The new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for Somerset is being created by Somerset Council and its Partners in Health and Care Services and will set out the Council’s aims for 2024 to 2030.
The plan will set out how services and communities are accountable for Somerset’s children and young people and how they will work together to ensure the ambitions of the plan are achieved.
By engaging as many children and young people as possible when writing the plan, services will have a better understanding of what children and young people think should happen to improve their lives.
Members of Somerset Youth Forum have suggested that the most important priorities are:
- Having a better experience in education
- Leading healthier lives
- Help to improve your mental health
- Living in safer communities
- Building better relationships
- Being prepared for adulthood
The Council encourages all individuals under the age of 25 to share their thoughts on these priories via the online survey.
Councillor Heather Shearer, Lead Member for Children, Families and Education, said:
At Somerset Council, we want every young person living in the county to be safe, happy, healthy and prepared for adulthood. The Children and Young People’s Plan helps us, and our partners, create a nurturing environment to allow this. It is vital that young people of Somerset have the opportunity to share their voice, shape the policies that support them and hold our performance to account.”
Practitioners, teachers, youth workers and anyone who works with children can support young people to have a voice and make a difference by sharing this survey.
The survey is open to all young people under the age of 25 and closes at 5pm on Friday, 7 June.
For those people working with groups, a session plan and evidence form for group activity can be downloaded.
Engagement with children and young people is strengthened by working with the Somerset Youth Work Alliance, a partnership of voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) youth work organisations across Somerset. Facilitated by Spark Somerset, the alliance is made up of 21 members (and growing) who are working with young people and with each other to achieve high quality, co-produced and inclusive youth work in Somerset.
More information can be found on Spark Somerset’s Somerset youth work alliance webpage.
