As the Youth Participation Ambassador, it is my job to meet with as many people involved in Shaw Trust Youth as possible. I recently attended a management meeting which was attended by managers from all regions. The purpose of me joining was to introduce myself, explain my role and share what youth participation means to me. It was useful to share my aspirations for the project, what we hope to achieve and ways in which management can support this. One suggestion was to include the youth participation pledge and reference to our commitment to youth participation in all Shaw Trust Youth job descriptions and person specifications.
In addition to this meeting, I have been chairing a Staff Steering Group to meet staff members and gain insight on their experiences. During these meetings staff have shared young people’s thoughts and feedback, what has worked well and how we further improve youth participation. The group includes colleagues from all over the division, including children’s homes, careers guidance, youth work, supported internships, and service managers.
We have used recommendations from last year to form topics of discussion at these meetings. We talk about how different regions are meeting these recommendations, and how areas can request additional support if needed. These meetings take place monthly and investigate Youth Participation and ways to increase it. These meetings are proving to be informative and extremely helpful, and I am looking forward to chairing more in the future.
