Latest from youHere is where you can hear about what some of the things our young people have been up to! If there are things that you have been involved in and would like to share with us, please email nrego@wandsworth.gov.uk. 2009
2008
2007
On the 24th April 20 members of CLICK along with 5 brave workers ventured off to Wales. The aim of the trip was to bond with the new CLICK members with the established ones and cerate a team to be reckoned with! Some said it was the impossible and would be faced with difficulties, others could not believe the bravery of the five workers who had volunteered to take on this mission. On the day of departure their colleagues said to them, with a hint of sarcasm "hope it all goes well" as they walked off to enjoy their safe weekend. And with that and a firm belief in our young people, we ventured into the unknown....
The Keith Bridgman Awards that recognise the It's a fairly formal do, with the Mayor and Councillors joining in the congratulations, but people seem to like it that way. The awards will range from children who have improved their attitude to secondary school to some who have gone all the way to their university degrees! Young people have increasingly got more involved with the planning, and this year there are going to be some stories from a group from ILS that worked in India over the summer. It is also hoped that CLICK will describe their hopes and plans! Certainly CLICK members were a great help on the Achievement Awards for Primary schoolkids in July. Remember, too, that it's an opportunity for young people to nominate anyone who has been of particular help to them over the year – whoever it might be. Sometimes the unlikeliest people make all the difference. It's happening on a Friday this year because it gives young people who live outside London a chance to attend. It comes as a surprise to some people that children accommodated by Wandsworth can be living as far away as Cornwall or Birmingham. – and so would have real difficulty getting involved with something like CLICK, even though they might want to. So see you there – Friday 17th October!
CLICK – Now I hear you asking what this stands for….well, since December 2007, seven young people have been working extremely hard to create a Children in Care Council for Wandsworth. Why? For a while now, young people have been asking for a group which they can call their own - a safe space where they could share their experiences with each other, have fun and raise any issues they have about their care and the services provided to them. As suggested by the young people setting up the Council, Children in Care Council sounds very formal and boring therefore they have changed their name to CLICK (Children Living in Care Kouncil). To date, the young people have been involved in many things including getting Social Services to give them a dedicated space in Welbeck reception just for them, kitted out with a plasma screen tv and sofa. They've also been involved in running an event for social services staff to highlight why its so important for them to be involved in making decision which affect their lives. The young people are currently planning a launch event for all young people looked after by Wandsworth to come along to and find out more about what they do. The event will take place on Saturday November 8th 2008 @ Tooting Hub. CLICK here to find out more.
Kids Club is back for young aged 10-13 living away from home. Full of fun things like t-shirt making, cinema evenings, cooking etc, there are still spaces left so if would like to attend, please check out our flyer for more details. Starting on • 13th October 2008
Contact the Participation Officer on 020 8871 8274 or email nrego@wandsworth.gov.uk for more details.
On Thursday 17th July 2008, seven young people bravely stood before 40 social services staff to train them on how and why young people want to be involved in decision making.
The power was in the young people's hands and they abused it well making sure adults were fully participating in all exercises, including quizzes, poster making and a few star jump exercises for fun.
The course did have a serious message to give and the young people did this with professionalism and creativity. It was enjoyed by all and many staff described it as "the best course I have ever been on". At the request of adults, this course is now going to be run again in October for foster carers. On Saturday 19th April, children, young people and their carers, parents descended on Tooting Hub to find out what they had to do to stay healthy. Stalls included healthy hair, smoothie making, drugs awareness, massage, skin care and lots more.
Other fun stuff included african dancing and drumming.
The day was organised by the Health Steering Group which has young people representatives. If you would like to find out more about this event, please contact Pat Weston, CLA nurse on 020 8871 6995.
During March 2008, a new 'chill out' room just for young people was unveiled in Welbeck House reception area. This space was bought about by a few dedicated young people who had argues that they deserved a space in reception where they could relax and wait for their workers. You may remember the room before…
Not so good! Anyway, doesn't matter now as it looks radically different. We won't spoil the surprise for you so next time you are in Welbeck, ask for the keys at reception and chill out with plasma TV and sofa. Strictly no adults! We are pleased to announce that as of January 2008, as result of a number of young people's hard work, we now have a new 'it's your review' form to replace the rather ugly orange ones which we've had for the past few years. To download your copy, click on the pdf below.
Welcome to the second edition of 'It's all about US' newsletter.
"There's always hope!" That was the message Chase made everyone think about at the annual Keith Bridgman Achievement Awards for education on 10th December, 2008 at the Town Hall. And there were over 30 young people present who could show that being Looked After didn't mean that you couldn't make the effort, take your chances and succeed. For some, like Eddie and Perry, it was maybe a first step, but for others, like Shamaila and Rodney, it meant the top achievement of a successful degree at university. The evening was a real mix of the formal and the surprising. The mayor was there, introduced by Rekik (who had somehow discovered his fancy for Scottish country dancing) but the real stars were all the young people who were prepared to stand up and speak from the heart. That takes real courage in front of an audience. Young people were able to talk about who had helped and supported them, but they could also talk about their own efforts, and what it takes to stand up for yourself and make your ambitions become real. There's always hope, said Chase. But there's also guts and determination, and having pride in yourself. Plenty of proud young people that night! And let's hope even more next year! On Tuesday 25th September 2007, four young people met with Managers to talk about their ideas for Welbeck reception area and how it could be made more young people friendly because lets face it....it could do with updating! Ideas ranged from getting some new age appropriate toys and books, naming and painting the different rooms, pictures on the wall through to a chill out space for young people if they need space after a meeting. Managers loved their ideas and have agreed to look into how to address the majority. Click here to find out all young people's ideas and if you have anymore to add, email scscomment@wandsworth.gov.uk On Wednesday 22nd August 2008, seven young people travelled to Thorpe Park to meet the Children's Rights Director for England to give him their views on Bullying.
As a reward for their time and thoughts, the young people gained free entrance to the park as well as £5 worth of magic money...not bad for one hours work! Travelling the dizzy heights of Stealth and thundering around the steel tracks of Colossus our seven little adrenalin junkies deighted in the unltimate feat of the gravity defying rides.
FYI - It is the job of the Children's Rights Director to report the messages young people who live away from home give him to government, so that things can be made better for them. Check out www.rights4me.org On Monday 6th August, 2007, Charis bravely went before nine senior managers to update them about the work young people had done on looking at the review process and how to make it more young person friendly. Charis had worked extremley hard to put together a PowerPoint presentation with all young people's views, which unfortunately was not supported by Children's Services technology however, Charis was not to be phased and delivered a fantastic presentation anyway! She talked to Managers about what young people had said and outlined a number of recommendations. Managers thought that young people had come up with some really good ideas and promised to get back to them with their answer in how things might change. Check out Charis presentation to see what young people recommended. Councillors as 'champions' for children looked after Wandsworth Council has this idea which it would like your views on. The idea is to have champions for children looked after, who would be a kind of 'advocate' for a child or young person. They have thought of three ways of how they might become a champion but want young people to have the final say on how this might happen in reality. Check out the three proposals and see which one you think is best. Make sure you reply by 31st August and then see if your ideal is the one most popular with other young people. Champions for children looked after
Sounds formal, but on Weds 18th July 2007, young people met to see how they might get more involved in some of the work of the department. There were so many ideas and you can check out their notes to see what they come up with. Basically, the group of young people who met, have the answers to some of the questions that we, here in Children's Services want to know. As young people, you are the experts of your own lives and we have a lot to learn from listening to you. If you want to find out how you can get involved in some of the things mentioned, contact Natasha, the Children's Involvement Officer on 020 8871 8274 or nrego@wandsworth.gov.uk. On Monday 16th July 2007 , nine young people aged between 9 and 14 attended the last ever health keepers club in 2007. With a trip to Latchmere swimming pool and the park, followed by a Pizza hut (all you can eat and more!), we all left feeling very tired and stuffed! The Keepers Club has been running throughout June and July, every monday. Young people have come along, played games, drama, sport and much more, while learning about different issues to do with health. If you want to find out more about how you can get involved in the Keepers Club next year, please contact Pat Weston (specialist nurse) on 020 8871 6995 or email pweston@wandsworth.gov.uk
We all had lots of fun and I'm sure the young people who attended will tell you that the best part of the day was the pizza! Or perhaps it was the quiz where nobody could work out who was the deputy head at Hogwarts (no it's not Dumbledore!). Lots of posters were designed to tell us what makes a good and bad review.
Thank you to all the young people who attended on this day. You gave us lots of great ideas and suggestions and you can click here to read what these were.
And then...
They'd told us that the orange form that we ask you to fill out is rubbish so we gave them the task of making suggestions as to what a new form should look like. You can see what other feedback they gave by clicking here. To thank them for all their hard work we headed off to for a meal at Nando's where the competition was to see who could eat the hottest chicken. Think Merlain won that one who had extra extra hot sauce and didn't even break into a sweat! Watch this space for the draft version of the leaflet which you can comment on and make your own suggestions before it goes to the printers!
And another young person said to those who are thinking about getting an independent visitor , "it's a good opportunity to do things that you want with someone – you have someone separate to talk to, separate from family and social services." If you would like to find out more about the Independent Visitor service, please click here Young people attend Organisational Management Group
Watch this space to see if they keep their promise!! Peer researcher training
They learnt how to structure questionnaires, interview people, how to set up video cameras and edit footage.
Congratulations to all those who took part because you all did really well to learn so much in a short space of time. "I would like to write something about peer researcher training. It was very useful and unbelievable that staff were so friendly. I really enjoyed it and it made my understanding of research better…it made me feel more confident somehow. My knowledge has broadened out. I didn't know what to say to everyone therefore thank you so much to everyone!" Trinh (17) As peer researchers, they can now come and work with the department to find out other young people's views on a variety of topics. If peer researcher training is something you might be interested in, please phone Natasha (children's Involvement Officer) on 020 8871 8274 or email nrego@wandsworth.gov.uk
Before we build this website, we asked young people to tell us what they thought the website should look like and what information it should have on it. Click here to see what they said and if we answered their questions. |
educational success of Wandsworth's Looked After Children is taking place again this year on Friday 17th October 2008 at the Civic Suite at the Town Hall from 5.00 till 8.00. 
