Over the Rainbow 6 booklet

Celebrating ParticipationHeritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire.

Saturday 15 March 2014

Over the Rainbow 6

A better childhood. For every child. www.childrenssociety.org.uk

2

This event Over The Rainbow 6This annual event which is planned,

influenced and led by young people

brings together different projects

in order to celebrate each other’s

successes and achievements.

It’s an opportunity to see what

children and young people have

achieved and changed in their

local communities.

Contents

Page 3

Pot of Gold stories from children

and young people on how they

spent their funding.

Page 17

Nominations for

The Children’s Society Awards.

Page 26

The Lois Preston Award.

What is Pot of Gold?

Pot of Gold is one of the ways The Children’s

Society involves children and young people

in decision making. Each year, Pot of Gold

recruits young people to a group called Team

Gold. They consider applications for funding

from groups across The Children’s Society’s

programmes of work. They look for evidence

that ideas have come from children and

young people, benefit them directly and can

make a difference to their lives. Then Team

Gold start to plan the annual celebration event,

Over the Rainbow.

This booklet showcases the stories of how

the successful groups spent their funding.

Opportunity to plan a big event.

Romany.

Getting your voice heard. Having support from other young people.

Kayleigh.

Building confidence and forming new friends.

Kyran.

What has Pot of Goldfunded over the financial year 2013 – 2014?

For more details contact:Rosie Tapsfield

Senior Practitioner - SMART Project.

0191 256 5037

As the event came nearer we started

running a bit more seriously. It was

a good time of year for it as it was

nice weather and light nights. We

also got to know our local area as

we ran around Newcastle. We saw

things that we had never noticed

before.

On the day of the run we were so

excited; everyone was even on time

for once! The crowds were brilliant

and there was lots of music and

people out to support the runners.

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Helped us to achieve something that

some of us never thought was possible.

We also raised £4000

for The Children’s Society!

£800

Wow, when we got to theend of 13.1 miles, we were so

pleased with ourselves, it was such an achievement and we were pleased to be able to

sit down for a rest!Thursday Night Group

We are a group of young asylum

seekers and migrants who meet every

week to have fun, make friends and

also do education sessions. Ten of us

wanted to do the Great North Run

but needed money to help us get

the trainers, equipment and some

help with running.

Initially, at our training sessions,

we talked more than we ran but

we all had lots of fun and it was

nice getting to know each other.

4

The Saints

As part of the Cheshire Youth

Inclusion Project we attend a weekly

community youth hub. The hub is in

the middle of a local housing estate

where most of us live. In the past

young people have caused some

trouble and the police came round

a lot. The newspapers and television

programmes always seem to talk

about young hoodies stealing,

fighting and causing trouble

in their communities.

We applied to Pot of Gold

because we wanted to change

people’s view of children and young

people and knew that we could

show that young people can make

a positive difference in the areas

that they live. We wanted to use

the funding to design and buy our

own hoodies and help people in the

community while we are wearing

them. As well as giving us more

confidence, it has also made a

difference to others as other young

people want to wear the hoodies

and be part of our group.

Our Top Tip• If you believe you can make a

difference you can make a

difference, don’t be afraid to

share your ideas with your

worker, they want to know

what you think and can help

you achieve your aims.

For more details contact:Graham Dodd

Youth Inclusion Project

Co-ordinator & Participation Worker,

The Children’s Society in Cheshire.

01606 333 589

Wearing the hoodies with our name The Saints on has made us feel like part of a team and we all work together to help The Children’s Society staff and volunteers to run the youth hub

for the other young people in our area.

We want people to see the good and

not the hood.

£800

show that young people can make

a positive difference in the areas

that they live. We wanted to use

the funding to design and buy our

own hoodies and help people in the

community while we are wearing

them. As well as giving us more

confidence, it has also made a

difference to others as other young

people want to wear the hoodies

and be part of our group.

Top Tip

Children’s Rights

are the key

towards a chee

rful

future.

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Speak out Lancashire

We applied for money from Pot of

Gold to support us to plan and

organise a fun and interactive

event about Children’s Rights.

We worked with Action Factory

to help us get our main message

across, which was: the importance

of children and young people being

listened to and information being

shared with them. We wanted to

make learning about Children’s

Rights fun and interactive.

Lots of young people and adults

who work with young people

attended. Throughout the day the

young people discussed the role

of an advocate through creating

costumes, visual art using masks,

rap to express issues important

to them and drama to examine

sharing information.

For more details contact:Laura Goodfellow, Youth Mentor and

Participation, The Children’s Society

in Lancashire.

01772 256 900

Our Top Tips• We think it is a good idea to

have young people involved

from the beginning. We also

had a lot of time to plan and

practice on the day so we knew

what we were doing.

Most of all it is important

to make it fun!

across, which was: the importance

of children and young people being

sharing information.

£800

Children need to be provided with

care and protection all of the time.

Having a say and being listened to. Mutual agreement and

understanding.

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Camera!

Crèche at Mortimer House Children’s Centre

We used our Pot of Gold funding

to buy toys and play equipment.

We used observations, listening

and taking photographs to capture

what children were interested in.

The children learnt to take turns

when opening the parcels and

sharing their new toys with friends.

Seeing the children’s excitement

and how much they enjoyed

playing with the new toys has

made our crèche team realise

the importance of listening and

watching what children enjoy,

no matter how young they are.

Children have a voice and this can

be seen through their interests,

interactions and what they do.

Two young boys spent most

of the session trying out new

instruments and exploring the

sensory area.

For more details contact:Janice Magennis, Olivia Gilpin,

Esther Hutton - Crèche Team,

Mortimer House Children’s Centre,

Bradford. 01274 262 740

Seeing the children’s excitement

£800

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Oldham Children in Care Council (CiCC)

In 2009, Oldham’s Pledge to

Looked after Children and Care

Leavers was developed. In 2013

the CiCC wanted to know how

it was working and what more

needed to be done to make the

lives of looked after children

and care leavers better, so they

carried out a consultation.

The findings from the consultation

were delivered at the Corporate

Parenting Conference and also the

Children’s Trust. Our corporate

parents took part in a series of

workshops looking at some of the

issues that our young people were

facing, and how as parents they

could help them.

For more details contact:Gillian Hall Green, Children’s Rights

Worker, Oldham.

0161 633 5991

The CiCC thought that the best

way to feed this information back

to all our looked after children

and care leavers, was to create a

feedback report document and we

applied to Pot of Gold to fund this.

In the completed report we included:

• Who are the CiCC?

• What is a corporate parent?

• What did the consulting involve?

• Feedback and statistics from the

consultation

• Comments from our corporate

parents

• Oldham’s Pledge to Looked

after Children and Care Leavers

• CiCC key messages

The CiCC thought that the best

way to feed this information back

We didn’t want pie charts as these are too

corporate, so we decided to use figures holding a board

with the figures on.

The CiCC thought that the best The CiCC thought that the best

£800

The report had to be child friendly and be accessible for young

people aged between 5 and 21 years.

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Young Parents Group

We applied for Pot of Gold funding

so that the children could go and

see caterpillars and butterflies in a

different environment. They had

been reading The Very Hungry

Caterpillar story, painting pictures

of butterflies and then watching

caterpillars grow.

Our visit to the zoo allowed the

children to see lots of butterflies

up close and touch the cocoons

they had come from. They were

also able to see lots of animals

that they had previously only

seen in books.

They were excited about

everything; the coach, seeing a

police car from the coach, the size

of the butterfly house, the speed

butterflies flew at, the dark of

the insect room, the size of the

lion, gorilla and giant tortoise, the

quantity of ants, the antics of the

monkeys, penguins and meerkats,

having pasta for lunch

in the café.

For more details contact:Julie Mumford, Salt Way Children’s

Centre, Swindon.

01793 465 364

They were excited about

For more details contact:

in the café.

caterpillars grow.

Our visit to the zoo allowed the

Look, Look, Lookanother one!

(Butterfly)

What’s next? (Anticipating the

next animal)

£538

He (butterfly) is eating lots!

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Creating the mural has brought

young people from two different

groups together; allowing them

to see that they have similar ideas

and dreams.

For more details contact:Betty Chivasa and Lindsey Hutchinson,

The Children’s Society in Tees Valley

01642 559 147

Friday Club and the Transitions Group

We applied to Pot of Gold so that

we could create a mural in our

project. As well as brightening

things up, we wanted to be

involved in creating it.

We worked with a community

artist, who discussed our ideas of

identity and what it means. We

wanted the mural to reflect our

interpretation of where we live

and the surrounding area.

We wanted it to include things

we find inspirational in and

around Billingham; things that are

interesting or have meaning

to us.

We learnt how to use a camera

and we were encouraged to

take photographs of each other

representing our aspirations,

favourite activity or pastime.

These photographs were then

made into

silhouettes.

£800

Creating the mural has brought We worked with a community We learnt how to use a camera

involved in creating it.

These photographs were then

I liked seeing it all

come together.

It reminds me of what’s special

in Billingham.

The mural makes people know who we are

and will keep a good memory when we are gone.

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Fight for Change

We are the Children in Care Council

in Salford. We applied for the Pot

of Gold money so we could make a

DVD to raise awareness about our

group, share our achievements and

plans for the future. The group is

made up of looked after children

and care leavers. We are there to

give young people like us a voice

and tell the local authority what

we think so that things can be

changed for the better.

The grant paid for a film artist, Bea

to work with us. She was also a

care leaver and knows what it’s all

about. We bought refreshments

for everyone whilst we created

the film and masks to decorate

and protect our identities. We

met new people and got to know

each other better. We learnt about

the film making process, how

time consuming it can be and

how important it is to stick to a

deadline. Our Top Tips...for anyone making a DVD are:

• Planning and preparation are key

• Be committed

• Work as a team

And most importantly

• Find the right professional to

finalise your ideas into a reality.

For more details contact:Suzanne Taylor, Team Leader,

Salford Children’s Rights Service.

0161 787 9628

£800

The funniest bit was watching the outtakes, like we weren’t meant to say people’s names but we kept forgetting

and having to start again.

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Greenwich Young People’s Council

We are a group of young people

who represent schools and youth

clubs around Greenwich. We organise

events and discuss practical ways of

getting young people’s voices heard.


to increase awareness of our group,

and make our manifesto widely

known through banners, leaflets

and hoodies.

We now have an image and brand

for GYPC which we can use at

events to promote our work.

For more details contact:Michelle Younger and Lloyd Mitchell

Greenwich Children and Young People’s

Participation Service.

020 7358 2014


£800

We enjoyed giving our ideas and

feedback on the designs to the

marketing team. We had some

heated discussions about photos

and images.

We learned that sometimes we have

to make decisions quickly to meet

deadlines and that we can’t talk for

a long time about lots of details.

We worked together

to create something

which made us feel

more productive and part of a team.

More people will know about GYPC and we felt

proud wearing our hoodies at the Y factor event.

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Care Leavers Group

We applied for the money so that

we could do a survey of care

leavers’ experiences of the support

that they receive. We also

designed leaflets to promote

our group. To do this we have

worked closely with social care.

We decided on the information

that we wanted to find out and

came up with questions. The

Head of Children’s Social Care has

pledged her support to the survey

by enabling the distribution to

care leavers.

When the Head of Children’s

Social Care visited our group

we discussed our experiences

of leaving care. The main things

we discussed were not getting

enough information about leaving

care and the changes that we

asked for in the Pathway Plan.

Some of the changes we wanted

were made but we were told

Its fun and they

provide food!

For more details contact:Laura Goodfellow, Youth Mentor and

Participation, The Children’s Society

in Lancashire.

01772 256 900

other things

were training

issues. As a result

we are planning

some training for social workers

about how the Pathway Plan

is completed with the young

person. We are also working on an

information guide for care leavers.

We won an award at the Lancashire

Proud Celebration Event in the

Positive Contributions category.

It was really good for our work to

be recognised by the local authority.

We talk together.

Have others to get on with

- It’s a laugh!

£700

Make friends.

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It will make parents let their

children take part, which is good.

Independent Travel Training and Travel Buddying


to make a DVD and online film

to share with parents of young

people who want to become

independent travellers. We wanted

to make a DVD to explain the

service and benefits from a young

person’s perspective.

Some of us were filmed on a bus

showing other young people how

good it is to be travel trained. We

had to film lots of the scenes over

and over.

The film project has given us the

opportunity to share what we

have learnt and enjoyed about

gaining independence and being

able to go to school on our own.

Everyone should have the chance.

Our Top TipsIf you want to do a film about your

work you should just go for it, don’t

be nervous and don’t give up we

had a great day. Just be yourself.

For more details contact:Faye Angus, Independent Travel

Trainer and Travel Buddy Co-ordinator,

The Children’s Society in London.

0207 613 2886

I have enjoyed lunch, and my favourite part was helping out, I have

learnt how to film.

£800

I enjoyed everything, the best was being on the

bus and being filmed on my own, I have learnt to only press the

bell once when you want to get off the bus.

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For more details contact:Gunhild Riis Chifunda, Senior Project

Worker, The Children’s Society Include

project.

01962 711 511 ext. 29

We applied for funding to make

some film clips that will tell people

about our area and what it is like

for young carers.

We discussed what messages

were most important for us and

included some of them using stop

motion animation. We also used

voice recording and created art

to accompany our voices. We

decided not to show our faces

on the films because we think

that they will be easier

for people to use if they

are more artistic and

less personal.

Now everybody will be able to

see our film messages on our

county forum website:

www.makewav.es/

ycvoiceshampshire


£800

Havant, East Hampshire, Hart & Rushmoor Young Carers

We are a group of young carers

who meet to have our say on how

school, social services, and other

people in our local area can

support us better.

Being able to talk to people in the same situation

and creating something together is really good because

it helps us to better trust teachers.

We hope that our films will help people understand

us more. If people understand what young carers go through

it will help us to get more support.

15

Gateway Nursery

At Gateway Nursery in Bradford

we wanted to develop our outdoor

play area to provide the children

with a challenging and exciting

learning environment.

We encourage free flow play so the

children can choose whether to play

indoors or outdoors at all times

during the day. Our playground is

large but needed some reorganising

to meet the children’s needs and

provide them with challenges to

their learning.

We observed the children at play

and recorded areas that were lacking

in provision and resources. For

example, we watched the children

digging in the grass and planted

areas – these are not actually

allocated areas for digging! We also

noticed them mixing the mud they

had dug up with water; this told us

they wanted an area where they can

really explore playing with mud. So

we purchased equipment to make

them a mud kitchen.

We bought lots of resources based

on what children told us including

a wigwam to allow their play to be

spontaneous, without having to

build it first!

For more details contact:Karen Clarke, Early Years Manager,

The Children’s Society in Bradford.

01274 642 917

build it first!

For more details contact:Karen Clarke, Early Years Manager,

The Children’s Society in Bradford.

01274 642 917

A wigwam

in which to eat

mi’dinner in!

£761

The children will now be able to investigate, be

explorers, create concoctions and just experience the pleasure of an outdoor learning environment.

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Werneth Parents Forum We applied for the Pot of Gold

funding to brighten the courtyard

at the front of the building.

The general consensus from the

members was that the courtyard

was dull and bare. The members

looked at different options to decide

how to make the entrance to the

children’s centre interactive and

more inviting to children. They

completed a wider consultation by

taking questionnaires to different

sessions at the children’s centre

and spoke informally to families

and children.

After the pictures and

chalkboards had been

put up around the

courtyard we observed children

coming into the centre running

around the walls pointing and naming

the insects. One child ran up to the

spider chalkboard and said ’spider’.

Her mum said ‘she loves spiders’.

Families have also commented

on how much more brighter and

noticeable the centre looks now.

£800

coming into the centre running

around the walls pointing and naming

For more details contact:Annette Struttman,

Family Engagement Worker

Werneth Children’s Centre, Oldham.

0161 770 5283

It is much brighter, you can

really notice it now.

The animals will look even better when

the plants grow round them.

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NStar Award & Stars to watch out for... Introduction

This section is to celebrate,

recognise and acknowledge

some of the individual and group

achievements of the children

and young people that we work

alongside.

Children and young people were

nominated for the following

categories by their project worker

or volunteer:

a) Personal achievements;

individual who has

turned their life around

or remained positive and

honourable despite difficult

circumstances.

b) Contribution to the

development of work within

The Children’s Society.

c) Taking on a leadership role

and being a positive role

model.

d) Groups of children and young

people that have made a

difference.

In each category, the nominations

were judged and awarded

either a Stars Award or a Stars

to watch out for … Award. This

year we received three group

nominations and 14 individual

nominations; which means 32

children and young people

have been recognised for their

achievements.

This year’s judging panel included

young people that received an

award last year, a senior project

worker, a children and families

director, an area director-West

Midlands, a media officer and a

marketing communications manager.

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In this category, five Star Awards have been awarded to:

Name of individual:

Kerry

Reasons for the award:

Kerry had experienced many

problems in her life and she felt

that everybody had ‘written her off’.

Name of individual:

Oumar


Oumar has faced a lot of difficulties

in his life, moving from Guinea to

Italy to the UK. He hasn’t had any

family support but has managed to

remain a polite, hardworking, kind

and caring young man. Oumar is

working hard at college studying

sports coaching. He regularly

comes to youth club and is friendly

with everyone, regardless of which

country they’re from. Oumar is

very motivated and works hard

to achieve his dreams. He is a

talented footballer and is going

for trials with premiership teams.

We think he’ll be famous one day!

Kerry has transformed from a

young person who wasn’t able

to go to school to someone who

now takes pride in her education.

She is an active member of the

sea cadets and has overcome many

hurdles to re-establish a positive

relationship with her family and

school. She often gives advice

to others and speaks about wanting

to help other young people like herself

in the future.

All who work with Kerry are really

proud of how well she has done and how she has turned things around.

When he comes to youth club his positive attitude really lights up

the room and makes other people feel

positive too.

N Category 1

Personal achievements.This has been awarded to individuals who have turned their life around or remained positive and honourable despite difficult circumstances.

19

Name of individual:

Kaiyne


Kaiyne has overcome many barriers

in his life. He has formed a healthy

and trusting relationship with his

mentor, who has helped him to

achieve an increased sense of self

belief.

He now has more independence

than when he first engaged with

The Children’s Society and is far less

reliant on other people making

decisions for him.

Name of individual:

Falan


Falan has been through difficult

times and has been able to

maintain a mature, positive and

determined attitude. She has

been able to express her feelings

and emotions and share her

thoughts about her life in a

responsible and articulate way.

She has developed the ability to

survive through adversity and keep

herself focussed whilst recognising

the needs of others; mainly her

younger brother and mother.

His mentor says that Kaiyne has

stopped truanting from school and

his attendance and enjoyment in

school has significantly improved

since they started working together.

Kaiyne applied, was accepted

and is now a member of Amplify

Children’s Commissioner Young

People’s Group. This was a massive

step for him, but he was determined

to move forward in his life and step

out of his comfort zone to achieve

this.

She has become a very reflective

young woman who understands

the benefit of thinking about her

decisions and the impact they

can have on herself and others.

She has returned to mainstream

school and is in top sets for maths

and English. She regularly attends

a local youth group and the local

harriers team.

I always encourage Kaiyne to make his own

decisions and it has been a pleasure for me to see him develop and use

these skills.

She has shown great potential for a promising future and shows great

determination and ability to achieve success in whatever

she applies herself to.

N Star Award & Stars to watch out for...


20

Name of individual:

Ellie


Since 2012, Ellie has struggled

with severe anxiety. She has been

unable to attend school and has

been home educated.

Despite the difficulties she faces

she has continued to remain happy,

positive and supportive of others.

She has become a very active

participant in the intergenerational

group and during Christmas she

sang in the choir at Canterbury

Cathedral in front of a packed

congregation - which was a huge

challenge.

She is always considerate of

others who may be struggling and

is empathic towards her peers and

supportive of the older generation.

She encourages new members,

and the quieter, shyer children of

the group to participate. Ellie has

managed to contain her anxieties

to attend many activities and has

promoted the voice of young people

at every opportunity.

She always contributes ideas and thoughts to all group discussions and when

planning events.

I feel she has grown as a person

through this last year and is more confident, resulting in her having

more fun.

In this category, four Stars to watch out for… have been awarded to:

Name of individual:

Colette


Colette stands out because she

has been brilliant during the

sessions this year whilst going

through some tough times behind

the scenes. Her difficult year

hasn’t stopped her coming to the

sessions and enjoying herself.

Colette is always bright and

motivated and gets involved in

whatever we are doing.

This year, Colette has shown a

massive improvement in her ice

skating skills and during an issue

based session Colette gave valuable

answers and ideas to the group.

She now comes to the sessions

full of confidence and engages

with staff members freely about

what is going on in her life. Colette

supports other members of the

group, has shown empathy and

given good advice when needed.

whatever we are doing.

This year, Colette has shown a


21

Name of individual:

Sherri


When Sherri joined the project she

was quite shy and quiet but this has

changed considerably in the last

year. Sherri is now often the life and

soul of the sessions and without

realising it has become a leader

amongst the group. She is a supportive

friend to some of the other girls

and helps them to get through

their struggles.

Her positive attitude rubs off on

the group and the sessions are

full of fun when she is around.

Over the last year, she has sung in

a recording studio, showcasing her

great voice and she has improved

her ice skating skills.

Name of individual:

Charlene


Through a difficult time of recovering

from a major operation and

overcoming other emotional

obstacles, Charlene has remained

positive. She has contributed to

the discussions in the participation

group and been part of developing

a brochure for adults in how to

support young people. She attended

and contributed to a launch event

in London on the Runaways Charter.

She is always happy to help those

in her participation group and does

her best with the challenges she faces.

After being out of education for

nearly two years, and whilst recovering

from the operation, she has now

enrolled at college on a childcare

course.

Name of individual:

Nicole


Nicole has returned to full-time

education and has maintained

good attendance, despite having

a difficult time over the past few

years. The various challenges

she has faced has meant she was

unable to attend school or college

so returning and sticking at it is a

great achievement.

Her attendance at college is good,

and she has been nominated to

be her class representative and

is receiving positive feedback

from her tutors. As well as this,

Nicole has become involved in

participation activities and has

contributed to work in the local

authority, such as development of

the children and young people’s

plan and being involved in the

participation network.

She is an inspiration to us all.

She is a positive role model

She has shown greater commitment to completing education

and her life goals in general.

enrolled at college on a childcare

course.

Name of individual:

She has remained so positive and will always

be smiling even through the tough times, which really is

a great achievement. Well done!

22

In this category, two Star Awards have been awarded to:

Name of individual:

Martyna


Martyna is a pro-active young person

who has taken part in different

opportunities within The Children’s

Society. She has contributed to the

success of the Dream Makers Arts

Dream Makers was a UK-wide project

taking place in Glasgow, Bolton,

Peterborough and London. She was

awarded a special prize by the Jack

Petchey Foundation for her

commitment and achievements that

included co-curating the exhibition,

championing issues of citizenship

and belonging and promoting the

project by writing a blog.

Project organised by the Roma/

New Migrant Project in 2013 and

is a young trustee at

The Children’s Society. The Children’s Society.

Whilst this group has been together they have shared their views on sex and relationship education fordisabled young people and this hasbeen used in training for professionals.

They filmed at a sexual health clinicand interviewed staff to demystifyand normalise sex and relationships for other disabled young people.

Their work has had a huge impact and improved the knowledge and attitudes of otheryoung people and adults.

Whilst this group has been together they have shared their views on sex

disabled young people and this hasbeen used in training for professionals.

They filmed at a sexual health clinic

and normalise sex and relationships

and improved the knowledge and

Name of group:

Advisory Group for Sexand Relationship Project


This group has been the core of a

project for promoting the rights of

young people with disabilities to

receive quality sex and relationship

education to make informed choices.

They co-created a DVD called My

Choices and a booklet, containing

accessible information on sex and

relationships.

The project was helpful and important – some disabled young

people don’t know how to stay safe.

N Category 2

Contribution to the development of work within The Children’s Society.

She is a great assetto the group as she is

very insightful, considerate and makes valuable

contributions to influence discussions.

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He has always done this with enthusiasm

and dedication.


In this category, twoStars to watch out for awards have been awarded to:

Name of individual:

Marcus


Marcus has helped the project

select people to go forward to the

volunteer training programme.

He has drawn upon his own

experience to interview potential

volunteers to ensure they have

He is growing into a confident

young man who takes part in

activities including interviewing of

volunteers with professionalism,

dedication and enthusiasm.

He is a pleasure to work with

and always brings a positive fun

approach to the task in hand.

We have seen a personal growth

in Marcus which makes us proud

of what he has achieved so far.

the right qualities to further the

work of The Children’s Society.

Over the summer he was involved

in a brand workshop and his

contribution influenced the final

brand values of the organisation.

fostering panel. He is dedicated

and committed to improving the

care system for others. Currently

he is working on improving

the Pathway Plan and

advocating for better

information for

care leavers.

Name of individual:

John


John has supported the development

of our young person’s website by

working with staff to upload material

and advising us on managing the

website. He is also a key member

of our Microsoft Hub, which involves

developing the use of IT in our

project and supporting others to

use equipment.

John is also a member of the care

leavers’ group and the council’s

He is a great young person to work with and is an asset to

the work we do.

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In this category, the Star Award has been awarded to:

Name of individual:

David


David has been totally committed

to group work and only ever missed

a session if he is unwell. He has had

many challenges in his life and has

always been positive in doing the

In this category, the Star to watch out for has been awarded to:

Name of individual:

Victoria


Victoria is a member of our Young

Parents group. She has motivated

others to attend courses and play

sessions. She produces the group’s

learning journey and has learned

use his idea. Other group members

look to David as a positive and

honest person who can be relied

upon, he has shown others that it

is ok to be yourself and talk about

your ideas and be honest about

your difficulties.

best he can and seeing the bright

side of things.

David has difficulty remembering

words and hearing everything that is

said, but he has managed to speak

in front of many professionals and

at school assemblies. He has

supported other young people to

feel confident about doing the same.

He has trained new workers to use

Makaton and helped recruit new staff.

He came up with an idea for train

companies and they are planning to

how to reference the Early Years

curriculum.

She has organised fundraising events

for The Children’s Society and has

spoken at consultation events on

housing and poverty, representing

the views of other parents. She has

also been involved in interviewing

new staff at the centre.

Her increased knowledge of child

development, through attending

courses and learning from others,

has enabled her to become a good

role model to families.

We have recently welcomed new

staff members and Victoria has

been confident in supporting them.

Victoria’s resilience to obstacles has

meant that she has recently been

successful in obtaining a place at

college to study for NVQ 3 in Childcare.

also been involved in interviewing

He helps The Children’s Society workers to make sure

what they do is understandable for people with hearing impairments

and learning disabilities and he has taught them Makaton.

She has inspired others to be more

confident.

N Category 3

Taking on a leadership role and being a positive role model.

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In this category, two Star Awards have been awarded to:

Name of group:

Beatz of Happiness

Reasons for the award: This is a group of young talented refugees who are positive role models at their youth club and are making adifference for other young people in their area. They have contributed and influenced The Children’s Society’s

Name of group:

Kumasi Great North Runners

Reasons for the award: Kumasi is a group for young people from abroad. None were runners before they started this piece of work, but all trained and ran a half marathon, 13.1 miles, in the Great North Run, raising over £4000 for The Children’s Society.

The young people who took part have all changed in some ways:Some felt more confident as

new brand values during a workshop in the summer.

They have shared their experiences at a local conference to raise awareness and make UK schools more welcoming to refugees andasylum seekers. They gave a powerful and moving presentation about their personal experiences of seeking refuge and rebuilding their life inthe UK. This included their experiences of school life and their opinions on what schools can do to ensure that young refugees are both welcomed and included and

a result of the race; they had managed to complete something they thought was an impossible dream when they first started. Some felt more integrated into Newcastle and life in the UK; they discovered places they had never been whilst running around the city in training and ran alongside

able to feel safe and flourish.

They have developed an induction resource that will be used for other new arrivals in Leeds, contributing to and influencing its design and content.

thousands of other people on the day of the race.

The young people who ran together bonded and formed really positive relationships with one another, spurring each other on when someone was feeling like they could not run anymore.

a result of the race; they had thousands of other people on the

N Category 4

Groups of children & young people that have made a difference.

They have shared their experiences

asylum seekers. They gave a powerful

able to feel safe and flourish.

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The Lois Preston Award was developed through a staff member whose daughter Lois aged 16, tragically lost her life in 2011.

Lois was kind, strong and determined.

She loved paragliding and became

the youngest person in the UK to

attain the Paragliding club pilot

hill and tow rating.

She then took to hang gliding

with an aim to excel in the sport,

teaching and sharing her

exhilaration with others.

Lois wanted other young people

to see the wonderful views of the

world from way up high as she did.

This award, a £500 grant, focuses

on supporting a young person

into work, an activity or a challenge

so that Lois’s strength and joy for

life can continue and be passed on

to another young person’s life.

The Lois Preston Award 2014

Last year’s Lois PrestonAward was awarded to:

Name of individual:

Kim

I won the Lois Preston Award 2013

which really made a difference in

my life. The money I won helped

pay for part of my accommodation

when I went to university.

I used some of the money to start

my weekly swimming classes to

improve my health. This really

helped me a lot - since I won this

award, I wouldn’t have got where I

am without it.

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Thank you and acknowledgments Thank you to Team Gold.

Kyran, Chloe, Gina, Imogen, Saffron,

Kayleigh, Romany for being part

of Team Gold over the year and

helping to distribute funding to

other groups of children and

young people. It has been a huge

pleasure to work alongside them.

They have shown commitment,

dedication and the spirit of team

work throughout the year. It has

been an honour and pleasure to

be part of their discussions and

insights and to see life through

their eyes and the way they

experience the world around them.

They have contributed enormously

by being honest and straightforward,

respecting each other, making

friends, having fun and being

themselves.

Niamatullah was also part of Team

Gold in the early part of the year.

He also contributed his time, ideas

and enthusiasm to the group.

Pot of Gold applications • Closing dates for April 2014 – March 2015 will be advertised in

the weekly internal communication and sent to projects.

• You can download applications off the participation page on

the intranet site.

• You can receive hard copies by emailing

[email protected]

Thank you to all for making Pot of Gold and Over the Rainbow a success in small and big ways• Children and young people who apply for Pot of Gold funding.

• Project staff, volunteers and admin support across the organisation.

• Colleagues in the Fundraising & Marketing Team.

• Paul Tate in sourcing the raffle prizes.

Thank you to the staff involved in supporting Pot of Gold meetings and helping to organise the event. • Paul Robinson from Lancashire

Children’s Rights service in

Preston.

• Wendy Croston from Street Safe,

Lancashire.

• Betty Brierley and Suraya Patel

from Children and Families

Central team.

Judges of the CYP Awards • Benedicta, Niamatullah and

Guzyal from West Midlands

Refugee Project.

• Hafsah Fitzgibbons - from

West Midlands Refugee Project.

• Damian Allen - Children and

Families Director.

• Rob Willoughby – Area Director,

West Midlands Hub.

• Minaxi Henegan - Senior Marketing

Communications Manager.

• Jemma Mahon - Fundraising

Media Officer.

The Children’s Society

The most disadvantaged children

rarely suffer on just one front.

We work directly with these

children, many of whom have

nowhere else to turn, to ensure

that they are loved, valued and

listened to. With them we fight

childhood poverty, harm and neglect.

Our network of programmes

includes drop-in services for

runaways, as well as children’s

centres and support for young

carers. We support children who

are refugees from violence, and

we give those in care a voice.

We transform the lives of many

more children by pressurising

government and local authorities

to change policy and practice to

protect them, and we challenge

the negative attitudes that

perpetuate harm and injustice.

In hard times, children are among

the hardest hit.

We don’t just help them survive -

we support them to flourish.

A better childhood. For every child.

Charity Registration No. 221124 | Photographs © The Children’s Society | 8379/02/14

How to Contact Us

Corporate Participation Manager

The Children’s Society

Unit 4a

The Pavillions

Bridge Hall Drive

Bury

BL9 7NX

[email protected]

@ChildSocVoice

Documents

Over the Rainbow 6 booklet