To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public including:
1) Hertfordshire Services for Young People;
2) Imajica Theatre Company CIC.
Decision:
· Ms Laura Butcher, North Herts Team Leader, Hertfordshire Services for Young People, was in attendance to give a presentation;
· Ms Samantha Hough and Ms Kimberly Black, Imajica Theatre Company, were in attendance to give a presentation;
· A number of young people were also present at the meeting to contribute to the discussion.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 6 minutes 20 seconds
Ms Laura Butcher, Youth Work Practice Manager, Hertfordshire Services for Young People, gave a PowerPoint presentation on services and support for young people in North Herts.
She drew attention to the following:
· Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) provided information, advice and careers guidance to young people;
· Resources were prioritised towards targeted prevention and early intervention work to support young people into a successful transition to adulthood;
· There were 10 access points in the County, one of which was in Letchworth;
· The Council had trained youth workers, personal advisors and employment training advisors working in the community, schools and colleges across the County;
· Projects and initiatives included the Youth Council, Wellbeing Project, Street Based Project, LGBT+ Group and Young Parents Group;
· Several other programmes were also delivered, some targeted at young people at risk of sexual and criminal exploitation, others to help young people into work and others supporting mental health;
· Youth engagement was done on a voluntary basis with an emphasis on listening to the young person’s wishes and feelings;
· Projects were co-produced with young people and surveys and engagement activities were regularly undertaken;
· Youth Strategy Partnership Group meetings were held quarterly with key stakeholders to look at emerging needs and trends of issues affecting young people who were also invited to participate;
· North Herts Youth Council met once a week to discuss local issues and concerns and engage with the Youth Strategy Partnership Group;
· Current focus was on increasing Youth Council engagement with more diverse groups, increasing engagement on the Youth Strategy Partnership Action Plan, and looking at issues of body image and the impact of Covid-19 on young people’s wellbeing.
Charlie, North Herts Youth Council Chair and Lucy, North Herts Youth Council Secretary, gave a presentation about what the Youth Council had been doing recently in regard to body image. They drew attention to the following:
· Their research in schools had found that Covid 19 had impacted young people’s body image in a negative way, social media was another factor;
· Some young people felt that there was not enough support in schools for people who were struggling with body image;
· The Youth Council was compiling a report on their findings which would be shared with the Youth Strategy Partnership Group and other relevant bodies to seek further support;
· It would also write to schools about what support they already had in place for students needing help;
· It would make recommendations on how young people could be supported and look at practical changes which could be made in the local community, e.g. publicising local services, identifying gaps and promoting positive body image through a social media campaign.
The Community Engagement Team Leader congratulated the Youth Council on their work around body image which she agreed was a key issue and looked forward to reading the report.
The following Councillors commented and asked questions:
· Councillor Judi Billing;
· Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg;
· Councillor Sam Collins;
· Councillor Sarah Dingley;
· Councillor Tony Hunter;
· Councillor Mandi Tandi;
Comments included:
· In the past it had been difficult for the Council to engage with young people in a fun way;
· Councillors were keen to support young people in the community;
· Some time could be made on the Council agendas to hear from the Youth Council;
· It was useful to engage with primary schools, to engage children at the earliest opportunity. Youth democracy events had also been fun in the past, and it would be good to re-start all these initiatives post-pandemic.
In response to questions, Ms Butcher advised that:
· The prevention and early intervention work recognised that all young people could be vulnerable at any stage so work was focused on addressing issues before they escalated in areas such as mental health, exploitation or gangs;
· HCC looked to deliver projects which were engaging, fun and not too formal;
· Ways for the Council and Youth Council to work together could be explored;
· The CBT programme was designed to be interactive and engaging.
Young people in attendance made the following comments and suggestions:
· Regular contact with the Council would be useful as the Youth Council felt a bit detached;
· North Herts Council could use Instagram and Snapchat more as opposed to Twitter and Facebook;
· It would be good to hear why Councillors had chosen to go into local government;
· Regular reporting from the Youth Council to the Council would be of benefit, to let Councillors know what the Youth Council was discussing and get some feedback;
· There were about 5 members of the Youth Council currently and they would like to expand their membership;
· The Youth Council would go away and look into the parents’ role in regard to body image;
· A buddy system or mentorship programme would be appreciated.
The Chair thanked Ms Butcher, Charlie and Lucy for their presentation.