Involvement project - our Charter!

We have a new Young People's Charter, now a third updated version that explains what you can expect from Connexions.  Young people from across our region have always worked with us on this (it has previously been called an Agreement) and a new group of young people worked with us to develop the new Charter.  We also produced a matching leaflet that includes the charter, where our YPIPs (Young People's Information Points) are as well as general information about Connexions.  The group worked on writing the Charter so it said what we all wanted it to say and also content of the leaflet, so we would get the right message across.  We also worked together on the design making sure it would be appealing.  From the new design style we then developed postcards and little cards and all these new products have proved very popular.

Why do we want you to be involved?

We want to make sure young people can be really involved in the design, delivery, management and evaluation of the Connexions Service as it develops.

So we have identified some different ways in which young people can get involved in Connexions. The kind of things you could do are:

• Working with the Connexions to comment on the design and contents of leaflets
• Planning the re-decoration of the Connexions Centres so that young people feel more welcome and comfortable in them
• Coming along to meetings where decisions are made and giving us your views and also representing the views of other young people
• Telling us what you think of our services
• Interviewing staff

If you think you would be interested in any of the above or perhaps you have your own ideas of something you would like to do, contact your local Connexions Centre where staff will be able to offer you support and training and also make sure that your involvement is fun!! You can also contact us through the website, click here.

Here are some Connexions projects that young people have been involved in:

New Bath Connexions Centre

We recently opened the doors to our new centre at 28 Southgate Street, Bath.  Young people from B&NES worked with us on the refurbishment of the premises to make sure we had a  centre that young people would want to visit.  Hayley, Jo and Matt worked on the project and also were part of the launch.  They were interviewed by local newspapers and radio stations, talking about the Connexions and services for young people.

Radio adverts

Young people worked with us on a radio advertising campaign with radio station Vibe 101.  The two adverts are aimed at helping young people who have just let school.  They let you know that if you have taken exams, or if you haven't, Connexions can help you work out what to do next and also with any life issues you might have, too. 

The young people looked at scripts and found out how the world of local radio works.  Jayesh, right , is the star of one of the adverts and found the experience very rewarding. "Recording the ads was really good fun. It's really important young people know what help there is  for them when they have just left school" he said.

New information leaflets

We developed a new information leaflet with a group of young people.  The group were concerned that they should try to represent all young people to make sure the leaflet would appeal to everyone.  We listened to the group's views as they looked at design ideas and what should be written on the leaflet.  The group said that they felt it was very important that they were asked to develop a leaflet that is also aimed at them so we could get  it right.  They enjoyed being involved and found it interesting, we are all very pleased with the result.

You can see previous involvement projects further down this page - click here

Website Front page

A group of young people from DAFBY (Democratic Action for B&NES Youth) worked with us on developing the new front page for our website. At focus group sessions, including a workshop with web developers Focus New Media, the young people learned how websites are developed. They assessed various design ideas and thought about what content is needed to develop a page that would appeal to a wide range of young people, encouraging them to use the site.

Young Peoples' Agreement

Young people have been involved in writing the Agreement right from the start.  The Agreement is very important as it makes clear what we can do for you and what you can expect from us at Connexions.  A group of young people worked on the very first version two years ago and it has been updated since, in consultation with young people.  Every time we look at it, we will ask you as it's your Agreement.

Click here to view the Connexions West of England Young Person's Agreement

Website Development

Nick, Ben and Lee, who did some
final testing on the site

When we completely redeveloped our website young people were involved in developing the design and the content.

The project included a workshop where young people could find out about website development and understand how sites are built.  We ran focus group sessions looking at different design ideas for the opening pages and the various information pages. The designs were worked on until everyone was happy. 

We also looked at the content to decide what was needed and how it should be presented. We ran testing sessions too to make sure young people of different ages and abilities would find the site useful and easy to use.

Posters and cards

When we decided it was time for new posters and cards, we asked young people to work with us.  Over several sessions we looked at different styles and design ideas as well as what text was needed to get the right message across.  We thought about what would appeal across a wide range of ages and in different situations.

Business planning

Young people have reguarly worked with Connexions West of England to plan how the service develops over each following year. We have consulted with many focus groups of young people about a range of issues we thought needed looking at. Following their feedback changes are made so Connexions is providing young people with what they want and need.

Interviewing for new Personal Advisers

Young people have also regularly been invovled in interviewing for new Connexions staff.  They have sat on interview panels when we have been recruiting new Personal Advisers.  Young people have asked questions and given feedback at the interviews so we can be sure of taking on new Personal Advisers that young people feel are right for the job.  

Connexions centre refurbishments

Launching the new Bristol centre

Our centres in Bath, Bristol, Weston-super Mare, Filton and Kingswood have all been refurbished.  Young people were involved in these projects, so we could be sure that the centres would become places you would be happy to visit.

The groups studied how the centres were used, came up with ideas for the decoration and consulted with a professional interiors company.  As a result the centres have become more welcoming and friendly environments for young people.

Leaflets

We decided we needed a range of leaflets that covered some important issues that affect young people.  The leaflets cover Health, Money, Housing, Relationships, Careers and Volunteering.  Charlotte and Charlotte helped us launch them so people would know this information was available.

Careers	Health	Housing	Money	Relationships

You too can get involved in projects like this!

If working on projects like this has grabbed your interest, then contact us.  You can get involved the easy way right now - you can just comment on this website or any of our materials you might have seen. You could also let us know what you think of Connexions click here.

Look at our Contacts section and our 1 Big Database for lots of useful organisations, links and telephone numbers on a whole range of issues that affect young people.