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The Young Safeguarders group are young people aged 13 to 19 who support the Plymouth Safeguarding Children Partnership (“the Partnership”) to make sure that the voices of children and young people are heard. This includes making sure that the information they read and the policies and procedures that affect their lives are fair and make sense to young people.

Our responsibilities                                                                                             

  • to help in the quality assurance work of the Partnership such as ‘learning walks’ and checking that what we say in The Ten Wishes is carried out. This means making sure that the things we are looking at are done as well as they can be and that young people have a voice that is heard
  • to review information given to the Partnership by Children’s Services, Education, Health and the Police so that comments on what is going well and suggestions for improvement can be passed onto the groups that do the work for the Partnership
  • to raise both our concerns and the concerns of our peers in relation to safeguarding

Sometimes there may be time and space for the Young Safeguarders to be approached for their views and seeking the views of other young people, on wider areas of work.

We meet fortnightly on a Tuesday from 5pm-6.30pm in the City Centre. Sarah Harris is the lead worker and can be contacted on 01752 308900 or via email: participation.youth@plymouth.gov.uk.

Participation Team aspirations for the Young Safeguarders

  • To enable young people to attend, engage and/or play as full part as possible in Plymouth Safeguarding Children’s Partnership and other forums
  • To create an effective framework to enable the representation of the thoughts and feelings of young people (specifically those who might be considered vulnerable) to influence decisions and services that affects them
  • To ensure services are more young person focused in their approach and are able to communicate effectively with young people
  • Acknowledge and utilise the expertise of young people and celebrate and value their success
  • To ensure that young people have the opportunity to shape the agenda and discussions
  • To support young people to build direct relationships with and to relay the stories of children and young people to decision makers

Read the Young Safeguarders terms of reference

Join the Young Safeguarders 

We are young people aged 13 to 19 who want to help the community by working with the Plymouth Safeguarding Children's Partnership. 

What we do 

  • make change happen in Plymouth by meeting with organisations and professionals and ensuring services are more young person focused 
  • carry out and take part in consultations 
  • focus on issues linked to 'safeguarding' such as mental health, knife crime and language used by professionals 
  • investigate and evaluate services for children and young people

Why join 

  • it's a platform for your voice to be heard 
  • you can learn and develop skills and knowledge 
  • it's a great addition for your CV 
  • you will meet new people 
  • you get rewarded for your time with gift vouchers 

For more information phone 01752 308900 or email participation.youth@plymouth.gov.uk