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Connex - Plymouth

Welcome to Connex Plymouth!

Are you aged 13 - 19?

Got an OPINION and want it to be HEARD?

Want to be able to consult with others about YOUR services and put forward ideas for CHANGE?

Come and join CONNEX Plymouth, a new revamped group which wants exciting, fun people like YOU to come and shape the services.

We are recruiting for new members to start Connex Plymouth in February.

So why join?

• One whole day per holiday (10am - 4pm)
• Free healthy lunch prepared by the group
• Bus fares reimbursed
• Central locations
• Chance to consult on topics and influence the service
• Volunteering hours accredited by V-Involved
• Great on CV
• And much more!!

The dates for these sessions are:

February Half term - Connex session - Friday 25th Feb 10am - 4pm
Easter Holidays - Connex session - Monday 11th April 10am - 4pm
Spring Half term - Connex session - Friday 3rd June 10am - 4pm
Summer Holiday - Connex session - Friday 29th July 10am - 4pm
Autumn Half term - Connex session - Monday 18th October 10am - 4pm
Christmas Holiday - Connex session - Monday 19th December 10 - 4pm

Please ring the Plymouth Office and ask to speak to someone in the Involving Young People Group on 01752 207700 for more information. See you soon!

Takeover Day

Children's Commissioner's Takeover Day will take place on Friday 11 November 2011.

Takeover Day gives young people the chance to work with adults for the day and be involved in decision-making. Young People benefit from the opportunity to experience the world of work and make their voices heard, while adults and organisations gain a fresh perspective on what they do.

Organisations across every sector can be part of Takeover Day. It's a flexible event which can be tailored to suit the organisation and can take place on a different day to the offical Friday 11th November 2011.

Careers South West Ltd were involved in the co-ordination of many of these events last year through local Connex groups.

If you would like to know more, and would like to get involved, please speak to your local Personal Adviser.

Last Year was a great success! Read Jenny’s view of the day

11 Million Takeover Day is something that has been running between the Involving Young People’s group, "Connex" and Connexions for several years.  I wanted to pilot this in a Plymouth school, so in 2010 we ran it in Devonport High School for Boys.

We have a group of year 11 students that we work with in school called the ‘student careers link’. They are a very proactive group that helped in giving a student perspective on how this should run.  Students were involved in the planning of the day and several were successful in gaining the key advertised roles.

We approached the head teacher for support and an offer of his job for the day - which he fully supported and agreed to.  This year he is considering taking on the role of ‘student’!

Other staff were then invited to become involved.  We ended up with a variety of positions that would give students the opportunity to get a better insight in the range of roles within the school.

Looking at feedback from school staff and students, the scheme was a huge success.  The students were extremely enthusiastic and undertook their assigned role with such commitment and hard work.  For me, I really enjoyed watching the 2 ‘Connexions Advisers’ deliver group work, student interviews, participate in partnership agreement review and consultation exercises.  The students were all so enthusiastic in their feedback and the opportunity it provided them to not just observe but actually operate in a professional role for the day.

Further comments were:

Headteacher – “The planned activities were genuine meetings and interviews with outcomes which will be followed up.  This included the appointment of the Devonport Voice Co-ordinator. Joe (The student headteacher) also wrote the Heads blog (1000 visitor on our website) and headlines (weekly bulletin to staff).  The day exceeded expectations.”

Joe Hill (student headteacher) – “It was a really worthwhile experience and I'm very glad I had this opportunity. It really let me see the inner workings of the school, and especially how much work is done by staff that is not seen by the students.”

The student Connexions Advisers view on the role was "I did not realise the variety in the jobs of both Jenny Wall and Sue Moreton (the Careers Co-ordinator), and how much you can get out of their jobs if you put what’s expected in!

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