As a young person volunteer for Young Wales, I have been involved in various projects and boards in relation to supporting the implementation of United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Wales. Over the last month or so, with a group of other volunteers, I developed a presentation that has been delivered to the Oversight and Delivery Board Meeting. This presentation was given to the Lynne Neagle, MS, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Jayne Bryant, MS, who was Minister for Mental Health and Early Years at that time and representatives from the health and education sectors across Wales. 

This presentation focused on the development and involvement that we have had with the “NYTH / NEST” framework for mental health and wellbeing and other initiatives such as the “Whole School Approach”.  

During this presentation we explained the National Participation Standards, which give a framework for best practice in how information is shared and discussed with young people, to gain feedback and advice. We also covered how we feel our engagement with mental health and wellbeing is going as children and young people and the positive effects of our involvement, including building self-esteem and communication skills. We also put forward what we want to see in the Mental Health Strategy, particularly that staff involved with young people are aware and sensitive of triggers and of visible and invisible disabilities and that staff are engaged and reflective of our real-world experiences and are supportive of our experiences. 

We closed by talking about our Top Priorities and Young People regarding mental health being: 

  • Prevention, early intervention, and interventions as different points in an individual’s mental health journey. 

  • Consistency of care and staff, to avoid the feeling of going over their history repeatedly. 

  • Allowing children and young people to be involved in decisions about their own care where possible. 

 

Rebecca (Young Wales Volunteer)