New mental health website for children and young people

This week is Children's Mental Health Awareness Week and a new Mind You website for children and young people (www.mindyou.org.uk) has been launched to promote mental health and emotional wellbeing in South Gloucestershire.

It has separate sections for children, young people, parents and carers and professionals and was designed with input from local children and young people. It suggests practical ways to improve their wellbeing and guidance on where to go if they need more support.

Volunteers needed at Brockeridge Youth Club

Are you thinking of working with young people? Or do you have interests or skills to share, such as sports, craft or gardening? If so, Brockeridge Youth Club would like to hear from you.

The club is looking for people willing to help for a couple of hours on some Tuesday or Thursday evenings. It's a thriving group offering fun activities but unfortunately the youth leader has to turn young people away because of the lack of adults. Free training and references given, the hours are 6.30-8.30pm on Tuesdays and 7-9pm on Thursdays.

To find out more email volunteering@southernbrooks.org.uk or phone Catherine on 01454 868 570.

Special Needs and Disability advice

Supportive Parents provides the Special Educational Needs & Disability Information, Advice and Support (SENDIAS) Service in South Gloucestershire, as well as Bristol and North Somerset.  They are an independent organisation offering free, confidential and impartial advice to parents, children or any young person aged 16 – 25, about SEND. You can find out more on their website.

Have your say on activities for young people

Are you a young person or part of an organisation who is or would like to be involved in providing positive activities for young people?

If so, now is the time to have your say on how South Glos Council should support activities for young people. You can find out more on their consultation website. There are three separate surveys for young people, the wider community (including community and statutory organisations) and positive activity providers (current or potential youth work providers).

The deadline for comments is Wednesday 15th November and a final decision will be made next March.

Find out more about fostering

South Glos are currently looking for foster carers for every background to care for children and young people who have had a difficult start in life. You can find out more at a Fostering Information Evening in Yate on Thursday 3 August. It runs from 7pm to 9pm at the Badminton Road Council Offices.

For more information, call the fostering team on 01454 866423, email fostering@southglos.gov.uk or visit www.southglos.gov.uk/fostering

Many young people not registered to vote - but there's still time

Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June.

New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 – with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually.

Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary consituency, said:

"This election is about the type of country we want to live in, a chance to change Britain's future. Young people will be living with the results for many years to come. It's vital that they get a say in that future"

"Whatever your age, if you haven't already registered, you need to do so before 11:59pm on 22 May if you want to be able to vote in the General Election on 8 June. You can do it online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote - you may need to have your National Insurance number at hand to prove who you are"

Have your say on children's mental health strategy

South Glos Council is asking for your views on a strategy for Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing.

They are looking for views from a whole range of people - service users, their families, carers, the general public, current and potential future providers, care workers, health partners and other stakeholders. You can find out more and have your say online until 6th December.

Reminder - Youth Club now open

Frampton Cotterell Youth Club is now up and running at the Brockeridge Centre!

Years 7 & 8 can go along on Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and for Year 9 and upwards it’s Thursdays 7pm to 9pm. Both sessions cost only 50p and will give young people a chance to talk and do fun activities.

The youth club is open 48 weeks per year. It closed for the first two weeks in August and will also close from 19th December - 2nd January. For more information call 01454 868570 or 0117 9693811, email Loriramsay@southernbrooks.org.uk or see the Facebook page.

Foster Care fortnight

Foster Care Fortnight started on Monday. If you think you could make a difference in child's life, you can find out more at a drop-in session being held at the Badminton Road council offices on Tuesday 24th May from 7pm to 9pm. Social workers and existing foster carers will be able to answer your questions and tell you what it's really like to foster. For further information visit www.fostersouthglos.org.uk, call 0800 2061443 or email fostering@southglos.gov.uk

Calling young archaeologists

Are you - or do you know - someone aged 16 to 18 who is interested in archaeology?

As a result of a bequest from the late Mick Aston, the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society (BGAS) will provide bursaries of up to £300 per year to support young people living in Gloucestershire, including South Gloucestershire, and Bristol, aged between 16 and 18, to undertake archaeology work based placements.

You can find out more on the BGAS website.

Youth provision latest

The working group comprised of representatives from Frampton Cotterell, Westerleigh and Winterbourne Parish Councils agreed the spec for the contract to run the Youth Club at their last meeting. Frampton Cotterell Parish Council, who will hold the contract with the provider, has since approved the working group's proposal. Three organisations that provide youth services in and around South Glos are being invited to tender by 10 December.

Threat to youth service funding

The Conservative council is consulting on restricting youth service funding to directly funded sessions in Priority Neighbourhoods and special needs only. This would mean there would be no youth provision money available from Area Forums, which means that all the youth provision given grants over the last 3 years will have to find alternative means of funding to keep going from April 2016. Have your say on the South Glos website before 11th January.

Concerned about abuse?

If you are concerned that a child, young person or adult is being abused, you can find out what to do on the new South Gloucestershire Joint Safeguarding Board Website. This brings together information that was previously held in different places. The clear message is if in doubt, speak out - and the website tells you how to do that.

New Youth Cafe session for LBGTQ

There's a new monthly Youth Cafe session for young people in the area aged 14-19 who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or Questioning. It will run at the Armadillo in Yate from 7pm to 9 pm on the last Sunday of every month, starting on Sunday 26 April. To find out more ring 01454 869 441, email info@yatearmadillo.co.uk or go to www.facebook.com/groups/LGBTQYate.

Have your say on support for fostered young people

South Glos is asking for your views on a new policy to enable young people who have been fostered to continue to get support once they turn 18.

The policy will set out how to extend the fostering arrangements, what it means financially for the former foster carer and the regulations and support required. Several different options are proposed and the council would like to hear your views.

Further information is available on the consultation website: https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/stayingput2015/consultationHome - you have until 15th May to respond.

Holiday activities in local libraries

Once again our local libraries are running activities in the school holidays for children. They include craft sessions, Horrid Henry creative writing sessions and story and rhyme time for younger children. More details are available on the South Glos website.

Focus Team backs local young people

At last night’s Frome Vale Area Forum, your Focus Team voted to protect youth funding for the Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh area and also to support a new project at Transition Skate.

Following the controversial closure of the Brockeridge Youth Club at the end of last May, Frampton Cotterell Parish Council has had to hand back more than £3,000 they were granted by the Area Forum to provide the service throughout 2014/15. Your Focus Team won the backing of their colleagues to earmark this money for youth provision in 2015/16 in Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh, rather than being spent elsewhere.

Dave Hockey said, “Having been closed for nearly a year, it’s going to take a real effort to kickstart the new club. This is likely to need some outreach work to make contact with young people when they are out and about around our villages. Frampton Cotterell Parish Council has invested in local young people since the Brockeridge Youth Club was opened in May 2000. The working group was hugely impressed by what we saw at Chipping Sodbury Youth Club, I hope it’s opened my Parish Council colleagues’ eyes to what can be achieved and that they will put in a really strong application to make best use of the funding that we agreed to earmark.”

Claire Young said, “Last year I investigated where the young people from my ward were going for youth activities, so I know the Brockeridge Youth Club was attended by people from Coalpit Heath as well as Frampton Cotterell. It would be fantastic if outreach work could help the young people in the surrounding rural areas too.”

Councillors also voted to give £3750 to Transition Skate, based in the old Fromeside Youth Centre, to run a project working with local schools and providing a mentoring service. The project would engage with young people with challenging behaviour or at risk of being excluded.

Appeal for people to consider fostering teenagers

South Glos is looking for people to become foster carers, particularly those interested in fostering teenagers.

Last year they successfully placed 141 children with foster families but they currently have 86 teenage children in their care and that's increasing year-on-year.

Foster carers come from all age groups and backgrounds. There are many people who would make excellent foster carers but count themselves out simply because they think they won’t be eligible.

The council will be holding an open evening at 7pm on Thursday 12 February at the Badminton Road offices in Yate for anyone interested in becoming a foster carer. Alternatively you can contact the fostering team by visiting www.fostersouthglos.org.uk or calling 0800 206 1443.

Youth survey deadline extended

Are you aged between 11 and 19 and living in Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath, Iron Acton or Westerleigh? Do you have views on the sort of youth service you'd like to see in our villages? Now's your chance to share them and make sure you get the service you want. The survey is now staying open until the 31st January - so if you thought you'd missed your chance, don't worry, there's still time.

Reminder - have your say on youth service

There's still time for young people aged 11-19 and living in Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath, Iron Acton or Westerleigh to say what they want and need for a youth service.  You have until 21st January 2015 to complete the survey online.