 |
  |
General > Welcome to the participation page of 2D!
Welcome to the participation page of 2D!
Robert Fothergill is the Participation Worker for Children, Young People & Families within the Durham Dales. He has recently been joined by James Deacon-Brown who also works closely with local groups that involve children and young people. Robert and James can visit your school, club or other group where you live to offer support to you and those working with you. Also, if you want to discuss new activities for where you live Robert and James can come out to meet with you.
Contact James or Robert: At 2D- 01388 762220 On Robert's Mob- 07725 707560 Or Robert's e-mail- r.fothergill@2d.org.uk Or James' E-mail: j.deaconbrown@2d.org.uk Michael Dixon is the newest recruit to the 2D youth team. His role includes promoting and delivering play opportunities for children aged 5-13 in the areas of Crook & Willington. Michael will be organising a programme of summer activities for children in the area as well as establishing sessions in local schools and children’s centres. If you would like to know more about the project please get in touch with Michael at 2D on 01388 762220 or e-mail him at m.dixon@2d.org.uk. Families enjoy fun in the forest 2D, Voluntary and Community Support organised the event as part of the national playday celebration of children’s rights to play. The campaign theme this year is ‘Make time!’ which calls for children to be allowed challenging and adventurous play opportunities and aims to shake off the “cotton wool” culture that can limit children’s play. The event offered everyone from grandparents to grandchildren a range of activities to get involved in, including a Zip Slide, Mountain Biking, Archery, Robert Fothergill, Children and Young People’s Participation worker for 2D, said: "This is the biggest and by far the best event we’ve had in the four years since it started. The first year attracted 200 and we estimate 2000 people turned out to enjoy the excellent programme of activities for the whole family to enjoy.” Robert continues “We have listened to people’s views from previous years and built on them to put on a wide variety of activities. The forest is a perfect location for the event, it gets children out using the natural habitat, splodging in the river and building dens, these are things that we so often overlook when we think about play.” 2D recognises the importance of developing opportunities for children, young people and families and Robert Fothergill's role includes developing initiatives to involve people in decisions about public service delivery that effects them and their peers. He works closely with local groups that involve children and young people. For further information please contact 2D on (01388) 762220 or by emailing enquiries@2d.org.uk Children & Young People’s Views on Health Matters... Below is a report based upon the information received from children and young people across the Durham Dales area during June 2009. The project has been led by Robert Fothergill (Participation Worker for Children, Young People and Families) at 2D. The research involved direct contact with 241 children and young people aged 5-22 years from geographical locations covering the Durham Dales area (formerly Teesdale and To carry out the research, Robert worked directly with Tommy Lee Shaw and Daniel Robson (young people who took a lead on the project). Thanks are expressed to Parkside Community College and Sunnybrow Primary School for permitting each of them time from school over the 2 weeks of research. Click here to see the Health Matters report Robert had been telling us about his job and the different things there are for kids where he works and we wanted to know more so he said "why not come with me for a day in half-term?" We picked James up [from Dene Valley] on the way ‘cos he wanted to see what Robert did too. We were a bit nervous but a lot excited about it. James was fun and we all got on having a laugh straight away. In the office all the people were working but they all said hello and got us a drink then we had to look at some papers by 2 groups of children who wanted some money to do football for pre-school children and a youth club in a village in Teesdale. We looked at a map and saw how hard it was for those children to get anywhere and there was nothing else where they lived so we made Robert spend £800. That made us feel really important. The day was really busy and there was lots of places to go. We started at Howden-le-Wear where the children were making a film about martial arts. It looks pretty good to see how a film is made and all of them were helping to do it, to act and dress up and to make the film too. Tomorrow they are going off to film it outside somewhere. The lady from Jack Drum sat everyone down so we could hear about what they were doing and how they did it. Then we went to 2 more places where they had holiday clubs. The first one [Leeholme] was really busy with lots of kids and their parents or grandparents doing lots of things like making bird boxes, playing games and making things from scraps. It was real noisy with the banging and gave me headache but looked fun. We enjoyed the Nintendo wii and table football games. The next one [Dene Valley] was really quiet when we got there but it was dinner time then so not many children were in. Also one of the boys in the village was in hospital so maybe his friends were too upset to go. We were starving and ready to eat. We had done so much and didn’t realize it was getting late. We went to McDonalds and sat upstairs where we ate lots and told jokes. Luke nearly fell off his chair laughing. In the afternoon we are going to a fishing place called "Get Hooked on Fishing" to see the things they are doing there and then we have a surprise activity… (This article was put together by the 3 boys to help us to see some of the wide range of things that are available for children and young people. I know that there were many different opportunities over the half-term in both Teesdale and Wear Valley and I also know from the children and young people just how much they enjoy going along – thanks to all concerned for the hard work and preparation) "I would like to thank all those children and young people who have recently shown their appreciation and support for myself and Susie during interviews by workers from Investing in Children. In Teesdale, the focus was around the Youth Forum where the young people felt that they were given full responsibility and that adults valued them and listened to the issues they raised. In Wear Valley, the interviews occurred during the Play Day and much of the discussion centred on how they had influence changes and taken on roles of responsibility. The young people said that "we are listened to an awful lot at 2D", they are "helped to have a voice" and sometimes even "taken more serious than adults". As a result of their research, 2D was nominated for Investing in Children status and was presented with the award at the AGM on 2nd October 2008." Robert Fothergill. There have been a number of developments over the summer months that show how things are moving forward in the dales area and the voices of children and young people are being taken seriously. • Teesdale Youth Forum held their AGM and celebration event and now have their own elected officers • Weardale young people have pushed for their own forum and plans are developing to establish this, supported by the National Youth Agency, who have a staff member living in St John Chapel • Howden-le-Wear children and young people attended a community meeting hosted by Hilary Armstrong MP and have held their first meeting for their new village youth forum • The Local Children’s Board has honoured their promise to be led by young people and have responded to the research undertaken across the dales regarding the Key Improvement Priorities (KIP). The next ones to be tackled are "teenage pregnancy" and then either "bullying" or "alcohol abuse". A number of children and young people (and their workers too!) have expressed some confusion over what the 12 KIPs are and what these mean to them on a day by day basis. In response to this a number of arts-based projects are being run over the next couple of months to illustrate and explain each one in the children and young people’s own words. Live in Teesdale or Wear Valley? Whether you are young yourself, or you work with children and young people, please feel free to contact Robert by phone, text or e-mail on: 01388 762220, 07725 707560 or |
Record numbers of families made the most of the good weather to take part in the fourth annual play day at 
Some of the people who attended the event said:
The Local Involvement Networks ‘LINks’ asked 2D to help them find out what children and young people think of their local health services and social services. 
Younger Voices Make A Difference| Copyright ©2008 2D. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Britnett Web Services |