What you told us!

Results of June Young Voice Survey

In June, nearly 200 young people took part in our survey to help us find a Commissioner for Children and Young People in Waltham Forest. This is someone who would promote and protect the rights and interests of anyone under 18 in our borough.

WHAT YOU TOLD US
You had some strong ideas on what this person should do and be like. Here are some of the key things that you told us.

1) You wanted somebody who:
- Lives in Waltham Forest
- Understands how to listen to and work with children and young peopel
- Understands the problems that young people face
- Have spoken up for young people in the past

2) Some of the things you though the Commissioner should do are:
- Help young people understand their rights
- Find out what it's like to be a young person in Waltham Forest
- Make sure the views and priorities of young people are heard by the people who make decisions
- Promote the image of children and young people in the media and local community

3) You also told us that you wanted an adult and a young person to work together in this role. This was because you felt young people should be involved in all the decisions that the Commissioner takes.

WHAT WE'VE DONE
Because you took the time to take part in the survey, we have a clear idea of what we want from Children and Young People's Commissioner.

1) Involved Young People
Some of the young people who took part in the survey also volunteered to help us to recruit the Commissioner. So, we have been working together to try and make this happen as quickly as possible. These young people have written the job description for the Commissioner, and they will also be on the interview panel where the adult commissioner will be chosen.

Also, the Council, who will be employing the Commissioner, has agreed that its a great idea to have a 'adult and young person team', so we will be recruiting for both in the next few months.

2) Somebody Local
The young people involved have written and designed an advert that will published across Waltham Forest . We won't be publishing it anywhere else because you told us you wanted someone who lived in Waltham Forest and understood the problems facing young people there.

3) Getting the right person for you!
We wrote the Commissioner's job application form using the things you told us - like the skills they should have, and what would make them the right person for the job. This means that you have played a big role in deciding what type of person we will recruit. One of the suggestions you made was that a teacher would be a great person for the job - so we will be sending the application forms out to all the schools so that any interested teachers can apply!

We will keep you updated as to how we get on with the recruitment - so watch this space. Also, we will be sending out our next survey shortly, so look out for that too!

Finally, if you are not already a member of Young Voice, and want to take part in the panel, you can find out more and register by visiting Young Voice

Results of March Young Voice Survey

In March and April, members of the Young Voice panel took part in a survey on what it's like to live in Waltham Forest.

Over 200 of you responded and this is what you told us:

- 62% of you are satisfied with your local area as a place to live
- 82% of you think that people from different backgrounds get on well together
- 26% of you said that you were at least a bit unsafe on public transport

You also said that:

- Crime in your local area was the thing that worried you most, followed by terrorism in the world, hunger in poor countries and money.

Finally, you told us:

- 65% of you had heard of ForestFlava and over 46% of you had visited it! So, make sure you encourage your friends to visit the site!

We'll feedback more findings soon, and over the next few weeks we'll let you know what we're doing about some of the things you've said would help to make your lives better, and your local areas safer.