The most recent Annual Conversation took place on Thursday 25 April 2024.
The event was attended by 123 people, including:
- Ambassadors from Annual Conversation 2022
- Councillors and Council Officers
- Children and young people together with supporting organisations
- Partners
- Cornwall Youth Council
What is the Annual Conversation?
The first Annual Conversation took place in November 2021. This had followed fantastic engagement from children and young people earlier in the year during G7.
The Annual Conversation is a facilitated dialogue between children and young people (aged 10 to 24 years old) and Council Leaders. Before the event the children and young people spend time training to be Ambassadors. As Ambassadors they champion not only their own views and ideas but the views of other children.
They then talked with Leaders and worked together to agree three pledges, one for each of the three identified priorities.
Leaders and Ambassadors will share the accountability to ensure that these pledges are achieved. You can read about last year's pledges.
What happened at The Annual Conversation 2024?
Children, young people and organisations came together to share and celebrate their work in a marketplace.
Celebrations and successes were shared from the Annual Conversation 2022 pledge groups. One of the outcomes that was shared was a video. The video was to raise awareness of how important it is to ask children and young people for their thoughts, ideas and solutions. The video also raises important points around gender inequalities in public and community spaces.
The attendees split into six groups to look at some of the topics that are important to children and young people. The priority topics for this year’s conversation were:
- Smoking and Vaping - marketing, availability and perceptions
- Feeling safe in our communities - particularly in the dark
- Cost of Living – free school meals in schools
- Emotional Health and Wellbeing – training for adults and young people
- Being heard, valued and taken seriously by people who are there to protect me and keep me safe.
- Transition – particularly between primary school and secondary school – young people’s experience
What were the outcomes, priorities and actions which came out of the conversations on the night?
Smoking and Vaping Group
Marketing, availability and perceptions
Actions / outcomes
- Trading Standards to run a marketing campaign encouraging. The campaign will enable anonymous reporting about shops which sell to young people.
- Develop a film about safe communal social spaces in schools. Let schools know how young people feel about toilets and vaping.
What's happened / happening next?
- Work is being trialled in a number of school settings. This is being led by Public Health.
- Conversations about safe social spaces are being fed into work going on in Integrated Care Areas and Community Area Partnerships. This work is being led by Localism and Together for Families.
Feeling Safe in our Communities Group
particularly in the dark
Actions / outcomes
- Cornwall Council to find out about the cost and practicality of introducing motion sensor street lighting.
- Call out for volunteers to help keep youth groups and young people’s activities running.
- Marketing campaign about the support and resources in the community for children, young people and families. A QR code will be used so people can find out about it). Video/webinar to share with schools and other groups for sharing far and wide to make sure it reaches young people.
What's happened / happening next?
- Colleagues in Connectivity and Environment will look into having a trial area for motion sensor street lighting. Will link in with Town and Parish Council / CAPs.
- Colleagues in the Community Services team will work together with Volunteer Cornwall and Volunteer 4.
- Bring ideas and opportunities for volunteering together. Family Information Service and Cornwall Opportunities to work together.
- Volunteer sector to create and communicate volunteer opportunities for children and young people. The Localism Team, Active Cornwall Team, Careers Hub and Skills Team will work together to map out volunteer opportunities.
Cost of Living Group
Free school meals in school
Actions / outcomes
- Find support to help with the impact of the cost of equipment for young people with disabilities and health problems.
- Can we do anything to support the hidden costs for rural communities which impacts on accessing hobbies?
- Create more opportunities to discuss cost of living and feedback on initiatives already in place.
What's happened / what's happening
- Inclusion Cornwall will work with the Communications Team, together with the Voluntary, Community and Charity sectors. They will identify and share the support available to young people with disabilities and health problems.
- The Digital Inclusion team will find and support ideas for how technology and digital could help some people to access hobbies and make connections.
- When planning surveys and engagement (e.g. Right On Survey, Residents Survey, Council Roadshows, events) consider opportunities to discuss cost of living and to feedback on the initiatives in place.
Emotional Health and Wellbeing Group
Training for adults and young people
Actions / Outcome
- Create a directory of learning opportunities – map what is available and who the training is relevant for
- Make training more accessible – advertise it where young people will see it.
- Sign-posting to help and support – where are safe places to publicise this?
- Safe places within the community for children and young people to be – all to consider where are these spaces? Who are the people who could be trained to listen and to signpost?
What's happened / happening next?
- Through conversations around this topic, there is a wider acknowledgement that transport links are essential for some communities to be able to access activities. Loneliness is a key feature within some populations of young people.
- Public Health and HeadStart will work together to create a directory of learning opportunities around mental health and wellbeing, including who can access these.
- Communication Teams will work together to make sure information is readily available across different networks and is easy to find when needed.
- Conversations about safe social spaces are being fed into work going on in Integrated Care Areas and Community Area Partnerships. This is being led by Localism and Together for Families
Being Heard, Values and Taken Seriously Group
by people who are there to protect me and keep me safe
Actions / outcomes
- ‘Take Me Seriously’ campaign – raise awareness of the importance of voice and rights to be heard.
- Strengthen Youth Council links to schools and settings across Cornwall.
- Support 'Relationships Matter' training. A relationship-based approach is important when supporting people to maintain positive social, emotional mental health and wellbeing.
What's happened / happening next?
- The Communication Team and Youth Council Comms Team will work together to create this campaign.
- A School Council Community Seat now sits on the Youth Council and will, supported by staff, connect with Schools across the county.
- Public Health and Community Safety will produce a directory of training around relationships through their work around PSHE and RSE.
Transition Group
particularly between primary school and secondary school - young people's experience
Actions / outcomes
- Tells schools it would help pupils if the transition period was longer between year 6 to year 7. And to help build connections and relationships between primary and secondary schools and the pupils.
- Buddying and mentoring should be available for year 7 pupils (by an older pupil in the school). This is particularly important for SEND / ASD and ensuring pupils have support for the first 12-18 months.
- Ensure pupils who transition to a school during the year, have the same level of support as those going from year 6 into year 7.
What's happened / happening next?
- Teams in Education and Community Health will work together to build a toolkit of coping strategies for change.
- Education Effectiveness will produce a best practice resource around transition – celebrating good practice.
- Time 2 Move and other school holiday programmes will work together to establish what part of their offers directly supports transition.
- Consider cohorts of children who aren’t so visible. Colleagues in
- Education Effectiveness will explore the Oak resources for schools and how these might support transition at different education stages.
What happens next?
Those who were involved in the groups on the night will be working to get answers and connect with people who can make plans and turn these into actions. The Children's Rights Team will make sure where there are updates, they go back to the people who were involved in the conversations. Keep an eye on this page for updates.
Will there be an Annual Conversation next year?
Absolutely! We hope this will happen every year for children and young people to connect with adults to have conversations about things that matter to them.
How can I get involved?
Visit our Annual Conversation Let's Talk Platform
If you are an organisation who would like to be involved in this year's Annual Conversation, and haven't heard from us already, please get in touch by emailing childrensrights@cornwall.gov.uk
If you are young person wanting to be involved in making a difference in Cornwall, please visit Cornwall Youth Council's engagement platform.
To get involved in Cornwall Youth Council please email:
youthcouncil@cornwall.gov.uk