Minutes:
The following update was provided by Investing in Children:
· At a recent residential course the young people discussed the five W’s of contact, i.e. who, what, where, when, and why. In particular, they discussed whether a more child-friendly term for contact could be used. The young people suggested that ‘family time’ may be a more appropriate term for the younger children.
· Final touches are being made to ‘The Promise’ which will be presented to the Panel in September.
· The refurbishment of the contact centres to make them more child-friendly is ongoing.
· An application for funding has been made to the Ragdoll Foundation in respect of an arts project.
· A Fun Day will be held on 1 September at Framwellgate Moor School.
The Chair commended the good work and asked how more looked after children could be encouraged to join the Children in Care Council. IIC Co-Director, Helen Mulhearn, responded that information is being disseminated more effectively and information is now being provided as part of foster carer training, as well as young people from IIC being part of the foster carer training, and it is hoped this will lead to increased participation.
Helen Mulhearn informed the Panel that she is liaising with a group of pupils from Durham Sixth Form Centre who are interested in starting a Youth Parliament. They have developed a constitution and they are keen to progress this. Members commented on how youth political engagement is to be encouraged. Cllr Scott informed the Panel that the City of Durham Parish Council have discussed holding some of their meetings in schools in order to promote community engagement. Cllr McKeon added that whilst youth political engagement is to be encouraged, it is important to provide guidance to young people to prevent them from being misled by unethical social media campaigns.