This weekend we had our March meeting, we can’t wait to update you all soon on the work we’re beginning. We also had a visitor join us this weekend, we plan to fill you in on the next SEND news. For this week’s SEND News we want to share our day out last week when Sian and Gaby attended a conference in Plymouth. Gaby has written how she felt the day went! 😊

Plymouth conference

The conference started at 9am and it was in the Guildhall in Plymouth. We got the train down. We met Gemma from NHS England and George a young person who works with Gemma, much like a Young Person’s Champion.  The Guildhall was split into two, there were stalls in the main hall and they were educating people in Plymouth on the services they provide for children and young people.  The presentations were downstairs in the Drake Hall.

The presentation was about raising the profile of children and young people and knowing people’s voices. We linked up with Gemma and George in their fantastic presentation and we had the chance to introduce ourselves. Gemma and George presented their information about the journey of co-production and about how important it is for young people with SEND. The personal stories from George were powerful: “Why are young people’s voices important?” It is great to see that the voices are as important in Devon as they are in Somerset.  Sian then introduced a new project: Children and Young People Self-Advocacy (CYPSA) which is what we will be doing throughout this project with the NHS.

“The overall outcome of this group would be to support improve outcomes for children and young people along with parent carers across the southwest”.

At the end of the presentation, I was asked a question about my opinion of experiences with college and how I found arts university Plymouth to help their young people decide their further education. I gave my personal story about college and said arts university Plymouth gave me hope for education again. Overall, we had a very inspiring day in the world of SEND.

The Unstoppables meet once a month – If you or someone you know would like to be a member of the Unstoppables then follow the link to our new form Expression of Interest to join the The Unstoppables (office.com) 😊

Similarly, If you or a young person you know wants more information about how they can join the Unstoppables, or be part of our work they/you can contact us via email (SENDParticipationTeam@somerset.gov.uk) or via phone/What’s App (07976 809 773).

You can also follow us on social media:

Facebook @sendparticipationteam

Instagram @sendparticipation

To follow information about all youth voice activities across Somerset follow:

Facebook @SomersetYouthVoice

Instagram @somersetyouthvoice

Twitter @SomerYouthVoice