• Home Page
• -
• Leisure and culture
• -
• Youth and play service
• -
• Participation

• The Participation Team 
• Knowsley Schools' Council
• Knowsley Youth Parliament
• Knowsley Children's Parliament
• UK Youth Parliament
• Youth Opportunity Fund - Big Deal Grant
• Youth Forums

 
The Participation Team
We support the development of three main areas of work:

• to engage young people in the democratic process
• Knowsley School's Council (13 to 15 years)
• Knowsley Children's Parliament (9 to 13 years)

By providing a framework by which children and young people can be part of the democratic process, they are empowered to have their say on issues which affect them. The structure links with primary schools, secondary schools, support schools, the Youth and Play Service, the wider community and other service providers in Knowsley.

back to top

 
Knowsley Schools' Council (KSC)
KSC has 56 representatives between ages 13 and 15 from secondary schools across Knowsley. They are elected by their peers and sit on the council for a two year term, attending meetings every eight weeks.  During their service, they actively participate in council business, representing young people at various high-profile meetings and events including:

• Knowsley Partnership Executive
• Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership
• Community Area Forums
• Conferences

The KSC is one of the formal mechanisms involving young people in the democratic process. It is fully accepted as part of the decision making process of Knowsley Council. Members of the Schools' Council serve on a number of committees, sub-groups and consultation panels and have the opportunity to shadow cabinet members to find out how key decisions are made.

back to top

 
Knowsley Youth Parliament (KYP)
KYP is an open forum aimed at 13 to 20 year olds.  The KYP is made up of young people from youth forum groups, Knowsley Schools' Council, youth clubs and any young people interested in having a voice in their community.  The young people can bring forward issues from their schools, colleges, work or community to be discussed. The meetings are held every six weeks and the issues raised are fed into the Community Area Forums, where chief officers and elected members formally hear issues.

Members of the Youth Parliament also provide peer support to members of the Schools' Council and Children's Parliament and have the opportunity to be volunteer support workers with the Participation Team.  Volunteers are involved in the planning, support and delivery of work and provide a positive contribution to the Participation Team.

back to top

 
Knowsley Children's Parliament (KCP)
KCP is funded through the Children's Fund and is aimed at children and young people between 9 and 13 years of age.  The KCP offers children and young people the opportunity to have a voice, be listened to and to influence decision-making and service delivery through active participation. The KCP engages children and young people from primary  schools (years 5 and 6) and the transition age group in secondary schools (years 7 and 8).

The children come together to discuss matters highlighted as important to them and to make recommendations.  Issues are then fed to the Children's Fund Services, Knowsley Council and other service providers, to influence how services are delivered in the borough.

KCP develops links with the Play Service Network to create an open forum and engage children and young people who may not have access to formal decision making structures, especially those who are hard to reach from the wider community.

back to top

 
UK Youth Parliament (UKYP)
The UKYP aims to give young people between the ages of 11 and 18 a voice, which will be heard and listened to by local and national government, providers of services for young people and other agencies that have an interest in the views and needs of young people.  The UKYP is an independent national body, which seeks to represent no party political view and is therefore solely issue based.

Once a year, the Participation Team holds elections for a representative from the Youth Parliament to sit on the UKYP.  The representative is elected as a Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) and is supported by three deputies, who feed issues from the borough to be heard on this national forum.

For further information, contact the Participation Team on 0151 443 5332.

back to top

 
Youth Opportunity Fund - Big Deal Grant scheme
The Big Deal Grant scheme is run by and for Knowsley's young people with money from the Government's Youth Opportunity fund (YOF). The aim of the fund is to support the Government's response to Youth Matters: next steps, which sets out the vision for empowering young people, giving them somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to. This gives young people choice and influence over services and facilities available to them by enabling them to spend money where they feel it is most needed in their local area. It awards a maximum of £5000 per grant.

Visit the Youth Opportunity Fund pages for more information or contact 0151 443 5320.

back to top

 
Youth Forums
Knowsley Youth and Play Service supports the development of Youth Forums in each area of the borough. Youth Forums feed into the Knowsley Youth Parliament and the formal engagement structure in Knowsley.

Youth Forums provide a less formal avenue into participation for young people. Any young person who is interested in getting involved in their community can join a youth forum. Youth Forums are aimed at young people aged 11 and over. The Youth Forum groups have three different functions:

• Identifying issues of concern and taking action to address them
• Acting as a consultation body who agencies contact to be invovled in consultation
• To deliver consultation to other young people for the benefit of themselves or on behalf of other agencies.

For further information, contact the youth work area teams.

back to top