Caerphilly Junior Forum

What is the Junior Forum?

The Junior Forum is an on-going mechanism for children to be involved in decision making at the countywide level. The Junior Forum aims to provide children with opportunities to have a voice on issues that affect them and to engage in activities that encourage citizenship and the development of personal and social skills.

How will the Junior Forum work?

There are 69 schools in Caerphilly with pupil’s year 3 to 6, i.e. children between the ages of 7 and 11. Each of these schools can have two representatives on the Junior Forum, voted on by the children in their school. These representatives will meet three times a year; once each term.

Who supports the Junior Forum?

The Children’s Participation Officer (CPO), who is a Caerphilly County Borough Council employee, will support the Junior Forum and be the contact for schools and representatives.

What is the role of Primary Schools?

Primary schools are a key partner in the success of the Junior Forum, therefore the CPO has made an effort to attend head teacher cluster meetings to promote the Junior Forum and listen to the views of head teachers on how it can be developed. The roles of primary schools include:

• Preparing a fair and democratic election for the children in schools to vote for Junior forum representatives (see below).
• Ensuring that the consent form (page 5) are completed and signed by a parent/guardian for each representative from their school. Please return consent form for the attention of Hayley Scotto-D’Abusco by fax (01443 863190).
• Advising of any additional support needed for representatives.
• Transporting the representatives to and from the 3 meetings a year.

Why should schools become involved in the Junior Forum?

There will be many beneficial outcomes for children who are involved in the Junior Forum. Some outcomes will be measured using distance travelled monitoring systems.

The beneficial outcomes for children include:

• Gaining some experience of democracy and citizenship
• Having the opportunity to express views, opinions and be a part of decision-making
• Meeting new friends and having fun
• Building confidence, self-esteem and aspirations
• Having the opportunity to practise important life skills such as problem solving, decision-making, negotiation, listening and feedback.

Contact Details:

Name: Hayley Scotto-D’Abusco

Tel: 01443 866721

Email: scotth1@caerphilly.gov.uk