Young Peoples Advocacy Project

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Supporting Young People with Additional Needs

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• OUR VISION
• To make a difference in the lives of young people
  with extra needs by being alongside them

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Pilot Project funded by Bright New Futures
  Initiative for 2 years
• Partnership involving Education, Health,
  Voluntary Organisation, Parents and Young People
• Testing 3 models of advocacy

• Peer advocacy
• Group advocacy
• One-to-one advocacy delivered by paid worker

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Peer Advocacy is giving someone your own age
  help because you are in the same situation being
  at school rather than an adult who doesnt
  remember what it is like
• A Peer Advocate encourages, gives moral support,
  is someone to talk to

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Process
• Recruitment and Selection
• Training
• Referrals
• Matching
• Peer advocate team meetings and ongoing support

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project
Benefits to young people getting advocacy

• Improved confidence
• We talked a lot. She was a good listener. My
  confidence grew. It helped for my school review
  meeting, how to get through it without ending up
  in tears

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project
Benefits to young people getting advocacy

• Greater Independence
• A friend and I hung out by the swimming pool in
  the holidays. We wouldnt have done that before

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project
Benefits to young people getting advocacy

• Being included
• The best bit was going on the outing. I had
  been to Pizza Hut before but just with my mum or
  an adult

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project
Benefits to young people getting advocacy

• Someone to speak up for you
• I feel I do speak up for myself. But when my
  Peer Advocate spoke up for me I got a better
  reaction

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Benefits to Peer Advocates
• Greater understanding
• I realised that other people arent just
  trouble makers that there are reasons for their
  behaviour
• I never knew that young people in Learning
  Support learned in a different way. I gained a
  lot more understanding of what it is like for
  them in High School

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Benefits to Peer Advocates
• Active participation in planning and delivery of
  project
• We talked to the 1st and 2nd years about the
  project in their social education classes

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Benefits to Peer Advocates
• Learning to work as a team
• I had fun on the training weekend. It helped
  us to get to know each other and to bond as a
  group

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Benefits to Peer Advocates
• Confidence and skill development
• I benefited a lot from the training weekend
  and feel more confident
• I also gained in confidence as we went in to
  some classes on our own to talk about the
  project. I was surprised by how the class
  interacted and asked questions

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Key features
• Partnership approach
• Creating an inclusive school where everyone is
  valued is everyones business
• Commitment from all involved
• Active involvement of young people

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Young Peoples Advocacy Project

• Last words
• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
  committed citizens can change the world. Indeed
  its the only thing that ever has
• Margaret Mead
• Cultural anthropologist