Agenda item

The Panel received a presentation from the Participation and Engagement Officer for Children's Social Care, Stephanie Pym, together with young people Caitlyn and Lesley from the Children in Care Council on the Mind of My Own app (for copy of presentation see file of minutes).

Members were informed that the Mind of My Own app is a digital communication tool for children and young people to share experiences and have their voices heard.  The app has been developed with young people and it recognises that all young people communicate their feelings in different ways. 

The young people demonstrated the two apps available, the ‘One App’ which is aimed at children and young people aged 8 years and over and can be used independently.  This app includes scenarios such as preparing for a child protection conference or a foster care review and it encourages the young person to consider issues they would like to discuss and to think about feelings and concerns that they may wish to share.  The app also allows the young person to reflect upon meetings that have taken place, to consider how to solve problems, plan ahead for the future and to think about their general wellbeing. 

The ‘Express App’ is for younger children and those young people with additional needs.  This app can be accessed with the support of a worker and uses images, sounds and emojis in order to help to communicate emotions. 

The scenarios in this app encourage the young people to think about and share their feelings on their everyday lives and their education.  The app also includes a one-page profile which may be useful for those young people who are becoming acquainted with a new social worker.

Designated workers are able to view the information that the young people provide.

The young people commented on the advantages of the app saying it is fun, flexible and easy to access at any time, with the scenario on preparing for independent living being particularly useful.

Some of the young people are ambassadors for Mind of My Own and they have designed a leaflet to provide information on the app and how social workers can help the young people to sign up for and get started with the app.  The presentation included information from one of the young ambassadors, William, who said the app helps him to talk about his feelings and emotions, for example, when he is feeling sad or nervous, he can share his feelings at that time, through the app.  

The Participation and Engagement Officer concluded the presentation by saying that Mind of My Own is designed to be an additional tool to capture the voice of the child and explained that information is gathered from the various engagements and statements, such as how the young people are feeling about their wellbeing and what aspects of their lives they feel positive about.

The Chair thanked the Participation and Engagement Officer, Caitlyn and Lesley for their presentation.

Highlighting the importance of young people’s mental health, Councillor Miller commented on the benefits of the app as an easily accessible way for young people to express their feelings confidentially and enquired whether young people without access to email could access the app.  The Participation and Engagement Officer explained that those without access to email can access the app via their worker’s account and new features are being developed to increase accessibility.

In response to a question from Councillor Deinali, the Participation and Engagement Officer explained the One App is available not only to those who are currently in care but all those who access the Children’s Social Care service.

Councillor Charlton praised the young people who participated in the development of the app.