RYG It’s Your Shout gives teenagers a chance to have their say

Date published: 21/03/2006

Young people at Oulder Hill Community School and Language Centre in Rochdale, had an exciting and unique opportunity recently, when they got to talk to representatives from Rochdale Council, the Prison Service and the Police, about issues and concerns affecting them and their communities.
 
The lively discussion covered topics such as a lack of variety in town centre shops, drugs and crime, and why young people get stereo-typed.

The teenagers have been working together, as part of the Reach Your Goal 'It’s Your Shout' project, a year long programme encouraging young people to positively engage in discussion. The students have taken part in a series of workshops, formed a committee, identified the people they wanted to talk to and helped with the organisation of the event.

Reach Your Goal’s Debbie Troops said, "RYG started at Oulder Hill last spring and this is by far the biggest event we’ve had at the school. Students got the chance to ask questions about things that really concern them. They chatted to people in positions of influence and talked about problems that young people face. This was an exciting opportunity for the whole of Oulder Hill Community School as many of the students here have been involved in the process of 'It’s Your Shout'. Young people feel frustrated that their opinions aren’t considered and that they’re often stereo-typed. Through events like this, they get the chance to have their say and hopefully influence future decisions about things that affect their lives."

John Johnson Community Safety Manager for Rochdale Council was very impressed with the professional way in which the young people delivered the session saying: "It’s very important that we listen to what teenagers have to say as they have a valuable contribution to make and we can learn from them."

Constable Emily Warner from Rochdale Police added: "Often young people see the police as somehow not human and events like this one today can help to change that."

Chris Coope from Forest Bank Prison and Young Offenders Institution in Salford surprised many of the students when he said that prison was not just about punishment, he explained: "We also have a responsibility to try and rehabilitate offenders or else what would be the point of sending them back into the outside world?” He also pointed out that prison was nothing like the television drama ‘Bad Girls’."

Vikki Thompson a Year 11 student and member of the 'It’s Your Shout' committee said: "I really enjoyed today, I felt that people were listening to us and that makes a change."

Barry Nield in Year 10 said: "I was a bit nervous at first, because it’s not every day you get people like this in school, but they were really good and answered our questions."

Louie Crawford also in Year 10 said: "I think it was good to get our opinions across and it would be great to think that we could do it again."

The 'It’s Your Shout' project runs in seven RYG schools in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire and the RYG Oulder Hill committee will now take their experience of this event and start planning for the next one with their local councillors and MP for Rochdale Paul Rowen high on the invitation list.