The Senior Listen and Care Council is a group of young people in care aged between 13 and 17 years old who meet fortnightly to have a say on issues that are important to them. They work together to make life better for young people in care so that they can have a bright future.
What they do
- share their experiences and ideas on how to improve the support and the services they receive
- monthly meetings to challenge, change and improve services
- interview panel training and opportunities to be involved in interviewing social workers, foster careers and other professionals
- meetings with senior managers
The group usually meet between 5pm and 6.30pm every other Tuesday. Nat Knight is the lead worker and can be contacted on 01752 308900 or via email: participation.youth@plymouth.gov.uk
The Participation Team have created a set of aspirations for group work with children in care and care experienced young people. These have been shared with the group members who in turn, have created their own.
Young people’s aspirations for the group
- to have a space where young people feel safe and supported
- to create a safe space where young people can make new friendships and socialise
- to champion young people’s stories and communicating them to the wider service
- to have consultation in order to improve our services and have our voices heard also have regular social outings for team building
Participation Team aspirations for the Senior Listen and Care Council
- to create vibrant and exciting spaces where young people are motivated to be involved in participation activities and consultation to provide feedback and improvement to services affecting them
- to have a range of methods to engage with children and young people in care or with care experience including social media, phone contact, face to face and group work
- to provide a clear framework for young people to transition through the different age groups and become involved and engaged with other groups such as those working closely with Corporate Parenting, Plymouth Safeguarding Children’s Partnership and the Academy of Social Work Plymouth
- to support young people to identify their priorities for improvement and facilitate them to challenge systems and practice to effect positive change
- to support children and young people’s learning and knowledge around their journey
- to hear children and young people’s stories so that they can be used to evidence need for change and/or to celebrate success
- to enable young people to be aware of their rights and opportunities so they are able to become active participants in society and make fully informed decisions whenever possible
- to combat social isolation and develop ability to have positive interactions and relationships with both their peers and professionals
- to participate in national initiatives to enable a wider platform for Plymouth children and young people to be heard and to learn from others
The Listen and Care Councils have supported the development of the Plymouth Commitment.