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Future Me Gloucestershire: keeping in touch
Published
Future Me is a small but influential team run in partnership between young people and Gloucestershire County Council. We wanted to say “hi” in this edition of Families in Partnership and share some of our recent work.
What is Future Me Gloucestershire?
Future Me exists to help you share your views and feedback about being a young person with additional needs or disabilities in Gloucestershire. There are many ways to get involved and have your say. We also put together information that will help you prepare for adulthood. Find out more by visiting our website, the Young People’s Local Offer.
Youth Representatives co-produce our first “Voice Event”
It is important to us that we look beyond our core team and make efforts to reach widely into the community and hear from as many of our peers as possible.
On 29th of October 2024, we ran our first co-produced event for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities. Never having put on an event like this before, we were excited and a bit nervous to try. But we knew that we’d learn so much.
Over the summer we worked hard, alongside our friends in the NHS, to engage with a range of young people through existing groups. All this work helped us plan our event, which was chosen to take place during the autumn half term at the Music Works, an accessible venue in Gloucester.
On the day itself, over 20 children and young people dropped in and got stuck in with a range of table-top activities. These included drawing your perfect school and your perfect healthcare professional. The data we gathered was so rich and insightful!
We’d like to thank all the young people who attended, as well as the parents, carers and professionals who offered a great amount of support. Initial feedback has been both positive and constructive, and we’ve got lots to think about going forward to ensure any future events build on the successes of this one and take on board some helpful suggestions for being better!
What happens to the voices and feedback we hear?
It is important to us that we pass on the views and feedback that children and young people share with us. We call this ‘closing the loop.’
You may want to check out our recent You Say, We Do report on the Local Offer here, which tells you about the voices we heard last year and what is happening as a result. We talk to local leaders often to champion meaningful participation – we try our best to represent the voices we hear in local decision-making.
The voices we heard at this latest event will be informing our next update to the SEND and Inclusion Local Area Partnership (SILAP), who are responsible for leading local improvements. We look forward to keeping you informed of their responses to your views at future events, reports and editions of this newsletter. Please stay tuned.