Child Friendly Redbridge Updates

The Child Friendly Redbridge partnership has spent the last eighteen months talking to over 2,000 children and young people across the borough including primary and secondary school children, toddlers and parents at children centres and college students. We visited schools, went along to youth clubs, sat in on play sessions with early years and consulted with the Youth Council and our Child Friendly Redbridge Ambassadors.

We then went back and shared with them what we had learned and asked them which of the issues they had raised we should prioritise. In February 2021, Unicef UK and the Partnership asked the children and young people in Redbridge to vote for themes (or “badges”) that are most important to them. The badges they voted for were: Safe and Secure, Healthy and Place, which includes having more positive things to do and taking care of the environment.

Once we were clear on what children and young people wanted to focus on, we spent the summer developing an Action Plan to try and address some of the issues that they raised. We did this by creating a lesson plan and a survey with a local school (John Bramston Primary), having online workshops with older children including our SEND Youth Forum and holding focus groups with parents at children’s centres.

The result of all this work is the Child Friendly Redbridge Action Plan. This went to the Council’s Cabinet in December 2021 and was approved by Councillors. Two of our Child Friendly Redbridge Ambassadors shared statements about why the Action Plan was important to them. You can see the Plan being approved and the statements being read out at Cabinet here.

We want to share the Action Plan widely because we want to let children and young people in Redbridge know what about the commitment we have made to them. We want them to know that we listened to what they said and we acted on it. We want them to know that their voice and experience is important and should be at the heart of everything the Partnership does.

You can find the report and Action Plan that went to Cabinet here.

Look out also for a fun and child-friendly launch of the plan over the coming days - we want to make sure all children and young people across Redbridge get to hear about the plan and know how they can get involved.

You can find out more about the Child Friendly Redbridge programme here and the people involved here: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/childfriendly/child-friendly-redbridge/

You can also follow what we are doing on the following Instagram accounts: @redbridgeyouth and @redbridgecouncil and via Twitter @redbridgelive

Please do follow, like and share using the hashtag #childfriendlyredbridge #youngredbridge or #cfr

Child Friendly Communities is a UNICEF UK programme that works with councils to put children’s rights into practice

The programme aims to create communities in the UK where all children –whether they are living in care, using a children’s centre, or simply visiting their local library –have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit from, the local decisions, services and spaces that shape their lives

The Child Friendly Redbridge Partnership is made up of Redbridge Council, Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure, schools, colleges, youth groups, children centres, community groups, the police and health partners (NELFT, CCG and BHRUT).

The Partnership has been working together to listen to children and young people across the borough and ask them two things: what is life like in Redbridge for them? What would they like to see changed or improved?

The work of the Child Friendly Redbridge Partnership over the next few years will be about listening deeply to what children, young people and their families say, and then working together with them to create solutions.

Welcome to our virtual space and look out for lots more news about what we are working on.

You can find out more about the Child Friendly Redbridge programme here and the people involved here: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/childfriendly/child-friendly-redbridge/

You can also follow what we are doing on the following Instagram accounts: @redbridgeyouth and @redbridgecouncil and via Twitter @redbridgelive

Please do follow, like and share using the hashtag #childfriendlyredbridge #youngredbridge or #cfr