OYC Meeting Minutes – 30/05/18

WELCOME

Apologies:- Roshni P-H., Katie R., Katie W., Steffany M.

Samah began the meeting with lightning talks from Joe W., Shariq A. and Jade C.

LSCB STRATEGIC PLAN

Lisa from the Oldham Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) came into the meeting to talk about the LSCB strategic plan for 2018/21. The LSCB has six strategic plans:

• Excellen practice is the norm across all practitioners in Oldham.
• Partner agencies hold one another to account effectively.
• There is early identification of new safeguarding issues.
• Learning is promoted and embedded.
• Information is shared effectively.
• The public feel confident that children are protected.

Their seven priority areas for 2018/21 are:

• Enhancing the partnership’s role in quality assurance.
• Complex and contextual safeguarding.
• Domestic Abuse.
• Children not accessing education and Elective Home Education.
• Transitions.
• Understanding the impact of trauma on children and young people.
• Child’s lived experience.

There are now new Safeguarding arrangements:

• Three Statutory safeguarding partners:
  • Local Authority
  • Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
  • Police
• Groups looking at proposing for now arrangements.
• Consultation in October 2018
• Submitted to Secretary of State by January 2019.
• Implemented by September 2019.

THE PLEDGE

Suzy came into the meeting to talk about Oldham Pledge, a local scheme that aims to help children gain and build characteristics, that help employability and life skills which are recorded in a passport. The Oldham Pledge aim is to make sure every child is school ready, life ready and work ready. The character traits that Oldham Pledge focuses on are being creative, moneywise, confident, motivated and aspirational, neighbourly and having community spirit, resilient & demonstrating persistence and grit, flexible, clear communication, curious and able to problem solve, tolerant and respectful, honest & demonstrating integrity and dignity and being healthy and fit.

Oldham Pledge has 14 Pledges that are used to help meet the character traits listed above. These are:-

1. To attend regular enrichment activities within your place of learning.
2. To attend regular enrichment activities beyond your place of learning.
3. To take responsibility for your own health and wellbeing.
4. To actively look for and pursue reading opportunities.
5. To actively engage in the world of work and to be moneywise.
6. To actively engage in fundraising events.
7. To actively engage in an outward bound activity or residential.
8. To take part in a presentation or performance to an audience.
9. To attend sporting and creative events.
10. To be involved in a volunteering or leadership role in or beyond your place of learning.
11. To be involved in a cultural or international experience.
12. Contribute to environmental sustainability.
13. To be involved in a democratic process.
14. To use digital technology to enhance learning.

Pledges 13 & 14 were added after input from OYC in Oldham Pledges last meeting with the Youth Council.

The Passports that children of Oldham will be using to record their data are A5, and come in four different layouts depending on where the child is in the education system (Early Years and KS1, KS2 (Year 3 & 4), KS2 (Year 5 & 6) and KS3 & 4). Oldham Pledge is also starting to roll out a newspaper, which will enclose information about the activities available in Oldham over the holidays, and are distributed to all schools in Oldham.

PRIORITIES SETTING

New term of office calls for new priorities that OYC will focus on. Following on from the meeting of 16/05/18, a group of Youth Councillors discussed the ideas from young people and came up with the three ideas that should set the OYC priorities for the next two years.

Mental Health

• Rather than focusing on a general mental health campaign, focus on a specific problem.
• Contact Mental Health Organisations to research what issues face young people (CAMHS, Kooth, Off The Record, TOG Mind)

Young People in the Workplace

• Increase in number of schools delivering work experience.
• Teach young people CV Writing, Employee rights, interview skills.
• Work with employment providers (Positive Steps etc.) to help provide young people with good work experience.

Manifesto

• This would include everything that OYC stands for.
• The Manifesto would include topics such as:
  • Education
    • Work Experience
    • Curriculum 4 Life
    • Pledge
    • Transition Skills
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    • Dental Hygiene
    • Physical Health
  • Discrimination
  • Votes @ 16
  • Sustainable Living and Environmental
  • Something around intergenerational work (Dementia work).

At the meeting, it was unanimously voted in that these would be OYC’s three main priorities for the next two years.

YOUTH MAYOR MAKING

Youth Mayor Making, 20th June, will see Amber Powell become Oldham Youth Mayor for 2018/19. Youth Councillors are required to attend the event unless a valid reason is present.

DYNAMIX

Dynamix is a program that aims to increase cohesion. It has been asked that 10 Youth Councillors join the project as young leaders, to help the young people on the program to get involved.

LISTEN TO THE EARTH

Listen to the Earth is an educational project that aims to teach young people about prejudice and violence leading from that, through World War Two. Ten Youth Councillors and ten members of Oldham Theatre Workshop join the project to become ambassadors, spreading the information they learnt, after travelling to Poland and learning the effects, to make sure something like WW2 never happens again. The tips costs an individual £150 and due to the maturity of the trip, young people have to be the age of 14 or above.

EVENTS AND TRIPS

Events and Trips were given to Youth Councillors.

AOB

Khadija A. mentioned about a photoshoot to gain new photographs for OYCs website. Due to the change in EU laws, a photo consent form hasn’t been given out for Youth Councillors as one isn’t present that conforms to the laws, so the photoshoot will occur after photo consent is sorted.