On 30 May, South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Alliance hosted their 3rd annual conference.

The ‘Breaking Cycles’ event took place at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Sheffield. The event was planned in partnership with Chilypep, who connected with a wide range of children and young people voice and participation leaders to ensure we heard from young people to co-create the conference.

Over 100 children and young people from across South Yorkshire attended the conference, along with 100 key strategic decision makers from health, social care and wider partner services who came to hear what the children and young people had to say. There was also the opportunity for attendees to talk together about the next steps in our work as the Children and Young People Alliance.

Nicola Ennis, Children and Young People’s Alliance Programme Director, said: “The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Breaking Cycles’ and it was all about driving forward change and improvement in services for and with children and young people.

“The event was entirely co-produced with children and young people from across South Yorkshire, they are leading the way for change and it was so important to us that this event was designed with their input.”

The fun packed agenda for the event included activities, workshops and talks from key figures.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, along with a young person, were the keynote speakers and they spoke to the audience about how important it is to listen, and hear, the voices of children and young people. Dame Rachel de Souza said she is committed to presenting young people’s ideas to politicians and policy makers.

During workshops, delivered by partners from across the region, attendees learned more about the experiences and challenges children and young people can face and heard first hand from children and young people some of the potential solutions to these challenges.

Cohen Keeling, aged 17, is a Barnsley Young Commissioner through Chilypep, he did a fantastic job co-hosting the event with Nicola Ennis. Cohen said of the event: “It felt absolutely incredible and fulfilling to be able to co-host the conference, it was fun but also informative as it lead to me talking to people I usually wouldn’t have if I’d just attended the conference. The conference as a whole I feel was very important because it got people talking about sensitive topics that are usually avoided, for one reason or another, and opened up necessary conversations in a safe and respectful way.”

A number of young people took to the stage throughout the day and shared their personal experiences and gave insights into what can be done to ‘break the cycle’ and make improvements for children and young people.

Attendees were also treated to performances by not one, but two, musicians. Latifah Makuyi, from the Golddigger Trust, opened the event with a Taylor Swift classic, shake it off, to get everyone warmed up and ready for the day. Towards the end of the day, attendees were surprised with an appearance by Sheffield singer, Leona Jorgensen, who got everyone singing along to Let it Be. Latifah then closed the event on a high with a karaoke sing along.

Find out more about the day here Co-creating change side by side :: Healthier Together (sybhealthiertogether.nhs.uk)

The insights gathered and connections made from the conference will be taken away and used to help form the next steps and priorities for the Children and Young People’s Alliance. Some of the takeaway messages from the day are:

  • There are lots of different mediums where we can listen to the voice of children and young people, and where they can share what matters most to them - art music, podcasts etc
  • We need to support professionals by providing training developed and where possible delivered by young people
  • We need to amplify different campaigns taking place across South Yorkshire e.g. Doncaster eating disorders campaign
  • Young People want access to activities and opportunities that support their future aspirations

Feedback from the day will be written up in to pledges to be actioned, these will be shared with everyone that attended.

The Children and Young People’s Alliance would like to say a huge thank you to all the children and young people that made the event the success that it was. Thank you also to all the organisations, groups and people that had input into the day, with a special mention to the following partners:

Untitled design (6).png