Overview of work
Yorkshire SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Alliance was formed by young people who are part of a local SEND Youth Voice Groups. This group recognised that not every area provides a separate space for specific issues experienced by young people with additional needs to be acknowledged and addressed.
The young people want to create an alliance of young people from across the region, to give young people with SEND a voice, as often this is more focused on the voice of the parents. They have identified a range of topics they want to address including; employment vs training and volunteering, access to information and opportunities and how to make Education and Health Plan Assessments more inclusive for young people
In 2022, as part of the project ‘Authoring Our Own Stories’ The SEND Alliance underwent a piece of research to explore civic identity with young people and explored how this can affect their access to services . The findings from the project and the feedback from the SEND young people who took part in year one, highlight some of the specific barriers SEND young people experience when trying to access support and careers advice, gain employment, access training opportunities, and improve their skills. Their report can be read here AOOS Year One written report-final.
YSA are working on a range of campaigns see their website to learn more
Regional Ethnic Majority Youth (REMY)
Formed in 2022, when young people of colour felt that some of their lived experiences and consequently areas they wanted to see improved, were lost in wider groups such as youth councils and UK Youth Parliament. Having spent time hearing and learning from each other, REMY has gone on to identify 3 main areas they want to address. Racism in Schools and how this is responded to, Relationships with the Police and security guards and the lack of representation in the national curriculum. To enable them to move these concerns forward, the group organised a meeting with West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor and Police & Crime Commissioner, members of West Yorkshire Police, staff from the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), the Independent Police Advisory Board, chair of #blackcurriculum and other community groups working with the police on improving relations. Following this meeting, members now sit on the IOPC youth board, and actively support the #blackcurriclum campaign. REMY are researching and creating a pack for schools, to support them in understanding what covert racism looks like, how it feels to young people and what should be done about it, using a whole school approach to educate their peers.
Following the disturbances in the summer of 2024, members of REMY supported by other regional voice groups, wrote an open letter to the Yorkshire and Humber’s Directors of Children’s services, virtual heads, Members of Parliament, Integrated Care Board Directors and Managers, Youth Sectors Leads and voice workers. The letter which has gone much wider, shared how the young people feel and asked questions of those in power - how were they going to keep them safe, educate not just young people but wider society and tackle misinformation on social media. The group have subsequently been asked to work with various departments and organisations.
Find more about it here
Comments