Agenda item

The purpose of this report was to provide an opportunity for Members to give consideration to reports and presentation by Doncaster members of the Youth Parliament. The presentation provided an update on the annual Make Your Mark consultation, the priorities identified from the results and future campaign plans.

The following highlights were provided from the presentation, that;

·         Over 42 schools, colleges and youth organisations supported the Youth Council campaign and voted.

·         Those schools with a low number of votes did not have students that were also members of the Youth Parliament.

·         At the top of Doncaster results were 1. Mental Health and 2. End Knife Crime.

·         Social media platforms were a contributor to the high number of votes.

Members were informed that 11,636 11-18 year olds voted this year which was an increase on the previous year.  It was explained that various strategies had been used but it was mainly due to the use of social media that had made a significance difference.

Engagement - A Member commented that in terms of engagement, it was a big achievement to be proud of.  It was outlined that 5 schools accommodated for over half of the response.  It was noted that those schools with no Youth Parliament members had made a difference in terms of engagement.  

The Ward Member for Adwick (who was also the Chair of Governors for Adwick and Danum) suggested that the Youth Council make contact with him in respect of Youth Council representation.  It was noted that all schools had previously been contacted.

A Member raised their concern that there was a lack of awareness about the Youth Council within certain circles.  In terms of publicising the Youth Council, Members were informed that it had been advertised widely within communities, through local organisations such as libraries and Expect Youth. It was suggested that more could be done to further publicise the Youth Council, for example, Ward Members could help link it to schools and communities.

Members were reassured that the Youth Council had used a number of mechanisms to engage with schools.  It was added that a joint letter could be forwarded to invite those schools who had not engaged with the Make Your Mark consultation and ask them to outline how they planned to intervene with young people moving forward.

Mental Health – It was recognised that mental health was a big issue as there was more pressure in schools for high grades to be achieved and progress to be made. Members of the Youth Parliament explained that part-time Counsellors in schools were not always known about by students.  It was also the case that a referral could be made to CAMHS without the young person’s parent being made aware.  It was felt that a significant issue was ensuring that teachers were aware of how to treat children in regards to mental health.   It was requested that members of the Youth Parliament returned to the Panel in March 2019 with results of the consultation.

Knife Crime – Efforts were being made to find out more about knife crime and why it was occurring.  It was highlighted that;

·         A Police Officer (who currently sat on the Children and Families Executive Board) had agreed to work with the Youth Parliament on this area.

·         More in-depth consultation was to be undertaken on why knife crime was voted for so highly and to find out whether people feel safe within their communities

A Member spoke about a presentation by the Yoyo project on ‘How can I avoid Gun, Knife and Gang Crime at a local school, and expressed that he had found it extremely useful.

RESOLVED that the Panel;

1. Note the report and presentation
2. That an update on the issues raised be provided at the Panel’s next meeting on the 5^th March 2019.