Minutes:
The Head of the Virtual School presented this month’s proud moments, commenting on a year 11 student with an Education Health and Care Plan who had moved to the south of the country to access specialist provision. The young person had produced an outstanding piece of descriptive writing, expressing their thoughts and feelings about their new surroundings which had provoked an emotional response from staff, who were so impressed that they sent a message to the young person to congratulate their good work.
Another proud moment reported by the Head of the Virtual School was the story of a young person that she had first supported during their transition into year 7. The two met again several years later when the Head went to her first meeting of the Children in Care Council. She was delighted to report how well this young person had developed and she was touched to hear the young person acknowledge how valuable the support from the Virtual School had been to them.
Members congratulated the young people and discussed how important it is to showcase pieces of work such as the one described and retain them for posterity. Suggestions included that, with the young people’s consent, work could be sent to the Poet Laureate, displayed in the new History Centre and young people’s hubs and published in books or digitally through platforms such as Amazon. It was also suggested that the Council could encourage writing and poetry through competitions. Councillor Hovvels highlighted the value of incorporating young people’s work into Durham County Council’s marketing campaigns.
Councillor Gunn referred to innovative ways that communities have found during the pandemic to share art and literature such as using disused bus shelters as libraries and she added that this may be another avenue to consider. She spoke of the importance of consulting the young people on how they would like their work to be shared. Robert Johnson, Project Manager from Investing in Children referred to the success of the Artstop initiative and he added the Children in Care Council would welcome opportunities to explore similar projects with the Council. Melanie Stubbs, Head of the Virtual School and Laura Armstrong, Professional Practice Manager agreed to consider these suggestions for a further discussion to be held at a future Panel meeting.