Review of Local Offer Consultation - Annual Report 2014-2015 : Views of young people The views of young people about what is working well and what needs to be improved about the Local Offer have been incorporated into the other sections of this report. Below is a summary of their comments, which were gathered through road testing sessions at local colleges, one to one and group work with young people known to the Children and Young People Disability Service through the Buddy Group Youth Club and Life Skills Project. 1. Accessibility and content 74% of young people asked said it was either very easy or easy to find information and 26% said it was not easy to find information. 60% of young people said the information provided was helpful. Young people said they would ask the following people to help them find information on the website or help them to understand the information better: o Someone in the family o Friend o Someone at school or college o Support Worker o Social Worker/Family Worker o Youth Worker o Someone else They would prefer information on the Local Offer website presented as follows: o Videos o Pictures/photos o Written information o Other ways (read it to you) Young people would use the following to look at the Local Offer website: o Computer/laptop was the preferred option followed by o Tablet/ipad o Phone The best ways for the Council to let young people know about the Local Offer. Preferred options were as follows: o Posters and leaflets in places like Youth Clubs, Schools, Leisure Centres o Facebook o Email 1
o o o Someone telling you about it Twitter Other ways public transport and newspapers Other information we should include: o How to live as an adult o Advice about getting a job, details of any jobs nearby o More about apprenticeships o Add more advice to the website o More activities that suit each age group o Leisure activities particularly for 18+o Clubs with people similar to you o After school clubs o Sensory places o Garden centres, cafes, restaurants We also asked young people specifically about what information they would like us to include in the preparing for adulthood section of the Local Offer. Please see section 5 below for further details. 2. What young people said they liked about the website It was easy to use The website has lots of information The information was good It s useful to find lots of information in one place There were lots of different activities to explore The website had lots of ideas The layout and presentation in different sections Finding information by category It s good for things to do I liked all of it. Because I looked and it showed you education, health and care plans I liked how it was presented and everything was in order I didn t know about the Odeon autism screenings The information was very simple and understood my needs 2
2. What young people didn t like It doesn t recognise words in the keyword search if you spell them incorrectly It looks boring white background Not enough pictures and too much text It was a bit difficult to find information Activities for age groups should be made clearer There were not any videos, which could be useful There was a lot of information to read Found the website a bit confusing to find your way round It didn t have some information they were looking for e.g. working with animals 4. Young people s ideas to make it better Enable the website to recognise words with incorrect spellings Have more pictures/ drawings and symbols to make it interesting and easier to understand Have less writing and an audio option Add videos to more information Have a search bar with pictures/symbols Make it brighter colours, not so much white background Make it less complicated easier to understand Have more photos of young people having fun like on a rollercoaster Less writing, a thing you can click on so it reads it for you (For Colleges)...include photos of the outside, have a video tour of the café, the lifts to use if you are disabled etc. More colours to help dyslexic people Put pictures or people s drawings to make it look more pretty 3
5. Content of the preparing for adulthood section We also asked young people some specific questions about the content of the preparing for adulthood section of the Local Offer. Young people s suggested headings for this section included: Education: school/college, university info, learning Employment and training: help getting a job, help to get work, training for a job Accommodation: where you live, getting a house, help getting a house, help with living Independent living skills: being independent, how to look after myself, growing up living skills Health and wellbeing: being healthy, getting healthy, not being ill Social opportunities: getting the opportunity to go out, out and about, making and seeing friends, opportunities for people to meet others Information young people would like included in the Preparing for Adulthood section: Education: studying at college and university Courses available at different colleges, how long they last, days and times, facilities, information on campuses Applying for courses Performing arts colleges, landscaping, animal management How much it costs and financial support available Transport, travel training to get there independently Advice/counselling: relationships, bullying, peer pressure, making friends, personal problems, meeting deadlines Accommodation Help and support available (LSAs) Taster days Information about the staff Qualifications and skills will have at the end Equipment I will need Employment and training Careers advice/how to get a job Apprenticeships Mentors/job coaching Advice on finding work experience, taster days 4
Vacancy board/finding local jobs/job centre Online CV service, how to write a CV Help with applications Help and support preparing for interviews/interview techniques and practice (skype) Telephone helpline How to travel to work Places to do volunteering List of different jobs you can do/ideas of jobs Sort of wages you can expect Skills and qualifications you need What I will have to do in a job Film and media related jobs Ways to help me stay focused and not get anxious Accommodation: Housing options renting, buying, sharing/who I might be able to live with Specialist housing Places that rent for under 18s Options other than Frogmore Flats in the area Supported living whether I qualify How much will I pay Allowance for people I live with Financial support for bills Help with moving Independent living: Money management/budgeting/banking/benefits Travel training, learning to use transport, buses, getting to work, getting a car, learning to drive/driving instructors Cooking buying food, sharing recipes, advice on nutrition, shopping smart Chores cleaning, doing the laundry Health and safety Information and advice about drugs and alcohol, Surviving on my own/practical life skills Organising time and getting to work Doctors/dentists appointments Pensions 5
Health and well being How to find local doctor/how to book appointment Dentists, opticians in the area How to contact a counsellor/mental health advice Support groups/who I can talk to Forum for special offers (food) Nearest gym Sports activities, keep fit classes, including swimming, table tennis, horse riding Leisure centres Services or clubs who provide information on keeping fit/online plan for personal fitness Adult health services NHS Hospitals Sexual health advice, drug and alcohol advice Nutrition advice/healthy eating Social opportunities Discounts for entertainments such as cinema, museums and theatre for young people with additional needs Meeting for social groups of own age/clubs to meet new people Interacting with people/how to make friends Free taster sessions on activities Keeping safe online such as Face book, Twitter, Instagram, Skype Activities/places for 14-18 year olds Under 18s nightclub/disco Volunteering Holidays Sports activities including: local dancing classes, gym, swimming, running clubs, football, bowling, horse riding, rollerblading, ice skating Free sports activities/taster sessions African drumming classes Museums, cinema, theatre Art workshops, model making, photography Days out Thorpe Park, Legoland, Camp Mohawk etc Pubs or cafes young people could go to, restaurants Youth Clubs, Life Skills Project, Buddy Group Youth Club Skate parks, parks, theme parks Place to visit animals 6