Children and young people have their say

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, joined pupils at Rufford Primary School recently to find out what Child Friendly Dudley means to them.

The pupils’ comments, along with the thoughts of students from other schools and colleges, will be used to develop a framework for the initiative.

The framework will set out a plan of action to achieve the Child Friendly Dudley ambition that all children and young people from birth right up to the age of 25 (for those with additional needs) have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The framework will be published online later this year at www.dudley.gov.uk/childfriendlydudley

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, said:

Our aspiration as a council is that every child and young person in the borough has the right to grow up in an environment where they feel safe and secure, have access to the right services and are able to learn, play and grow while fulfilling their huge potential.

“We also want children and young people to have an opportunity for their voices to be heard, which is why it’s really important they are involved in the work we are doing now for Child Friendly Dudley.

“It was a pleasure to meet some of the pupils at Rufford Primary School to hear first-hand what they think child friendly means and what it should achieve.

“As part of this work we’ll be speaking to a number of children of all ages and with different lived experiences to get a thorough overview of what’s important as we move forward with the programme. I thank all of those who are involved.

“It is said it takes a village to raise a child, or in our case a borough, and its our hope that businesses and organisations from across the borough will become ambassadors for child friendly and actively support the work of the programme.”

Erica Tilley, headteacher at Rufford Primary School, said:

We were really excited to welcome Ruth and Hayley to our school. We are thrilled that our children have had an opportunity for their voices to be heard as part of the Child Friendly Dudley programme. We know the value of their ideas and opinions in school and now these can be shared more widely and have an impact on the future of Dudley's children.

If anyone thinks they are already helping to fulfil Child Friendly Dudley within their organisation or would like to get involved, they can email childfriendlydudley@dudley.gov.uk

People can sign up to receive more information about Child Friendly Dudley.