Young people address professional workshop on neglect
From Cllr Joe Tildesley, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on 06 December 2011
Three young people from Solihull Youth Service have delivered a workshop to a group of professionals on the subject of neglect.
Kirsty Lawrence, aged 20, Katie Buckingham aged 17, and Julie Marley aged 19, who are all members of the Youth Council, presented the workshop at the annual conference of the Solihull Local Safeguarding Children's Board.
They created the workshop after participating in educational sessions on the subject. Using a variety of methods, including role play and case studies, focusing on how neglect affects young people, how some people can make misguided judgments on young people who are suffering neglect, and what professionals should do to build relationships with young people.
Kirsty said: "I am really interested in helping young people who might be suffering from neglect and making other people aware of what could be going on. I've learnt a lot about the subject of neglect, learnt to talk about and deal with it in a sensitive way. Taking part in this workshop has helped increase my confidence and speak out about my own opinions."
Councillor Joe Tidlesley,Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "It's a real achievement for these three young people to have addressed a conference of over 50 professionals. The feedback from those who attended was really positive, and I hope this will be one of many events where young people step up and make their views known."
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