Issue - meetings

Heather will report at the meeting

Heather reported that there had been a Youth Takeover Day where young people had taken over the Council for a day. They had met with the Chief Executive and the Leader and discussed how the Council operates. They had also had a tour of the Council Chamber where the meetings of the Council take place.

The young people attending the takeover day had been asked to prioritise services that the Council provided and had come up with the following list with the top priorities first;

·         Children and Young People

·         Housing

·         Care Services for Young People

·         Care Services for Adults

·         Adult Education

·         Waste Management

·         Children’s Centres

·         Youth Services and Connexions

·         Road Maintenance

·         Planning

·         Democratic and Election Services

·         Sport and Leisure Services

·         Libraries

·         Art Galleries

Heather explained that one of the key findings from the Circles of Influence

The Cabinet were then asked to split into groups and come up with plans on how to:

·         Encourage people to be healthy;

·         Help with emotional health and wellbeing

Each group gave feedback

Those from Parrenthorn and Prestwich High schools explained that year 11 was such a stressful year that there should be support groups to be able to discuss general worries and their mental health . This would help young people to realise that everyone was going through a stressful time. The group had also discussed the use of a worry board where anonymous concerns could be posted on post it notes – this might help identify any trends. There was also a school nurse with appointments on a Monday but not many people were aware of this so it should be advertised more.

It was stated that mental health awareness was not promoted much in schools and it was seen as almost a taboo subject. To make the issue more normal there should be mental health discussions in citizenship classes from year 7 and regular assemblies. It was also suggested that the role of the school nurse should be advertised through a welcome assembly and then promoted regularly.

The St Monica’s High School group reported that they stop their citizenship classes after year 8 to allow pupils to concentrate on their GCSEs. It was suggested that health and wellbeing and mental health in particular should be discussed openly from when students start in the school in year 7. There could be workshops organised where concerns could be discussed and this would encourage people to talk about their feelings. It was suggested that the PHSE co-ordinator at the school should be made aware of the concerns and suggestions.

The St Gabriel’s and Bury Church group suggested that the issue of mental health should be incorporated into the curriculum so that it didn’t become a taboo subject and have re-caps every term to spread the word on what support was available.

Heather suggested that those present take some of the ideas and suggestion to their PSHE co-ordinator at school to see if some of the ideas could be implemented within all of the schools.