Children and young people can sometimes find it difficult to express themselves and to voice their feelings. That’s just as true when it comes to having their say about the services available to them.
That’s why Clust i’r Ifanc, a service available for children and young people under 25 who live in Gwynedd is working to ensure that their voices are heard. The Clust i’r Ifanc service is provided by Gwynedd Ni, the information service for the county’s children and young people.
Iwan Trefor Jones, Chairman of the Gwynedd Children and Young People’s Partnership said:
“Clust i’r Ifanc gives young people the chance to speak with a friendly person so that they can have their say, or if they want to voice their concerns about the services they use in Gwynedd.
“Young people can also speak with an officer to make a request for a service which is not available in their area at present. The Clust i’r Ifanc service will note their comments and will refer their complaint or comment on to the relevant service. Our aim is to ensure that Gwynedd children and young people have someone to listen to their opinions and to act on their behalf as needed.”
Since the service began in June 2010, Clust i’r Ifanc has received various interesting comments and complaints and the service has seen a pattern to a number of the complaints.
One of the most common complaints relate to public buses. A number of children and young people have said that they find it difficult to use the service with some services failing to turn up in some cases.
Here is an example of a complaint:
‘The bus hasn’t turned up for three days, we as a group of friends catch the bus to get to school in the morning. And now we have had to walk to school three times. The school is far to walk to, it isn’t right that the bus hasn’t showed up.’
Young person, Blaenau Ffestiniog
After receiving this comment, the Clust i’r Ifanc service contacted the bus company that provides the service in the area. They confirmed that there had been a problem because of a lack of vehicles, and that the matter has now been resolved with spare vehicles now available if needed.
If you have a comment about a service in your area, or if you want to raise awareness about problems or good practices in your area or even raise ideas to develop services for the future, contact Clust i’r Ifanc on 01286 677 900 or e-mail: [email protected]
Also, Clust i’r Ifanc holds drop-in sessions for individuals under 25 who live in Gwynedd. For more information, contact Martin Roberts, Clust i’r Ifanc Coordinator on 01286 677900 or e-mail: [email protected]
