The Young Inspector’s scheme is a project that allows you to have the opportunity to review the services that directly impact your life. The scheme aims to provide this opportunity for Care Leavers aged 18 – 25. With the help of apprentices, the Young Inspectors will produce projects that impact and reflect the experience of other Care Leavers within Kent. The scheme aims to target the accommodation in which care leavers live between the ages of 18 – 21 as the pilot phase of the project is introduced.

As well as producing projects of interest, the Young Inspectors will be testing how well different areas of the service works, celebrating in the success of positive practice and identifying areas of improvement. This means that you as volunteers will be at the centre of changing and developing policies that directly impact yours and others lives, allowing your voice to be heard. This also means that any concerns you may have can be directly acted upon by the appropriate people, making a real difference to the service. The projects overall aims are to reduce the amount of evictions, reduce the amount of warnings and increase the amount of Young people over the age of 21 living independently, and needs your help to make these goals a reality.  

There are four methods of inspection that Young Inspectors will do, they are:

Mystery – Inspecting a service in secret.

Observation – People are told that you are coming, often watching how people work within their service.

Questionnaire – Usually sent out with little to none face to face contact.

Focus Groups – Small group meetings, asking direct questions.

All forms of inspection also follow the same inspection process which has 5 aspects:

Prepare – Meet with Project Lead, plan inspection, meet with Young Inspectors.

Do – Complete the Inspection.

Reflect and Report – Feedback meetings.

Action plan – Short term, mid-term, long term goals are set.

Review – Record changes and outcomes, re-inspection in 6 months.

This is the perfect opportunity to have your voice heard and make a real difference for Children and Young people throughout the county and encourage more people to speak up and make their voices heard. You can also receive a volunteer accreditation, which is a huge CV boost! The scheme offers continued support throughout with regular meetings taking place every 6-8 weeks to discuss future projects as well as progress on current projects. Once you have completed a successful period of volunteering you will also receive a gift voucher!

For further information about applying to become a volunteer, click here.

Click here to view an application form.

All Colleges and Universities offer the opportunity to go and view the campus and facilities by organising open days. These are a great way to familiarise yourself with your new potential surroundings. Often current students will offer tours where you can be shown all the areas of the college or university that you will use the most so that when you start it isn’t unfamiliar. Open days are a great way to get more information that will help you make the all-important decision. You will have the opportunity to ask students and tutors about your chosen courses and what life at the college/university is really like.

Top Tips!

• Make sure you are booked in for a tour of the campus/site if necessary, not all Open Days allow you to walk straight in.
• Be prepared, make sure you have a clear idea of the information you want to gain from attending the Open Day, perhaps make a list of questions.
• Picture yourself there, going to college and university is a big commitment and you need to be sure it is suited to you.
• Check out the other facilities. Where is the gym? Are there any clubs you can join? Where’s the restaurant/café?
• Get to know the surrounding area, Open Days give you the chance to explore the surrounding areas so you can work out the easiest way to get home.

College and university Open Days are taking place throughout November and December.  You can find College Open Day dates here. Click to find out more information about visiting The University of Kent, The University for the Creative Arts or Canterbury Christ Church University here.  Don’t worry if you miss an Open Day.  You can often arrange to visit informally – just give the college or university a ring to find out more.

Don’t forget there are also advisers in Virtual School Kent and the Care Leavers 18+ Service who can help you too.  Talk to your Social Worker or PA who can put you in touch with the right person.

KYCC stands for ‘Kent Youth County Council’. The KYCC voice the views and opinions of young people in Kent. KYCC work on multiple campaigns every year; last November the following campaigns were voted in by young people across Kent:

• Curriculum for life • Mental Health • Anti-Bullying • Developing emotional Resilience.

Not only do KYCC members work on the campaigns chosen by Kent’s young people each year they also work in project groups that cover topics such as: Transport, environmental issues, promoting equality, tackling racial and religious discrimination, positive stories etc.

You can stand for election by becoming part of the following:

District Seats

You could be elected as a ‘Member’ or a ‘Deputy Member’. You will have the opportunity to get involved in lots of opportunities including campaigning and make important decisions about changes happening. KYCC Members meet regularly with KCC Members and can get involved in making a difference to the lives of young people in Kent. KYCC Members also elect 7 young people to represent Kent nationally at UK Youth Parliament, which includes the incredible opportunity to debate in the House of Commons!

Community Seats

We also elect a Member to ‘Community Seats’, to make sure KYCC represents all communities within Kent. If you are a young person and feel you could represent a minority community, complete the attached registration form.

You don’t need any experience to get involved, just a desire to get involved, make a stand and make a difference.

Young people who would like to stand as either a District or Community seat can access the opportunity here.

If you would like further information - email kycc@kent.gov.uk or visit www.kent.gov.uk/kycc

If you’re interested in registering your school as a polling station, or if you’re interested in registering to stand for election, you can sign up now www.kent.gov.uk/kyccelections

Q1 How are you going to help support Young People with disabilities in education?

One thing we need to do is to ensure Young People with disabilities have the Education and Disabilities Teams that support them working alongside each other, and if necessary, in conjunction with Social Workers. There needs to be more opportunities and more support for Young People to be in their local mainstream school, rather than Young People having to commute far distances to find a school that meets the Young Person’s needs. Young People should be able to connect to their local communities.

Q2 What about separate induction days for Young People in Colleges who have disabilities?

I know that they are mixed up together at present.  If you would like a more bespoke induction I will make sure when I meet all the colleges’ principals in Kent I will give them your suggestions.

Q3 What is your main priority as Corporate Director for all Children in Kent?

That all Children & Young People should have a great childhood so they feel happy, secure and loved. I want people to look at the whole child, not only things like exam results but to help them to achieve their full potential - socially as well as academically so they can build connections and feel supported in life.

Q4 Is there any advice you would give us as a Corporate Parent?

Yes, the same advice as I would give my own children - focus on your own happiness, don’t sweat about the small stuff, bad times will pass. Treat people the way you want to be treated yourself, and that you can determine your own destiny.

Q4 What role does Kent County Council have in challenging bullying in our schools?

If we hear about an individual child, we can raise this with the school. If we see multiple issues, we can alert the education safeguarding team to look into the situation. Many secondary schools are academies which we do have strong relationships with, but we don’t have as much power to address all issues. Some schools do a fantastic job and some still have some work to do, so my honest answer is it isn’t always easy.

Q5 How do you support Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Young People with housing?

We have workers and funding for this specific support. For unaccompanied care leavers, it is not easy for us to find housing as we are not a housing authority. But there is the Rent Guarantor Scheme which has been recently introduced. Some young people are entitled to housing grants so can rent through their local councils.

Q6 Why did you want to do this job? 

I was Director in East Sussex for 8 years, then worked with schools in Australia for 4 years.  I missed working with Children in Care in Australia and when this job came up and I jumped at the opportunity. I think I have always had a connection with Children in Care and young people like yourselves. My parents were foster carers and I am very passionate about making things better for Children in Care.

Q7 What do you do on a day to day basis?

Well, my youngest son – who is 15 – said when he was younger ‘my dad’s job is going to meetings!’ He’s not wrong as I do go to a lot of meetings. I normally meet with politicians and my staff. Today, I went to visit an academy in Canterbury and met with Headteachers. Then, I went back to Maidstone and had another meeting with politicians about the budget and looked at some inspection reports . Then I had some supervisor meetings with members of staff before coming to this YAC meeting.  

Q8 Are there any big changes coming up that could affect Young People in this room?

There are a few changes that are happening locally, change of Kent County Council’s Leader and nationally Brexit being two big things. Kent is doing an enormous amount of planning around Brexit. Young people have grown up in a period of austerity i.e. cuts etc. We have 45% less money then in 2010. But, for the first time in 10 years we have been promised more money by the government, although not enough to cover what we lost. This could mean there could be more support for young people and Care Leavers.

Q10 If you think about what the state does, not much is more dramatic than being the Corporate Parent for a child.  What do you think about this?

I agree. If we are going to place children in the state’s care, we need to make sure it is the best it can possibly be.  We can be the pushy, most demanding parents as we all have the advantages - we know the schools, police NHS etc. Care should be a positive experience and once you are in care, we should ensure it is just that.