Really! Oh come on! What is happening with The Croydon Youth Assembly (CYA)

The Croydon Youth Assembly (CYA) is a vital platform that empowers young people aged 11–19 (or up to 25 with additional needs) to have a direct voice in shaping their community. Supported by Croydon Council, the CYA provides opportunities for young people to express their views, influence decision-making, and collaborate with local leaders on key issues affecting their lives.

CYA acts as a central forum where young people from diverse backgrounds can come together to discuss and address concerns such as education, safety, mental health, and employment. Members have the chance to participate in workshops, campaigns, and meetings with council officials, ensuring their perspectives are heard and acted upon.

By joining the Croydon Youth Assembly, young people can develop essential skills such as leadership, public speaking, and teamwork while making meaningful contributions to their community. It’s a unique opportunity to shape the future of Croydon and build connections that foster personal growth and civic responsibility. I remember when the CYA was alive with young peoples,voices, their aspirations and perspective. Our now adult God son was very active. I remember him and his sister, sitting around our my dinner table, highly opinionated putting the worlds to right. It served them both well. She graduated from university this year and now works as a Pharmacist. He went to a good independent school, did well and is two years into a Computer Science degree at Nottingham University. I'm not suggesting that all children need to end up in Uni but CYA in its old form helped these two, to be more confident, civilly aware and generally value being civilly active in their community.

Looking at the CYA website today, it is a far cry from what it featured 10 years ago. Then we had a youth-led platform divided into three regional groups—North, East, and South Croydon. Each group collaborating with  Members of Youth Parliament (MYP) to inspect youth services, influence decision-makers, and lead campaigns, with a focus on topics like tackling bullying and improving relationships with the police. Participating in the Croydon Youth Council (CYC) or UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) enabled young people to develop leadership skills, build networks, and make a tangible difference in their community.

Our children were actively invited to get involved in civic duties as MYPs and youth councillors.  Today the heart of the CYA has shifted; participation of our children is still a big feature but, in my opinion, that strong sense of civic duty has been watered down. I could be wrong but currently on offer is:

‘Regularly Scheduled Hub Sessions: Fun and engaging sessions where   young people can be in a safe and supportive environment with their peers and adult staff.

Participation Opportunities: Young people have opportunities to participate alongside their peer and adults in decision making that has a direct impact on their lives and their peers. (Too vague)  Young people are compensated for their time spent in these participation efforts.

Free Teambuilding and Collaboration Excursions: Young people have access to various fun and educational excursions including movies, theme parks, skating, and theatre for the purpose of teambuilding and strengthening collaboration.

Trusted Adult Support: Young people have the opportunity to build relationships with trusted adults who offer various forms of support for the young people, as well as access to other resources.

Ambassadors 

Young people ages 14-25 years of age have the opportunities to become Ambassadors for the Croydon Children In Care Council.  Ambassadors are trained and supported to work directly with Croydon leadership in decision making that impacts them and their peers lives directly. Ambassadors are the first young people called upon with young people are being asked to participate as adults. Ambassadors do interviews for new hires, serve on youth panels, attend Corporate Parenting Board meetings, and work on projects alongside adult leadership. Ambassadors are compensated for their participation time with adults.’

Yes our children need to participate and have fun but bring back election for Members of Youth Parliament (MYP):  participating in UK Youth Parliament (UKYP), and incorporate the fun that way. The UKYP is still a real thing established  25 years ago, and made up of more than 300 young people aged between 11 and 18 years, elected as Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) to represent the views of their peers. 

They produced a report this year. The Make Your Mark 2024 report details the results of a UK-wide youth ballot, providing young people aged 11–18 an opportunity to influence key issues for the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP). A great opportunity for youth to voice their concerns and set the agenda for campaigns at local, regional, and national levels.

National Overview

• Over 526,573 votes were cast across the UK, with turnout rates varying significantly by region.

• Key issues addressed included health and wellbeing, education, climate change, crime and safety, and cultural activities.

Performance of Croydon

• Croydon, part of the London region, has a significant youth population aged 11–18 (approximately 40,266).

• However, Croydon recorded an exceptionally low turnout of just 3 votes, representing 0.0% turnout from its eligible youth population.

• In contrast, other London boroughs, such as Westminster, achieved a turnout of 70.3%, ranking among the highest nationally.

  
  

Implications for Croydon

Croydon’s underperformance highlights critical challenges:

1.      Low Engagement: Minimal participation suggests barriers to youth involvement, including lack of awareness or accessibility issues.

2.      Missed Opportunities: A low turnout means that Croydon’s young voices were underrepresented in shaping the UKYP’s priorities. Lets hear them!

3.      Comparative Insights: Other boroughs with higher turnout demonstrated the effectiveness of outreach and engagement strategies. Learn from them!

Our children deserve to be supported to meaningfully participate in civil society.