What do we need to do?
In order to achieve our vision we want to continue with the key strands of work that have made a difference. This includes
· The Youth Council - producing an annual action plan outlining their plans for the year ahead based on the consultation from the Youth Mayor Elections and The Youth Mayor and Deputy Youth Mayor's Manifesto. Some of the key pieces of work they will be focusing on include strengthening the links with School Councils by setting up a School Councils network and working in partnership with CitizenCard to offer young people aged 16+ a free ID Card.
· The Voice of the Child Programme - implementing the National Children's Bureau 'Let's Listen' audit tool to monitor and support local childcare provision in developing a listening culture
· Our annual Your Say Survey - increasing the response rate and ensuring managers have access to up to date information on what children and young people feel about life in Southend to inform their planning.
· Voice4All (Our Children in Care Council) - making sure that the views of looked after children are key part of all decisions affecting them
However, to really achieve the level of excellence we aim for, we will need to continue to improve the opportunities for participation available to children, young people and their families. To do this, we have identified some key actions to help us along this journey.
· Develop a toolkit to support services and managers in involving young people in the recruitment of the children's workforce.
· Consider how we can use Viewpoint (an on-line consultation tool) as a universal feedback form for all Success For All services and how this could be used to inform staff personal development as well as service improvements.
· Develop a Voice & Influence quality mark (that takes into account existing participation assessments or audits) for schools and settings - similar to Healthy School Status.
· Ensuring all schools participate in Youth Council elections and are represented on the Youth Council.
· Ensuring all schools have active School Councils.
· Developing and growing the pupil voice network to support distribution of best practice in school councils.
· All services for children and families involve them in reviewing the way services are delivered.
This strategy has been developed by the Voice & Influence group, which includes representatives of Southend Youth Council. The Voice & Influence group will develop a plan to implement the key actions detailed above over the coming 12 months. The strategy will be reviewed in line with the setting of new priorities for the Partnership for 2013-2016.
The Voice & Influence group will regularly collect examples of good practice from across partner organisations. Quarterly reports will be reviewed by the Youth Council to incorporate their views before presentation to the Success For All.