The Youth Activity Fund Consultation provides the opportunity for young people to share with Community Committees what activities they would like in the area they live.
The survey ran from October 2023 to March 2024, which young people could complete online.
As a key objective for the Community Committees is engage with a wide variety of young people and reflects the diversity of the city, an additional survey was created for young people that have special educational needs & disabilities.
SEND Youth Activity Fund consultation
The survey received 75 responses, and responses from the survey was fedback to the relevant Community Committees, this feedback along with feedback from the wider survey will inform the way that the Community Committees spend their allocated Youth Activity Fund budget in 2024/25.
Localised conversations took place regarding the Youth Summits in 2023, in accordance with the Children’s Champions and Children & Families Sub Groups. As we appreciate and understand that each community is different, the arrangements for the summits were worked through, using a collaborative approach and progressed by officers in the Communities Team, the Voice & Influence Team and the Children’s Champions, specifically taking into account, equality, diversity & inclusion.
A key objective for the Community Committees is that we engaged with a wide variety of young people and that this engagement reflected the diversity of the city. With this in mind the Communities Team attended the SEND Youth Summit, alongside the Voice & Influence Team, to consult with young people that have special education needs & disabilities.
At the SEND Youth Summit which took place on the 14th November 2023, the Community Committees engaged with 36 young people that have special educational needs & disabilities.
SEND Youth Activity Fund Consultation Survey Recommendations
The consultation surveys submitted by young people that have special educational needs and disabilities, suggest the following Youth Activity Fund priorities for 2024/25:
- youth activities delivered locally.
- youth activities delivered either inside or outside.
- majority of provision taking place during the school holidays, or on a weekend.
- ensure any funded activities are fun, active and creative.
Specific feedback re: SEND provision in Leeds included, “holiday provision for SEND kids is a real issue in Leeds” and “there is so little for teenagers with SEND to do in the holidays”.
Popular activities included:
- Sports (football, netball & basketball in particular).
- Dance.
- Cooking.
- Other popular activities included music and arts & crafts.
RJC Dance Camps Dance Camps are a very common theme amongst the feedback from young people, as there was over 20 separate comments re: both the Summer camps, as well as the October camps. Comments included, “I have enjoyed this week because I like dance”, “has been really entertaining and everyone has been themselves”, “the dance is easy and very vibrant and I'm excited to perform” and “I have enjoyed meeting new people”.
It is recommended that any projects funded by the Community Committees from the Youth Activity Fund, focus on these key themes and activities above in 2024/25.
To ensure that the Community Committees can make an informed decision when being asked whether they support funding for projects from its Youth Activity Fund, the Communities Team will advise the committee if the project meets the priorities identified by young people who have special educational needs & disabilities, as a result of consultation that has taken place.