IW Youth – ways to get involved

On the first Wednesday of each month, young people meet for an hour online using the Microsoft Teams. Costs, like child care, can be covered and an attendance award of £5 per meeting is given to you just for talking. This is a group for young people to turn up and say it how it is; it's a chance to discuss positive experiences and problems you have had so things in general can improve.

Any new workers within Children's Services have to be interviewed by young people first. You would be trained (gaining a qualification) and then paid £7.50 per hour to help ensure we get the right people working here.

We deliver training to staff on how to work well with young people and the potential impact if this does not happen. This is a whole day of training and is paid at £7.50 per hour.

Every foster carer must go through initial training. Part of the training is delivered by young people sharing details of what it's like and how to be a good carer.

Five times a year, children in care and care leavers are invited to parliament to speak to the minister and other key people about what it’s like to be in care or a care leaver. You can share your views on what should change. We always take young people from the Isle of Wight to represent yourselves. One care leaver has even been a ‘young expert’, getting to sit next to the minister and answer questions from other young people.

HYPE (formerly CiCC) are always trying to improve links with other participation groups, such as the:

• IOW Youth Council
• NHS ‘Check It Out’ group
• Short Breaks Young Inspectors programme.

Once a month, young people are invited to take part in a social cooking group. It's a chance to get to know other young people and learn cooking skills and how to eat on a budget. Some young people have said it has helped their confidence and even helped them get a job.

Young people said that being able to speak to other young people that have had similar experiences might help them through a tough time or difficult experience. Children’s Services offer a qualification for young people to become mentors. If you would like to become a mentor or think you may benefit from having a peer mentor, get in touch with us for more information.

Your opinions count and we can use your feedback to help us improve our services. Have your say by giving us your feedback about your experiences. We can then understand what we are doing right and the things you are not happy with. If you would like to let us know about your experiences, complete the Children's Services feedback form.

It will only take a short time to complete this form, but you will need to login or create a 'My Account' to complete one. Instructions for how to do complete the form is given on the feedback form.