Young people have stepped forward to help the county council gain first-hand thoughts and ideas on youth services in Shropshire.
Lewis Tilley, aged 16, and 15-year-old Adam McCulloch gave up their free time to carry out a review on the success of bringing together Youth and Connexions services on the same sites at Bridgnorth and Ludlow Youth Centres.
The pair, who attend Bridgnorth Youth Centre, consulted young people and staff because council members and officers wanted to hear opinions from those most affected by the development.
Their review, which included inviting people to fill in postcards, a graffiti board, questionnaires and carrying out video interviews, revealed that staff and young people both thought the move had led to an improved service which used each area’s strengths to create greater benefits. They also suggested that further improvements could be made by providing even more services and options for young people.
Lewis and Jenny Plumbley, 15, who also attend Bridgnorth Youth Centre, recently presented the findings to the council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel.
Lewis said: “I really enjoyed doing the review and sharing the findings. I learned a lot and am happy I was able to have a say on what’s available for young people in my area.”
Councillor Roger Evans, chair of the panel, said: “It is no easy task for young people to stand in front of a room of councillors and other representatives and tell us what they think about council services.
“But we were extremely impressed with their presentation and really appreciated the effort and hard work they had put in. It was a great way for us to find out if the development is providing benefits to young people and to identify good practice which can further inform the way services are provided.”
Lewis and Adam were trained and supported to carry out the review over two weeks at the end of last year by staff from the Youth Support Services Participation team.
Issued: 16 February 2009