SHAPE
Sandwell’s SHAPE Programme is a Child’s Voice Initiative, led by Sandwell Council, designed to listen to children and young people in Sandwell. The SHAPE Initiative began in December 2014 and has recently marked its 10 year milestone, of delivering a unique programme focussed on listening to the voice of young people.
The programme focusses on the 5 Every Child Matters Outcomes:
- Staying Safe
- Being Healthy
- Enjoying and Achieving
- Making a Positive Contribution
- Economic Wellbeing
The Children and Young People’s Engagement Strategy underpins SHAPE’s vision “Where Every Child’s Voice Matters in Sandwell” and provides the principles and methods of engagement with children and young people, for the council and partners.
The SHAPE Programme is governed by the SHAPE Strategic Board, which is made up of many partners including the Police, Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS and the Community and Voluntary Sector. The Board report to the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Strategic Commissioning Partnership for children, young people and families.
The governance structure below shows all the key organisations and partnerships the SHAPE Programme is linked to.
The Programme is managed by Neesha Patel, and the team consists of two SHAPE Project Support Officers, Asha Lawrence and Rajdeep. The team is young, creative and dynamic and all passionate and they are all driven to embed child’s voice across Sandwell, with exciting projects, such as our popular talent show.
The SHAPE Programme organises events and opportunities throughout the calendar year for children and young people to engage in positive activities, both individually and through their schools. The timetable below highlights our key opportunities:
Some of the initiative’s schools and young people can get involved in are:
- SHAPE Survey – The SHAPE Survey is an annual online survey sent to schools and colleges for children and young people aged 9 – 18 years to consult with them on various topic areas that affect young people in today’s society. More information, and links to the survey, can be found here.
- Youth Elections – Every 2 years, young people aged 11-18 years in the UK get the chance to vote in the ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot, on the biggest issues facing young people in today’s society. Young people are also invited to vote to elect their new Members of Youth Parliament. More information about youth elections can be found here.
- SHAPE Our Future Conferences – Annual school conferences for children and young people, based on issues relating to the 5 key areas of SHAPE. More information, and registration details for the SHAPE Our Future Conferences can be found here.
- Anti-Bullying Roadshow – An annual anti-bullying roadshow takes place during Anti-Bullying week. Schools can book on to the roadshow, for a workshop to be delivered in their school. More information, and registration details for the Anti-Bullying Roadshow can be found here.
- National Takeover Challenges – Takeover Challenges are where board meetings open their doors to children and young people to chair meetings and takeover specific adult roles. More information about the National Takeover Challenges can be found here.
- SHAPE Your Talent – A talent competition for children and young people aged 9-18 years (up to 25 years for children and young people with SEND). More information about SHAPE Your Talent can be found here.
- SHAPE Youth Summer Fest – A large, free entry community festival, for children, young people and their families, that takes place annually at Sandwell Valley. More information about SHAPE Youth Summer Fest can be found here.
- SHAPE Youth Forum – Young people aged 11 – 21 years (up to 25 for young people with SEND) who live, work or study in Sandwell can join SHAPE Youth Forum to get their voices and opinions heard on many different topics. A maximum of 3 young people from each Sandwell school can be part of SHAPE Youth Forum. More information about SHAPE Youth Forum, and how to apply, can be found here.
- Just Youth Website – We have also developed a comprehensive information hub with young people for young people.
We also work collaboratively with many partners and stakeholders to ensure true co-production with young people takes place when redesigning or reviewing services which matter to them, as well as coming together for our events. Below are some of the stakeholders and partners we have worked with…
We hope together, we become pioneers in embedding child’s voice across Sandwell and ensure the needs of our children and young people are met.
To find out more about the SHAPE Programme, please contact shape_events@sandwell.gov.uk or your schools’ designated SHAPE Project Support Officer:
- Smethwick, Oldbury and Rowley Regis schools, – Rajdeep Atwal – rajdeep_atwal@sandwell.gov.uk
- Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Tipton schools, – Asha Lawrence – asha_lawrence@sandwell.gov.uk
