Lessons learnt as children get a say at school summit

Pupils from ten primary schools across Sedgefield, Fishburn, Bishop Middleham and the Trimdons have been taking part in the Free to Talk event.

The children, aged between five and 11, and members of their schools' councils took part in a summit held at Sedgefield Racecourse on Friday.

They discussed topics such as out-of-school activities, bullying, moving to secondary school and taking part in decision making.

They gave their views on services currently on offer, and improvements that they would like to see.

Various health professionals, along with representatives from Durham County Council and Sedgefield Borough Council, were on hand to listen.

Event co-ordinator and extended services development officer for Ferryhill and Sedgefield, Barry Bird, said it was the first time the scheme has been held in Sedgefield.

He said: "It was a brilliant event. We had about 85 children taking part, but because they were children from their school's councils, they were there representing their whole school and the wider community.

"We held focus group workshops with the children, where we broke them down into groups from each school and then had the professionals come round to talk to the groups in turn.

"We were looking at issues across the board and we gathered a lot of information, which we are still working our way through.

"But there were a couple of general themes emerging, such as children wanting better places to play, and issues concerning access to services and activities where the information isn't always written in a language the children can understand."

Mr Bird said the results of the Free to Talk event will help improve services for Sedgefield's youngest citizens.

He said: "This is an excellent opportunity for young people to have their say on issues affecting their lives.

"The feedback gained from the discussions will help identify improvements in services already on offer and any gaps that currently exist in local provision."