adults for the day and be involved in decision-making. Young people benefit from the opportunity to experience the world of work and make their voices heard, while adults and 118

organisations gain a fresh perspective on what they do. We hope this will help break down barriers between generations and encourage young people active involvement in their communities.

Young people went along to the National Children's Bureau and A National Voice Conference on Corporate Parenting. They shared their views on what they think a good Foster home and residential home should be, they also met lots of other Children in Care Councils from across England.

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Yorkshire and Humber Barnsley Clare Archer, Youth Council Coordinator Barnsley youth councillors Pegah Moulana, 17 and Leah Harston, 15, said they felt honoured to represent the views of the borough’s young people in the UK Youth Parliament’s annual House of Commons debates.

Pegah was chosen by the Speaker of the House the Rt Hon John Bercow MP to give her viewpoint on ‘Better mental health services’ one of the winning debates. Pegah also introduced herself to the Rt Hon William Hague MP, First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons.

Pegah said “I had the privilege of being chosen by Mr Speaker to give my constituents viewpoint on the issues of improving mental health services for young people. The young people in my town have raised this issue numerous times and this made me feel even more passionate about the topic. I felt proud to be able to speak on their behalf. I am glad to say I have achieved my goal of representing the young people of Barnsley by sitting on the green benches and raising issues that are important to them” Leah concludes by saying “I can honestly say I've never experienced anything as amazing and inspiring as representing the young people of Barnsley at the House of Commons on Friday, even though I didn't get the chance to speak being an MYP is such an honour! I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and would recommend every young person to become more involved in the work of youth councils and UK youth parliament to help us go further and make an even bigger impact than we already have”.

Full Youth Council Meeting The Youth Councillors held their full meeting on 10th November in the Council Chamber. The agenda was a busy one with the main actions being how young people could get involved in an ‘abundance’ project alongside the voluntary sector, updating their I Know I Can volunteer and award booklets, discussing the upcoming Town Hall open day and how young people could get involved in this and planning their Christmas event.

Youth Council members Chloe Renshaw, Tom Collings and Callum Malyan all shared their positive experiences of taking part in local drama groups and plays and encouraged other members to promote this in their schools. In the sharing of good practice Chloe Briscoe had gone the extra mile to help out 120

at the borough wide Ambition event for year 10 students and Connor Tate gave an update on the Lets Grow project he was planning in his local community.

Emma Baines, Support Worker New Service Director Appointment.

On the 4th November three members of Barnsley Youth Council and one member of the Children in Care Council were part of a stakeholder panel for the appointment of Barnsley’s new Service Director of Education and Early Start Prevention.

Young panel members held an informal discussion with candidates and had the opportunity to ask them questions. They paid particular interest to the candidate’s vision for the service and focused on how if successful they would work in partnership with young people. The young people’s feedback and comments were then fed back to the formal interview panel to assist in the final decision. Well done to the young people involved.

Children in Care Council update On the 31st October two members of the Children in Care Council attended a Passport to Parliament event by the “Who Cares Trust” in York for representatives in the North of England.

At the event young people participated in workshops and gave their opinions on how much young people know about the entitlements for children and young people in care and care leavers.

Barnsley’s Children in Care Council members have had a full month in November. They have been busy analyzing results of the recent Care Leavers Accommodation survey where they asked young people in care and care leavers what their preferences on living arrangements were / are at the age of 18 years. The feedback from this survey will be fed back to corporate parents and decision makers and will hopefully support the “Staying Put” policy and the notion that there is a need for more semi independent placements for young care leavers in Barnsley.

As a result of the work previously undertaken by members of the Children in Care Council on issues with access to personal files members have recently been presented with a new “Access to records and later life letters procedure” from BMBC which will complement the current system and make it easier for young people to find out the information that they want to know without having to complete a full Subject Access Request. Council members are now reviewing the procedure to make necessary amendments and changes.

Leeds Richard Cracknell, Voice, Influence and Change Co-Coordinator Voice Young people plan child friendly awards event for Leeds.

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For the second year running, a group of young people have been put in the driving seat to plan and deliver the second annual "Child friendly Leeds Awards" event. Young people from a variety of schools and colleges have been meeting once a week to design the programme, choose the trophies, research and book performers for the event and to write a script for the show. They have also been put in charge of managing the event budget and taking active roles on the night such as lighting technicians and stage managers.

Isaac Grinnell, aged 15 who is a part of the planning group says: ""Planning the child friendly Leeds awards so far has been lots of fun. Not only have we decided what roles we have but we have also decided what performers there will be. Wanting to find out who? You'll just have to come along and see!� We asked Kreigh Williams, 17, who is responsible for the event budget, what she has enjoyed about being involved: "I've enjoyed the planning process so far. I've enjoyed meeting the others on the planning team. I can't wait for the awards."

Pictured above is Isaac, Kreigh and the rest of the "Thumbs Up Productions" group outside the City Varieties Music Hall where the awards will be held

North East Lincolnshire Pippa Curtin, Support Worker Dream teams standing for election in the UK Youth Parliament elections for North East Lincolnshire are announced and gave speeches at a 'meet the candidates' event at Cleethorpes Town Hall on Take Over Day 2014. Each team gave a speech about who they are and why young people should vote for them and gave a speech on what they would do, if elected, on the issue of everyone being paid the living wage. The event was filmed and will be used by the young people during their campaigning over the next 2 months.

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Young Reporters are taking the scheme nationally and have created a short promotional film about the scheme to raise profile and interest from young people professionals and news platforms across the country the link to the film is here http://youtu.be/SHRy0R8I7n4 in addition to the film Young Reporters have been travelling around the country delivering introduction workshops and training days to 120 young people from 23 local authority areas and are supporting 8 schemes in setting up.

North Lincolnshire Sarah Eales, Support worker During November I have been proud to support a group of our young people to communicate the messages coming out of this year’s Adolescent Lifestyle Survey (ALS). The ALS is an anonymous online survey delivered every four years in schools and colleges. It gives an insight into perceptions and behaviours of 12 to 17 year olds on a whole range of health and well-being issues. Since young people stated they wanted to see the results of the survey, it was decided that young people would be best placed to decide on the messages and the way in which they should be communicated.

Together with officers from Public Health, the group decided on the seven key messages and designed info graphics which would best illustrate them. Working with tutors and media students from a local college they worked up a script and sketches which would run alongside the info 123

graphics in a video to be played in schools and colleges. The group worked hard to produce quality scenes as media students filmed them. The footage is now at the editing stage and we look forward to it previewing in the New Year.

Julie Poole, Support worker Young people in North Lincolnshire 'have their say' - In North Lincolnshire, 3330 local young people voted in the Make Your Mark campaign between August and October 2014, which exceeded our local target and placed us 63rd out of 226 council areas nationwide, with a year on year improvement in the numbers of ballots submitted. The top five issues that received the votes were votes at 16, mental health, English and Maths resits, work experience and living wage.

Members of Youth Parliament from across the country, including our own representative, debated these top five issues at the House of Commons on 14 November where they voted the national campaigns to be living wage and mental health. Locally, young people will also be debating four of the five issues at a young people's debating event on 25 November and the North Lincolnshire Youth Council will be leading on local campaigning in the New Year.

Sheffield Sue Mia, Support Worker This has been a busy month for Youth Voice work at Sheffield Futures. We are in the middle of the 2015 Sheffield Youth Cabinet Election Process and on 8th November 30 young people from across the city who are standing as candidates, came together for a training and information day at Sheffield Town Hall. They took part in workshops looking at what it means to represent others and how easy/difficult it is to make decisions on behalf of others. Paul Blomfield MP came along for a very productive question and answer session and Denise Fox a Councillor in the East of the City also came to meet with the young people but did end up staying a while as she was enjoying herself so much!

Then on 22nd November we all met up again so they could write their manifestos, a vital document to support their campaigning which they start in January. There are seats for 18 young people – 6 for Youth Parliament and 12 for Youth Councillors, the young people who are standing range in age from 11 – 17 years and are a very diverse and interesting bunch and I look forward to getting to know them better over the next few months.

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We have also of course had our annual visit to the House of Commons and this year I supported Laura, Alex and Hamza our 3 MYPs. We decided to go down on the afternoon of the day before so we could do some sightseeing particularly the poppies at Tower Bridge, even though it was being dismantled we could still get a sense of what a moving tribute it was. We also went to St James Park and Buckingham Palace and of course had a look at Westminster before the big day.

It was another marvellous day in the chamber with some brilliant debates on the 3 issues and I found the World War 1 commemoration speeches particularly moving- a huge well done to all the young people involved.

Our Team is also involved with a project called Connecting Communities which is part of The Sheffield Enterprise Pipeline. We have to come up with a challenge and we are then matched with a Primary and Secondary school who work on the challenge which is to come up with a 6 week lesson plan for 11 – 16 yr old on Political Education. The best ideas on how to do the challenge are then presented, one is picked and then next year a graduate works with the young people to make it a reality, very exciting!

As part of the preparation I had to do an hour workshop with 25 10/11yr olds who were so enthusiastic and knowledgeable taking part in the political bingo and in coming up with ideas on what they would do if they were in charge of the country! Young Advisors have also been very busy conducting peer to peer consultations with groups of young women as part of ‘Promoting Change’ which looks at gaps in service provision for them, since April they have carried out 31 of these consultations. 2 SYC members are now sitting on the Emotional health and wellbeing board with key decision makers looking at improving mental health for the young people of Sheffield, this will be very useful in the light of the new Mental Health campaign.

Thank you for your submissions this month, we look forward to reading more positive stories next month.

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Youth on Board Awards The Youth on Board (YOB) Awards are an exclusively youth-led rolling award scheme that Recognises innovative and exciting youth participation, both from young people and the projects And organisations that support them.

BYC's membership of young people wanted to celebrate the benefits of involving young people And encourage more organisations to engage young people in their work.

For more details and how to nominate, see here: http://www.byc.org.uk/trainingservices/ Awards/youth-on-board-awards.aspx

Innovation Award Criteria for the award: You’ll need to demonstrate how an innovation has met at least THREE of these criteria: • Increased an organisation’s ability to work with young people and support youth participation in decision-making • Enabled young people to make a significant positive contribution at a local, national or international level • Allowed young peoples’ creativity to shine • Inspired, empowered and encouraged the involvement of young people from a range of backgrounds.

• Increased youth leadership and given young people a voice in how the organisation is run

Innovation Award Organisation/ Project: Sk8 Safe ‘Skate Park Ambassadors’ Sk8 Safe and their team for the truly innovative work they are doing in and around local community skate parks through their Skate Park Ambassadors scheme and Accredited Young Leaders Coaching Course. Since 2007 they have used their specialist skills to empower young skate park users to work with the local councils and youth organisations collaboratively in a unique way. They offer a true voice/essence of the skating community/culture which is at the heart of this organisation; they are both an inspiration to new riders and an advocate for the peers within the sport/culture. It is often publicised that 13-18 year old age group are particularly 126

difficult to engage outside of the school establishment unless they actively pursue traditional sports for which there are many outlets available.

Through many years of experience in skateboarding, extreme sports, community youth culture and events management Sk8 Safe have combined their knowledge and understanding of a genre of individual who are unlikely to engage in traditional sports. Using this knowledge Sk8 Safe has created a series of structured training courses to form a programme of development for young people. The programme is focused around local community skate parks and is targeted at bridging the gaps between different interest groups such as scooters, skateboarders and BMX riders in which there is often rivalry, contempt and a pecking order threatening the cohesion of the local community facility often spilling into anti-social behaviour and associated problems in the surrounding areas. Sk8 Safe throughout the years has developed a wealth of knowledge, history and experience which gives them credibility with the young people they connect to.

They use this credibility in a positive way to remove the barriers that often hamper engagement of this genre. The young people that have had the benefit of working with them are left with a legacy of tools to harness their positivity, self-confidence and belief. The aims of the skate park ambassadors programme varies at each park across the country generally issues encountered are categorised as follows: • • • • •

Anti-social behaviour Unacceptable language Residents concerns Poor skate park etiquette (lots of unwritten rules that new riders are unaware of) Vandalism

Innovation Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Spen Valley Young Leaders Project In June 2013 we set up a leadership group for the Spen Valley Ward in Kirklees. This was following a consultation we did with young people regarding opportunities for learning and development to assist them with future career paths. This information formed the core of the learning opportunities for young people. The leadership group was set up in June 2013 and ran until the end of March 2014 and is running for the same time period for the 2014-2015 cohorts.

The vision is to informally educate young people to become young leaders in their communities.

This led to a distinguishable increase in the organisations ability as we are working with groups such as the tenant’s and residents association whom we have never worked with before. Each time young people are choosing different residents groups. They are also targeting juniors whom we have never engaged. Therefore this whole project has them thinking about groups we haven’t engaged and currently engage. The community event to engage the whole community engaged parents, guardians and grandparents whom the service had never met. They have only heard about the work we do. This helped to increase brand image, awareness and allowed them to ask questions thus increasing confidence in the community of the service we deliver.

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This course has helped young people to make a significant contribution to the local community as it has helped to bridge the gap between the school and youth workers. The local high school has been that impressed with the work conducted in the community that they are now commissioning the youth workers to conduct targeted sessions in the school with some students.

They have also come on board to support the events through having stalls or supplying resources.

This has allowed young people to shine as the young people have been taught leadership theory, compared leaders old and new, learnt about youth work and safeguarding etc and they have been able to use this information to plan events incorporating their own ideas 90% of the time.

Use negotiation skills regarding budgets and event booking. They have had many opportunities to affect the decision making process. Originally the service ran festive events in the locality however, now the festive events are planned and ran by the young leaders group. They have influenced the organisation to move from the comfort stage to a stretch stage.

It has also helped to change perceptions of what residents thought of young people. See attached letter from a colleague who assisted in setting up the bingo and bbq event including a quote from a colleague. The leadership group has helped one community to increase cohesion as the events have bought different parts of the community together which is a first in the area. They are now planning to conduct more events in the area.

Innovation Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Southwark Peer Educators The London Borough of Southwark is committed to helping young people make informed choices on: Drugs Smoking Alcohol Healthy Relationships To do that, Insight Southwark trained 48 Peer Educators with the real facts about substance misuse. The Peer Educators in turn, trained 1,442 young people, giving them the real facts about substance misuse. This all took place in 12 months.

Each Peer Educator group designed and delivered a Youth Voice Product to get their message across. For example some groups created a short film, prezzi, presentation, school quiz, a photo exhibition, forum theatre piece or social media campaign.

One of the HUGE outcomes of this work was that 100% of young people showed increased confidence, communication, and teamwork skills (the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to other young people in effective ways). All of the Peer Educators received accreditation. Peer Educators also had the opportunity to meet senior decision makers and influence them in substance misuse service design and delivery.

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As a result of their work, Peer Educators helped design the Our Voice Southwark event. There, they encouraged young people to talk openly and honestly about substance misuse with senior decision makers. There have already been loads of outcomes as a result of this youth led project.

They have lobbied Southwark Council to access more funding to run a specific substance misuse campaign. The aims of this are to: a.

Tackle the perception of drugs being cool amongst young people; b.

Educating young people on the facts rather than just what they see on the internet; and c.

Supporting young people to make informed decisions on drugs, smoking and alcohol particularly binge drinking. d.

Set up an Insight Southwark Instagram account to share news stories and picture memes of facts about illegal substances. e.

Support Student Councils and Peer Educators to be involved in shaping school policy about substance misuse. f.

This work will be starting in October 2014 and running through until April 2015 Innovation Award Organisation/ Project: User Voice The Southwark Youth Council provides an opportunity for young offenders and ex-offenders to engage with local Youth Offending Services in a collaborative way. The Council is innovative in that it is run entirely by its members, who identify issues of importance to them, put forward proposals and work on collective solutions. The Council is facilitated by User Voice, a charity led by ex-offenders that aims to promote rehabilitation through collaboration. User Voice believes that those with experience of the Criminal Justice System are an often overlooked resource when it comes to finding ways to reduce re-offending. This is because their experience affords them a unique insight into the inner workings of the system and therefore effective ways to improve it.

The Southwark Youth Council project facilitates real collaboration between those who supply youth services and those who access them. It does this by providing a forum in which young service users can directly engage with Youth Offending Services. Senior Managers, who have the power to implement significant change, attend Council meetings to hear proposals formulated by Youth Council Members. It also provides a sounding board for decisions made by Service Managers. Young people who represent their community can offer valuable opinions and insight which result in cheaper and more effective resources, which benefit service providers and users alike.

Through their engagement with User Voice young people are able to develop their personal skills, with some receiving formal accreditation for learning and development. Participants were asked to assess to what extent they agreed or disagreed that, since becoming involved with the Youth Council, different aspects of their attitude had changed. These included; feeling more in control of their life, feeling a sense of accomplishment more often, being more focused on constructive activities, experiencing greater motivation and an improvement in self-confidence. Of these categories, there was most agreement for experiencing an increased focus on constructive activities (85.7%).

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At local level, 120 young people were engaged with the Southwark Youth Council in 2013. As a result of the Council’s proposals a number of changes have taken place at a local level. The Council worked closely with Southwark Youth Offending Services to refurbish their offices and produce information literature for young people. The Council also organised a community event to promote the work of the Council. The ‘Kicking It in the Park’ event was attended by members of the community and local businesses and contributed to raising the profile of young people in the area.

On a national level, the Southwark Youth Council have also organised and attended events which create a platform for discussion and the exchange of ideas relating to youth issues. The ‘Knife Crime Preventing Harm Event’ (July 2013) was organised by Council members and provided an opportunity to influence a larger audience than just those engaged directly with the Council.

Similarly, the Council presented the views of young people at both the Government consultation on ‘Transforming Youth Custody’ and ‘Annual Youth Justice Convention’ which was attended by multiple agencies and provided a chance for Council members to disseminate their message to influential figures in the Youth Justice sector.

The impact of this is that Council members are transformed in to active citizens; they are supported to avoid crime and are encouraged to actively contribute to their communities. They are fully equipped to take on positive roles and contribute to decision making, creating safer and more progressive communities.

Innovation Award Organisation/ Project: Hampshire Youth Voice Hampshire Country Council has embraced a youth voice structure that was put forward by young people. The youth Voice representatives are aged 16 – 21, up to 25 with special needs. The purpose of the roles is to improve coordination between young people and the decisions that are made at County level. The Youth Voice representatives provide a link between young people and the council and work closely with the MYP’s.

Having the Youth Voice representatives in place has improved the profile of young people’s participation in HCC and has firmly put this on the agenda as an acknowledged and built in model of youth involvement.

Since being in the role the Youth Voice representatives have fully embraced their positions and have used all the opportunities to their full potential. The young people have been inspired to plan and deliver the Hampshire County Youth Conference. The representatives are accessible to any young person in the required age ranges and applications from a range of back grounds is encourage. Youth Voice ambassadors also made links with the Care Ambassadors to ensure views of Children in Care are included.

The young people have two seats at the Children and Young People’s Select Committee and are fully involved in meetings, they are sent paper prior to the committee, invited to speak and participate and recognised as equal by councillors and officers.

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The Youth Voice representative’s contribution to meeting have opened the doors to building relationships with councillors and provided a mechanism for the views of young people to be heard and action taken.

Inspiring Projects Award You’ll need to demonstrate how a project has successfully engage young people and has met at least THREE of these criteria: • Supported youth participation in decision-making • Enabled young people to make a significant positive contribution at a local, national or international level • Allowed young peoples’ creativity to shine • Inspired, empowered and encouraged the involvement of young people from a range of backgrounds.

• Increased youth leadership and given young people a voice in how the organisation is run

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Young Inspectors The Young Inspectors work with companies and organisations to inspect and review services that directly affect young people around the county. The group meet fortnightly to plan inspections, work on their ASDAN qualifications, and to have a laugh and a bite to eat.

The Young Inspectors are usually approached by a company or service that completes an Inspection Application form. The Inspectors will then organise a date and research the applicant in preparation. During an Inspection the Inspectors will speak to staff, any young people who are in attendance, look at the location, building, resources and observe. The Inspectors will then compile a report with the information they’ve put together and their views and recommendations, they will also feed this back in a meeting. The Inspectors will usually aim to return a few months later to see if their views and recommendations have been taken on board and if the service has changed or improved as a result of their inspection.

The Young Inspectors have done some important work with Youth Clubs, Out Of School Clubs, the Family Information Service and most recently were commissioned to inspect Semi-independent Post 16 Accommodation for young people going through a transition from care to independent living. This project was a real eye opener for the group and provided Commissioners with some valuable information.

Over recent months the group have been working with a designer to create logos for t-shirts and letters as well as a kite mark for certificates that will be given following an inspection.

The group are always growing with new young people keen to take part and young people from other projects offering to help out on big inspections. Local Authority services are also becoming more interested in the Young Inspectors so the group are ready and waiting for the next big inspection.

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The Young Inspectors meet regularly on a fortnightly basis. This gives plenty of opportunity for young people to come along and take part. The group are always very keen to recruit new Inspectors and will actively promote the project in their schools and local communities. Young people from other service projects also get involved and take part in inspections like the Post 16 Accommodation Project.

The project invites services to ask for and listen to the view of young people and the Inspectors have seen for themselves the improvements made to services because of their input.

The nature of the project is for young people to make positive contributions. The Young Inspector’s main role is to provide their ideas, opinions and recommendations to improve a service for other young people.

As a direct result of inspections, services have made make themselves more accessible to young people, easier to find, purchased new resources, review their website, and most importantly seen that working with and listening to young people is a positive and rewarding experience.

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Dudley Youth Council/Healthwatch Dudley In July 2014, Healthwatch Dudley teamed up with Dudley Youth Service to listen to young people’s views about their health and wellbeing experiences. Dudley Youth Council are a group of young people who are elected to represent the views of others, and are supported by Dudley Youth Service. Because of this, 16 new members were invited to take part in two days of training and development, followed by the opportunity to put together a project.

Around 300 young people who were going about their daily business and who are not involved in any decision making forums have been involved in giving their views about their experience of local GP surgeries. Otherwise they would not have had a say. Some young people asked live in supported accommodation, that have been homeless; their views may be very different from young people from a more stable home life and has given them the opportunity to have their say in a way they were comfortable with.

The group members presented in a public forum and led the way with showing how to engage effectively with young people, proving that young people will give good and important feedback if they are asked in an appropriate way – or at all! Youth participation in health has been improved because the group were directly involved in the development of the project and in how their findings were presented to decision makers.

16 young people initially took part including people who are young carers, have a learning disability, a life threatening illness, are home educated or are school community representatives within the youth council. As a diverse core group members naturally thought about ensuring that young people with a wide range of experiences could take part.

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Dudley borough is rich in diversity and sits between 2 major cities and the countryside. Through their survey they reached out to 311 young people from different ethnicities and many diverse backgrounds. Of those that took part, 49% were young men and 51% were young women all of whom were aged between 11 and 25.

Young people from the initial group took surveys to the youth clubs they attended. These included youth clubs for young carers, people with a learning disability and people with autism.

People who lived in supported accommodation, who have been homeless, also took part as the group felt it was important that their views were heard.

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Bad Youth Forum The BAD Youth Forum is a council funded project within Barking and Dagenham. The youth forum was set up in 2001 and grown in strength year on year. The BAD Youth Forum holds democratic elections in all secondary schools every year to elect new members. Spaces are allocated to Trinity Special school and youth groups to ensure representation from across the local area.The BAD Youth Forum meets 3 times a week, operating as 3 smaller sub-groups, and have quarterly full forum meetings. The BAD Youth Forum members work in their sub-groups developing project/campaign ideas based on issues that are identified within the borough by young people they represent. Local information and statistics, where appropriate, are also considered to ensure the projects are relevant and will have an impact locally.

This award would be for all 3 sub-groups this year who have worked on a range of projects. These include social action projects that have seen young people paint the dining hall of an elderly care home, clear up a park and paint a seating shelter used by young people and host a charity car wash in aid of the Mayor’s charity appeal- Teenage Cancer Trust. Another project has worked hard to create a resource pack for schools and youth groups that will include a DVD and presentations about contraception, STI’s, a walk through of a clinic in an attempt to dispel some of the fear young people have about accessing sexual health services and also secured funding to buy beer goggles and condom demonstrators to teach young people the effects alcohol can have on sexual activity. Lastly, the Young Inspectors sub-group have worked for months on visiting all 17 pharmacies that offer the come correct condom distribution scheme to ensure the service being offered to young people is age appropriate and effective. They have complete 47 pharmacy inspections and 2 full sexual health clinic inspections.

The BAD Youth Forum has been more pro-active this year than ever before. The youth forum members have created projects and campaigns that directly affect young people and will ultimately have a positive impact on their lives. Attendance figures have been better this year with more young people attending more regularly. Through creative thinking and projects that are interactive and fun, youth participation has improved enormously. Young people have been the driving force and decision makers throughout each project and have worked well in small teams and with youth workers alike to ensure their projects are successful. Young people in the community have been included through ballots asking them which park should be cleared and through our newsletter updating everyone about the forum’s progress and informing them of how to get involved if they wish to.

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The BAD Youth Forum works with a diverse range of young people by carrying out elections in every secondary school in the borough, supporting members from the borough’s only Special School and also encouraging membership from local youth groups. Wherever possible members of other groups are invited to youth forum events and occasionally to consultations, when it is appropriate. As our members are elected to represent their school or youth group, they are representative of the larger diverse population of young people.

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: KRATOS KRATOS – Enfield’s Children in Care Council - are a team of children and young people who are in the care of the Local Authority. KRATOS started with just five Looked After Children coming together and facilitated by youth workers. Together they branded themselves as KRATOS and began reaching out to others in care. They supporting each other to have a voice and to go on and influence and engage with others in positive participation opportunities. Through the opportunities they were able to gain life skills, gain nationally recognised qualifications and become young leaders. After 15 months into their journey they have raised the KRATOS membership to include a further 112 children and young people.

KRATOS members have both good and bad experiences of being within the care system. They know that if a child and or young person is able to find stability they will: • do better at school • be more able to access better health care • be in a stronger position to continue with their education or find work • be able to build positive social circles and lead happy healthy lives Those in care who experience frequent transitions, sometimes up to 15 placements per year, will often attend a range of different educational facilities. This makes the chance of building positive relationships with others such as their peers, teachers and carers very difficult. KRATOS work to prevent this whilst also working as mentors and advisors to those who have had such experiences.

KRATOS meet weekly to represent the voices of Looked After Children and those on child protection plans in Enfield. Becoming members of KRATOS gives young people stability and actively promotes participation. The young people have taken this participation full circle. After attending training in recruitment and selection their voice is exercised by being involved in the Council’s selection of professionals who will ultimately be working with them. Over the past 12 months, KRATOS members have achieved: • • • •

24 Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards 47 nationally recognised young volunteer awards 13 ASDAN awards 10 young people have achieved Level 2 in Youth Work

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They were keen to reach out to the cohort of young unaccompanied minors and ease them into their new surroundings. Recognising the need for new young people to be supported within the first month of their arrival in the UK, KRATOS members have initiated and facilitated reassuring measures such as meeting new members at the bus stop to show them how to access services.

They also act as advocates by offering to attend reviews and meetings with them to ensure their voices are heard. In roads with this group could be seen as they start to make friends, ask questions and take part in decision making activities with their peers and ultimately improving their life experiences.

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Worcestershire Youth Cabinet The Worcestershire Youth Cabinet is a group of elected young people (aged 11 to 18) who aim to provide all of the young people who live in Worcestershire with a voice – a voice that is heard and listened to by local, regional and national government, by providers of services for young people and by any other agencies who have an interest in the views and needs of young people.

Elections are held every year providing that seats are available to elect young people onto the Worcestershire Youth Cabinet, the wider aims of the election process is to encourage young people to consider issues relating to: Citizenship, Democracy . Elections e.g. candidates, manifestos, voting, etc. And Representation The young people did the MYM consultation and decided to use the evidence locally to make a real change They did a further consultation delving into the issue more and then ran a very successful campaign/project resulting a huge change for young people in Worcestershire.

The outcome of the project and what difference it made.

Following the sharing of the young people's report with lots of decision makers including Worcestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership, a new project was launched.

This was a direct result of the work of the Worcestershire Youth Cabinet and them working hard to make sure adults understood and responded to the needs of local young people.

The Project that arose as a result: The LEP’s Employment and Skills Strategy Group has developed a web portal to match work experience students with opportunities from employers.

All Worcestershire’s State High Schools have signed up to the initiative and more than 100 county employers have agreed to take part. The portal was piloted in autumn 2013 and roll-out to all of the county’s State High Schools has begun.

Our "One-Stop-Shop" approach aims to provide an online portal where businesses can advertise quality Work Placement opportunities which can then be applied for by students. Education establishments and Businesses alike can advertise forthcoming events targeted at improving awareness and employment opportunities for young people throughout the county. The portal 135

also offers the opportunity for business leaders and senior managers to apply for Governor vacancies within education establishments and for business leaders to assist schools in increasing young people's awareness of the sector specific requirements of businesses throughout the County.

Although Worcestershire Skills Central is being funded by Worcestershire County Council as part of the Connecting Schools and Business Programme it has been developed in partnership with the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Worcestershire Association of Secondary Heads (WASH), The County's 70 Strategic Businesses and Worcestershire Ambassadors.

Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Peers Research (Wandsworth) The Peer Researchers are a group of eight young people who designed and delivered a Safeguarding consultation to over 1000 young people in Wandsworth. They wanted to find out: What Safeguarding means to them What Safeguarding services young people engage with Whether these services are effective What risks young people are taking Whether young people feel safe or not in Wandsworth The Peer Researchers then wrote a report and presented the outcomes of this consultation to the Wandsworth Safeguarding Executive and Overview Committee and the Wandsworth Safeguarding Children’s Board.

They ran this consultation project from start to finish – recruiting young people to focus groups, sending out the survey and utilising social media to advertise their project.

The Peer Researchers were given total control over this project.

They were trained in: facilitation, confidence, communication, research and reporting skills.

After their training, they then went out and organised the project themselves. The way they designed the focus group sessions was by giving the participants leadership roles themselves.

Each focus sub group had a leader, who was trained by the Peer Researchers to lead their tasks.

They then had the responsibility to report back.

The focus groups were run with young people aged 5-19 across a variety of settings including: primary schools, secondary schools, young carers, children looked after, young offenders, sports groups and youth centres to name a few.

The Peer Researchers then went on to set up a social media campaign, supporting young people who had travel, economic or time barriers to take part in the consultation.

All of these factors have contributed to Wandsworth decision makers and politicians understanding the true value of youth participation. The Peer Researchers spoke with 600 more young people than their original target. They delivered both quality and quantity in their research methods.

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Inspiring Project Award Name of Organisation/ Project: Voda North Tyneside (NCS) The VODA NCS programme is for 16 and 17 yr olds to participate in!

NCS is filled with one residential and some basic training, such as first aid, cooking etc. The programme then moves to a social action project which gives the young people a chance to interact with the community they live in. This is a diverse community North Tyneside and it moves from coastal to rural to urban, so local need are very different where ever you are from.

An area is of recognised social and employment needs.

The project give young people a chance to work with others in the community during the social action element helping young people feel valued in the community. During the project young people are given the task to plan and deliver their own social action project within the community getting young people more involved with where they live obtaining in many occasions a sense of identity and history with the community. The value of the project are well received in the locality, many involved with environmental change. Improving the feeling of belonging to a community.

The whole programme inspires young people to engage with others, develop, grow, learn and contribute. It introduces young people to the decision making process and gets them involved in the processes and structure of power at a local and regional level. The diversity of the project is fantastic and on all occasions well represented with young people with disabilities, from ethnic backgrounds different social class and mixed gender.

Make a Difference Award Criteria for the award: You’ll need to demonstrate how the individual has met at least THREE of these criteria by: • Making a positive impact to the running of an organisation or project.

• Contributing to an organisation or project over a period of time (minimum of six months).

• Inspiring others.

• Being inclusive to others and allowing others to have their say.

Organisation/ Project: Spen Valley Young Leaders group Award: Make a Difference Award Nominee: Amy Curtis Amy Curtis embarked on the Spen Valley Young Leaders Group in March 2013. She was inspiring to other young people and really helped the group stay motivated through her charisma, organisation skills and team work. Late 2013 she fell ill and during tests she found out she had cancer. This was devastating for her and other members of the group. Obviously this was an emotional, heart-breaking and devastating time for her. The group leaders and young people offered her all the support they could. However, with Amy being the positive person she is she 137

stated “she wanted to continue with the leadership group throughout her treatment depending on how it went”.

Amy went for her treatment and often attended the mobile sessions to update her youth worker on how it went. She was positive and focused; her discussions with staff helped her re-focus and also gave her a safe place to express her feelings. She was responding well to treatment and came back to join the leadership group.

Amy’s struggle helped to motivate the team, and helped them excel. She dipped in and out of the leadership group where she could. Spring 2014 she was given the all clear. A new date for a new cohort of young people was set. She wanted to join this group and wanted to finish the whole year.

Amy has had a positive impact on running of the organisation as she has increased partnership working, increased community engagement, created new chances for peers and all the while she was being treated for cancer.

Amy started the leadership group in June 2013; she continued to the end and dipped in and out while she was having her treatment. She is now part of the second cohort and has spent more than 6 months on the course thus far.

So far this year Amy and the leadership group have helped plan, deliver and evaluate. A junior summer camp, an intergenerational Bingo and BBQ Event. She is part of her local Tenants and residents association and is currently organising a Halloween event, a community lunch to tackle cohesion issues on the estate, and she is supporting the group leader to assist the young leaders in setting up a second intergenerational bingo and BBQ even.

These events have all made a difference in the community as they have helped the community to come together. She has further jointed the local tenant’s and residents association and helped to orchestrate, set up and deliver community events. Recently she was involved in a Blackpool trip for the whole of the estate. This was a huge success and will now be planning a second event.

Overall, she has made a difference in over 400 people’s lives through the work she has done by setting up events, activities, giving young people and communities a voice and ensuring their influence affect service delivery for the community and is involved in the decision making process Organisation/ Project: UKYP Oxfordshire Award: Make a Difference Award Winner: Aaron Miles Aaron is the 1st looked after young person to be elected to the UKYP in Oxfordshire (16Yrs) Aaron is passionate about improving educational outcomes for children in care. He has joined forces with Oxford University to drive his compassion forward. He meets monthly with other young people to work on their campaigns, developing their manifesto. The invite senior people along, they don’t want TOKENISM but action and have meet leader of the council.

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They constantly email Twitter and Facebook with ideas how to drive forward their campaigns, they are am inspiration to all children, young people and adults. They have attended assemblies in schools to promote their work and that of national UKYP campaigns. They are driving politics forward in Oxfordshire. They have ensured an open opportunity for all to participate in their meetings and campaigns. They work tirelessly to ensure all young people are engaged or consulted ensuring full equality of opportunity.

Organisation/ Project: UKYP South Oxfordshire Award: Make a Difference Award Winner: Tara Paxton Dorret Tara One of the youngest to be elected to the UKYP in Oxfordshire (12Yrs) Tara is passionate about improving outcomes for young people. Tara is incredible and inspiring in so many ways. She has joined forces with young people in her school to drive her compassion forward. She meets monthly with other young people to work on their campaigns, developing their manifesto. The invite senior people along, they don’t want TOKENISM but action and have meet leader of the council. They constantly email Twitter and Facebook with ideas how to drive forward their campaigns, they are am inspiration to all children, young people and adults. They have attended assemblies in schools to promote their work and that of national UKYP campaigns.

They are driving politics forward in Oxfordshire. They have ensured an open opportunity for all to participate in their meetings and campaigns. They work tirelessly to ensure all young people are engaged or consulted ensuring full equality of opportunity.

Organisation/ Project: UKYP Oxford City Award: Make a Difference Award Young Person Nominated: Rowan Ibbotson Rowan is 12yrs old and one of the youngest to be elected to the UKYP in Oxfordshire Rowan is passionate about improving educational outcomes for children in care. He has joined forces with others in his community and school to drive his compassion forward. He meets monthly with other young people to work on their campaigns, developing their manifesto. The invite senior people along, they don’t want TOKENISM but action and have meet leader of the council. They constantly email Twitter and Facebook with ideas how to drive forward their campaigns, they are am inspiration to all children, young people and adults. They have attended assemblies in schools to promote their work and that of national UKYP campaigns. They are driving politics forward in Oxfordshire. They have ensured an open opportunity for all to participate in their meetings and campaigns. They work tirelessly to ensure all young people are engaged or consulted ensuring full equality of opportunity.

Organisation/ Project: Children in Care Council Oxfordshire Award: Make a Difference Award Young Person Nominated: Hollie Messeuser Hollie helps run the Children in Care Council, facilitate and plan the whole children in Care Council. Attend meetings, conferences, interviewing people for Jobs, designing leaflets and input into policy documents. They help to organise celebrations events on occasion for up to 100 young 139

people. Hollie is passionate at improving the care system and the involvement of as many children and young people in the meeting as possible. Attendance at Senior Management meetings and regular CiCC coordinator meetings. They met Ofsted and received ‘Good’ and excellent for the ‘voice of the child’. They have made significant improvements to the Care System in Oxfordshire. They have produced ‘Info Cards’ which go to all CYP in Care and Leaving Care to inform them of how to get involved, make a complaint or compliment, also the role of the advocate. They work with those labelled ‘Hard to reach’ along with asylum seekers through meetings and surveys. 100% commitment has been achieved for all.

Organisation/ Project: Children in Care Council Oxfordshire Award: Make a Difference Award Young Person Nominated: Claris Tremellins Claris helps run the Children in Care Council, facilitate and plan the whole children in Care Council. Attend meetings, conferences, interviewing people for Jobs, designing leaflets and input into policy documents. They help to organise celebrations events on occasion for up to 100 young people. Claris is passionate at improving the care system and the involvement of as many children and young people in the meeting as possible.

Attendance at Senior Management meetings and regular CiCC coordinator meetings. They met Ofsted and received ‘Good’ and excellent for the ‘voice of the child’. They have made significant improvements to the Care System in Oxfordshire. They have produced ‘Info Cards’ which go to all CYP in Care and Leaving Care to inform them of how to get involved, make a complaint or compliment, also the role of the advocate. They work with those labelled ‘Hard to reach’ along with asylum seekers through meetings and surveys. 100% commitment has been achieved for all.

Organisation/ Project: Children in Care Council Award: Make a Difference Award Young Person Nominated: Charnell Cox Charnell helps run the Children in Care Council, facilitate and plan the whole children in Care Council. Attend meetings, conferences, interviewing people for Jobs, designing leaflets and input into policy documents. They help to organise celebrations events on occasion for up to 100 young people. Charnell is passionate at improving the care system and the involvement of as many children and young people in the meeting as possible.

Attendance at Senior Management meetings and regular CiCC coordinator meetings. They met Ofsted and received ‘Good’ and excellent for the ‘voice of the child’. They have made significant improvements to the Care System in Oxfordshire. They have produced ‘Info Cards’ which go to all CYP in Care and Leaving Care to inform them of how to get involved, make a complaint or compliment, also the role of the advocate. They work with those labelled ‘Hard to reach’ along with asylum seekers through meetings and surveys. 100% commitment has been achieved for all.

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Youth Led Award Youth Led Organisation/ Project: Youthforia Youthforia is a regional youth forum made up of young people from across the North West and aims, which give young people a voice at a regional level. There are around 80 regular members with close to 130 young people engaged at different points through the year. Each young person represents their local area and must be part of a local group to be able to do this. Examples of local groups could be youth council, youth forum or UK Youth Parliament group. Each local group is different but will usually contain young people from across a local authority area, from a range of different backgrounds, and in many cases other young people may elect their members. The role of a young person who participates in the Youthforia is to enable the voice of these local groups to be heard at a regional level. Youthforia is run by a steering group of young people who are elected by their peers. The work we do and the projects we get involved in are all planned, guided and led by young people.

Youthforia is co-ordinated by the North West Regional Youth Work Unit, and delivered in partnership with local authorities from across the North West. UK Youth Parliament and British Youth Council are also partners and Youthforia is where Members of Youth Parliament from across the North West meet. Youthforia is a young people led project, which focuses on the issues and concerns raised by young people. We have done work around transport, sexual health, and stereotypes and prejudices resulting from terrorism, citizenship, facilities for young people, young people’s safety, school health services, health transitions and more. We have learnt that young people’s voice is the loudest and creates the most change, when young people work in collaboration and partnership with adults to create positive change.

For the past 2 years Youthforia has been led by a steering group of young people. Every year at the AGM young people can put themselves forward for election onto the steering group. There are some places reserved for: the UKYP Procedures group representative and for the young trustee who sits on the NWRYWU Board representing Youthforia. Although there is not a formal chair, this role is shared round the members of the steering group; there are regional secretary and campaigns secretary roles.

The steering group meet monthly and plan future Youthforia meetings, evaluate previous meetings, plan campaigns, fundraise and meet with the Mental Health Action Group (the current Youthforia campaign). Members of the steering group work with youth workers to deliver workshops and activities at Youthforia meetings and at BYC conventions.

Youth Led Organisation/ Project: Our Voice Southwark Our Voice Southwark was a conference for 150 young people to: -

Take part in creative themed workshops 141

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Represent their school or youth group Question key Councillors and decision makers on service design, delivery and development Be seen as the experts and be empowered to influence decisions and decision makers

There were four parts to the event: 1. Pre conference: young people used focus groups, assemblies and notice boards to consult their peers on these issues. This information helped prepare them for the conference, and ensure they were representing the views of other young people, not just their own.

2. The first half of the event saw young people exploring these topics using creative media, for example: spoken word, theatre, street art, film, graphic design, manga art and junk art. They also designed questions to put forward to decision makers.

3. In the second half of the event, young people, Councillors and decision makers took part in a speed questioning activity. Young people put forward their ideas and questions to decision makers to influence and help solve problems in their community.

4. Post conference: Councillors and decision makers were invited to respond to young people’s ideas and questions. We asked them to make pledges as a direct result of taking part in Our Voice Southwark.

The Southwark Youth Council then scrutinised these pledges and are now supporting their implementation. Young people are now reporting back to their school on the outcomes of the day, using the film, photos, and the pledges from decision makers.

The day was filmed and photographed to support future work, share best practice and record the day. Each school has a copy of the film and pledges made by decision makers. They will use this to report back to their school on what Southwark are doing for young people.

This event was youth led from start to finish.

Southwark Youth Council consulted 3000 young people on their top issues in Southwark. The results were community safety topics including: -

Substance misuse; Negative perceptions of young people by adults; Equal opportunities for all, particularly single parent families; Crime and anti-social behaviour; and Lack of opportunities for young people.

They then designed an event to start up dialogue between young people and decision makers.

They hosted the event, chaired debates and helped with the design of the event.

They put the power into young people’s hands by asking them to consult young people before they arrived and feedback the results when they had left. Even though 176 young people were directly involved, 1000’s have been impacted by this conference.

Youth Led Organisation/ Project: Young Carers Aloud: East Ravens Trust 142

Young Carers Aloud!! (YC Aloud!!) who are part of Eastern Ravens Trust in Stockton-on-Tees. YC Aloud!! started in 2009 after a successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund. The group is made up of young carers who all attend respite care and activities at Eastern Ravens Trust. The young people all care for a member of their family who is affected by ill health; this includes mental health, substance misuse, physical disability and physical illness. The aim of the group is to raise awareness of young carers and their issues across Stockton-on-Tees so young carers are listened to and included in decision making that might affect them and their families. As a group YC Aloud!! Have development an awareness raising road show that portrays both the positive and negative aspects of a young carers life whilst demonstrating to other organisations the importance of including young people’s voices within their services.

The whole ethos of YC Aloud!! is to be Youth-led and in the last 6 months the group has; Delivered their Young Carers road-show to a number of organisations and teams within the Stockton-on-Tees area which includes over 1000 social care students from Teesside University and over 300 professionals from children’s and adult services.

Launched an awareness raising animated film to promote and raise the profile of young carers.

The entire film was the work of the young people involved in the group from the first idea to the finished article. The project took over 3 months and each young carer volunteered over 30 hours of their time to complete it.

Planned, budgeted and presented a Young Carers Awards Night to highlight and celebrate all the fantastic work and achievements of young carers in Stockton-on-Tees. Every detail of the event was the idea of the group who wanted a fun night with candy floss, music and a photo booth to capture the evening. The night was a huge success down to the hard work put in by the young people.

Designed a Young Carers School Policy pack which contains up to date legislation on young carers, details of how schools can support young carers by having a designated teacher for support and informative posters for both pupils and staff. The group believe that schools are important for helping identify young carers early so they can get the right support.

4 young carers from YC Aloud!! have recently joined a group of young carers from across the UK to be trained as Young Carers Champions with the support of The Children’s Society. In this role the champions will be working on a local and national level to ensure young carers are having their voices heard and having a say on the issues that affect them and their families. Having champions from Stockton shows other young carers that their opinions and views can be heard nationally. These 4 champions represent our region at events and they are having an impact both locally and national which was seen at the National Children and Adults conference in Harrogate where YC Aloud!! led a session on ‘Getting it Right for Young Carers’ . At this session the group addressed an audience of 70 professionals from across the UK including Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner and MP and Health Minister Norman Lamb.

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Thank you for your submissions this month, we look forward to reading more positive stories next month.

Also we have The Youth on Board (YOB) Awards which is an exclusively youth-led rolling award scheme that recognises innovative and exciting youth participation, both from young people and the projects and organisations that support them.

Deadline for submissions is quarterly.

To apply see more on: http://www.byc.org.uk/training-services/youth-on-board-awards.aspx

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