Children and Young People’s Participation
The vision
‘Dudley is a Borough where in co-production with children and young people their rights are realised, and their views shape decisions that are made about their lives and those of their families’
Participation Strategy
There is a strong commitment in Dudley Children’s Services to the active involvement of children and young people.
We support young people to make sure that they are heard on the issues that they feel are important and that their views are taken in to account by decision makers.
Through this process they will be able to develop their personal and social skills and identify how they are able to achieve more positive outcomes as active citizens.
Time to Talk Podcast
In a bid to strengthen and develop the work we do with our young people in Dudley members of both the Children in Care and Care Leavers Council have undertaken Podcast Training. We have decided upon having two streams of Podcasts to share; the first of these will be called ‘Time to Talk Podcast’ which will consist of members of the Children in Care Council and Care Leavers Forum holding recorded conversations about topics they find important. The second podcast will be called ‘A Conversation With…Podcast’ and will provide a platform for our care leavers to share their journeys or give them the opportunity to interview special guests who have helpful advice to share with our young people.
Listen to the podcast by scanning the QR codes below or clicking on the links!
Dear Social Worker,
We like it when you...
An Interview with An Amazing Child!
As part of Dudley’s Practice Week, we interviewed one of our amazing young people about their care experience and asked about their hopes for the future.
The young person was interviewed by her Social Worker, Amy Williams and there are many powerful points to reflect on.
Please take 5 minutes to watch the video and…
Hear My Story, Hear My Voice!
Hear My Story, Hear My Voice - Comic Strip - Messages From Our Children in Care Council
For Dudley’s Practice Week 2020, we wanted to make sure that the voice of the child was clearly captured and shared with you all.
To achieve this, we asked some of our amazing young people, who are part of the Dudley Children in Care Council,
about their journey and experiences through care.
Our questions were inspired by the ’Dear Social Worker’ project, completed by the Children in Care Council.
‘Hear my story, hear my voice’ contains messages from our very own children in care council, telling us about their experiences
of their personal journeys in care.
It’s taken a lot of courage, and the messages shared have been very powerful.
We want to make some assurances to our children in care about the service we aim to
provide for them, and this will help inform Dudley’s pledge to its children and young people.
If we are to ensure that children are first and in the heart of all we do, then hearing
what they have to say is a good place to start...
Following on from the ‘Hear My Story, Hear My Voice’ comic released in December’s Practice Week, we have once again collaborated with Dudley’s Children in Care Council to continue the story and create the ‘Ubuntu’ comic for Dudley's Practice Week 2021. This time we have asked the children and young people about their hopes for the future, their identity and how ‘being in care’ impacts upon them. We have also explored how other people’s views and behaviours towards them have impacted upon their confidence and self-esteem. The comic is also available to be viewed in video form.
Know your rights: licence and recall
a video by Howard League
Howard League have launched a new video that is an animation aimed at children and young people to help them understand their rights when released on licence.
The animation explains the process of being on licence, what can constitute a breach, the implications of breaching your licence and how recall works for those serving determinate sentences.
The video is available on Howard League's website, YouTube channel, and via the Content Hub on in-cell laptops across the custodial estate.
We’ve just updated the FREE STUFF section of IMO with some fantastic freebies, all exclusively available to children in care and care leavers in your area. Please share the site and these offers with members of your children in care council, care leavers in your area, and social workers, foster carers, etc.
Current ‘free stuff’ offers include:
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Birchbox make-up and bracelet
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Year-long subscription to Headspace meditation and mindfulness app
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Goodies from Skinnydip London and Google
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A free edition of The Week Junior Magazine
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Premier League tickets
ABOUT IMO
IMO is a new peer-led digital platform exclusively for children in care and care leavers. It has children’s voices at its heart, and all of its content has been created by or developed with input from children in care, for children in care.
The hub is regularly updated with new blogs, vlogs, podcasts, articles and campaigns. It also features a promotional section called ‘free stuff’, where we are giving away fantastic freebies and exclusive offers (including these tickets!) we have worked hard to secure from companies including Google and The V&A Museum, among others.
Please contact Darren Foley for further information 01384 815172.
How do you #definecare? A collaborative poem by care experienced people.
IMO invited care leavers from across the country to come together virtually during the lockdown to create a collaborative poem about how they define care. Here is the result!
Thank you to everyone who took part:
Alicia, Benjamin, Carla, Casey, Chloe, CPositivista, Danielle, David, Eleanor, Jai, Keeley, Kim, Nils, Paris, Ric, Rosie, Sophia, and Tychique.
The Fusion Project offers support and wellbeing services to young people from BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) backgrounds, whilst another part of the project provides support and wellbeing services to young people who identify as LGBTQ+. The groups discuss a range of different topics and activities, which are related to mental health and wellbeing. Some of the group topics have included understanding anxiety, mindfulness and have even had creative workshops as part of our group sessions including a music workshop and creative cooking. A lot of ideas and topics for groups also come from group members themselves, we take suggestions on board and try to accommodate the best we can, an example of this is the music workshop which was actually a group members suggestion.
The Big Ask the largest ever survey of children and young people anywhere in the world!
Please click on the reports below, summarising the results of the 'The Big Ask' a survey carried out by the Children's Commissioner for England with over 557, 077 responses from children in England aged 4-17.
The Big Ask - Childrens Report
The Big Ask - Adults Report
For more information please contact:
Amanda Grove (Lead for Youth and Community)
Amanda.grove@dudley.gov.uk 01384 818145 / 07900 161563
Darren Foley (Participation Officer - Children Looked After and Care Leavers)
Darren.foley@dudley.gov.uk 01384 815172 / 07827 836969
Make A Difference and Our Say Our Way
Project Update Report by
Emerson Hanslip, Youth Commissioners,
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