To receive a verbal report on the latest activities of the Young Mayor and Young Cabinet.
Minutes:
The Young Mayor reported on the following activities in which she and Young Cabinet Members and/or Youth Councillors had been involved:
· Youth Council Committees had continued to work well, drawing interest from other young people in the borough and recruiting new members.
· The Enterprise Education Committee had won the Young Enterprise North East Company of the Year final and as a result the young people would progress to the next stage of the competition which was the regional North East Yorkshire and Humber final. The competition was a chance for young people to set up their own business from scratch and compete against other teams. Their product was a children’s book focused on educating young readers on serious topics such as the pandemic, mental health, and climate change.
· The Increased Opportunities Committee had completed the Free Flow Project and boxes sent out to schools with a poster and covering letter. The project aimed to change the current practice by sending each high school, middle school, and special school a free box of sanitary products with a poster to display with the recommendation that the products were readily available in female toilets.
· The Equalities Committee had analysed their findings from the survey to students and were working with school improvement officers to look at developing training and support for teachers about the effects of everyday sexism on their students.
· The BAME Committee had completed their video with the Digital Voice Project, which was about young asylum seekers and refugees living in North Tyneside. The launch of the video and panel discussion was being planned and invitations sent out once the arrangements were confirmed.
· The Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Committee had consulted with the Authority’s Director of Public Health and officer from Safeguarding and Children’s Services about North Tyneside’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Strategy for the next five years, which was focused on supporting children, young people and their families to manage whatever life brought.
· Member of UK Youth Parliament Abi and the Young Mayor had joined a Head Teachers Briefing and gave a presentation about the six youth council committees, detailing what they had been working on and how they would like schools to help by supporting the various initiatives, which included passing on to students the outstanding I’m an NT Quaran-teen Survivor wristband and Z card as soon as possible; ensuring the Free Flow Products were in the girl’s bathrooms; for schools to purchase the children’s books, joining the Eco School Green Flag programme if not already done; sharing the BAME Committee’s film with students and ensuring teachers took part in Equalities and Diversity Training. Also, by working with the school improvement team, it was hoped that schools would continue to improve what was offered to pupils.
· Youth Councillors had completed 3 sessions of the Reporters Academy Confidence Training. The workshops had covered Public Speaking, Research Techniques and Conducting Interviews, important in helping them to develop their personal and professional skills.
The Elected Mayor thanked the Young Mayor for her update and congratulated her and all the young people for their valuable work and achievements in the borough, regionally and nationally. These accolades were echoed by the Cabinet Members present.