1. Positive Steps . . . . ‘Inclusion in Action’
TRANS YOUTH WREXHAM
Supporting young trans people in Wrexham
Catherine Reynolds, Youth & Community Development Worker
Kate Hutchinson, Director of Training, Wipe Out Transphobia

2. Background to the Project
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Background to the Project
Informed by Pan-North Wales Homophobic & Transphobic Bullying Conference 2014;
Transgender Guidance for Wrexham Schools 9/15
Successful bid to Public Health Wales 2015 by West Rhyl Young People’s Project, supported and hosted by Wrexham CBC;
Special Interest Advisory Group;
New youth worker provision;
Strengths, qualities and attributes of YP, Parents, Teachers, Support Services;

3. Ofsted Groups of learners
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Ofsted
Groups of learners
Inspection is primarily about evaluating how well individual children and learners benefit from the education provided by the school or provider. Inspection tests the school’s or provider’s response to individual needs by observing how well it helps all children and learners to make progress and fulfil their potential. In making judgements, inspectors will pay particular attention to the outcomes for the following groups:

4. Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
The Equality Act (2010)
Inspectors will assess the extent to which the school or provider complies with relevant legal duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998, promotes equality of opportunity and takes positive steps to prevent any form of discrimination, either direct or indirect, against those with protected characteristics in all aspects of their work.

5. Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Go to the evidence . . .
A school of 1,000 pupils should expect around 10 to be gender variant, to some degree (Gires)
In Wales there is no consistent support for transgender people available from Local Education Authorities, individual schools, or staff within schools, very often resulting in needs going unmet (LGBT Excellence Centre, 2012)
More children and young people are gender questiong from an earlier age (Millar, N. 2014, Wrexham).
The Tavistock and Portman Clinic in London, from across the UK, says 441 young people came to them for assessment in 2013/14.That's compared to 91 in 2009/2010

6. Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Risk & Resilience
A survey found that 48% of trans people under 26 said they had attempted suicide, and 30% said they had done so in the past year, while 59% said they had at least considered doing so.
By comparison, about 6% of all 16- to 24-year-olds say they have attempted suicide, according to the Adult Psychiatry Morbidity Survey.
The national Gender Identity Development Service reduces risk of suicide to between 1% and 2% (Di Ceglie et al 2002) cited by NHS England (2013)
Pace, a mental health charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, in partnership with Brunel University, the University of Worcester, and London South Bank University.

7. Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Ottawa Charter
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO, 1986) defined five key health promotion strategies:
building healthy public policy
creating supportive environments
strengthening community action
developing personal skills
reorienting services toward promotion, prevention and early intervention.
What are the goals of mental health promotion?
1. To increase resilience and protective factors
Mental health promotion aims to strengthen the ability of individuals, families and communities to cope with stressful events that happen in their everyday lives, by:
increasing an individual’s or community’s resilience
increasing coping skills
improving quality of life and feelings of satisfaction
increasing self-esteem
increasing sense of well-being
strengthening social supports
strengthening the balance of physical, social, emotional, spiritual and psychological health.
2. To decrease risk factors
Mental health promotion aims to reduce the factors that place individuals, families and communities at risk of diminishing mental health, by reducing or eliminating:
anxiety
depression
stress and distress
sense of helplessness
sexual abuse
family conflict
problem substance use
suicide
violence.
3. To reduce inequities
Mental health promotion aims to reduce inequities and their consequent effects on mental health. Inequities are often based on:
gender
poverty
physical or mental disability
employment status
race
ethnic background
geographic location.
Reduce inequities by:
implementing diversity policies.
providing diversity training.
creating transitional programs.
promoting anti-stigma interventions/campaigns.

8. Needs Pyramid for gender variant students
Wrexam Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Needs Pyramid for gender variant students
Gender-variant students
Primary care
Families
Wider community
School

9. 5 R’s Rights Responsibilties Readiness Responding Reacting
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
5 R’s
Rights
Responsibilties
Readiness
Responding
Reacting

10. Making it happen . . . The process of implementation
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Making it happen . . .
The process of implementation
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam

11. Putting a pathway in place
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Putting a pathway in place
Vertical & Horizontal Integration
HOS
Schools YS
Primary Care
Vol Sector
CAMHS
Practitioner

12. Key Messages A journey Rights-focused Needs-led Earlier intervention
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Key Messages
A journey
Rights-focused
Needs-led
Earlier intervention
Feeling good & Functioning well

13. Thank you Catherine Reynolds Viva West Rhyl Young People’s Centre
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Thank you
Catherine Reynolds
Viva
West Rhyl Young People’s Centre
Kate Hutchinson Wipe Out Transphobia

14. Developing Personal Skills
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Developing Personal Skills
Provide one to one support and outreach for gender variant young people and children of trans parents;
Provide opportunities for young people to develop a positive sense of their identity and the personal skills to flourish;
Mental health promotion emphasizes two key concepts: power and resilience.
Power is defined as a person’s, group’s or community’s sense of control over life and the ability to be resilient (Joubert & Raeburn, 1998). Building on one’s existing capacities can increase power and control.
Resilience has been defined as “the ability to manage or cope with significant adversity or stress in ways that are not only effective, but may result in an increased ability to respond to future adversity” (Health Canada).

15. Creating Supportive Environments
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Creating Supportive Environments
Building on schools’ current provision to address homophobic and transphobic bullying by strengthening school’s policy and practice;
Providing advice on curriculum development, pastoral care and whole school development to support trans student’s wellbeing
Schools should consult pupils, parents, and others, to identify the extent and nature of bullying in the school and to agree the contents of strategic equality plans;
raise awareness of bullying on the grounds of protected characteristics with pupils, parents, staff, and governors and take a more proactive approach to preventing and mitigating its effects;
plan age-appropriate opportunities in the curriculum to discuss issues related to the protected characteristics and to build pupils’ resilience to bullying;
ensure staff have a clear understanding of the extent and nature of bullying that may take place in school, including cyberbullying,
make sure that staff know how to deal with and record incidents of bullying;
record and monitor incidents of bullying in relation to the protected characteristics and use this information to review strategic equality objectives;
Action on bullying : A review of the effectiveness of action taken by schools to address bullying on the grounds of pupils’ protected characteristics.
Estyn, 2014

16. Strengthening Community Action
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Strengthening Community Action
Building social assets and local networks to support gender variant young people and their families;
Enabling the development of knowledgeable and confident community leaders to support service scrutiny and renewal - Wrexham/Rhyl Parents Group.

17. Reorienting services – promotion, prevention & earlier intervention
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Reorienting services – promotion, prevention & earlier intervention
Efficiently utilising service capacity through the development of a support pathway for gender variant young people and their families – ‘The Journey’.
Supporting young people to access a range of health and community services that will promote their wellbeing and sense of identity.
To assess and treat young people who have a GID, improving their quality of
life, social inclusion, mental and emotional health and reducing self-harm and
suicide and inappropriate treatments accessed by young people.
To raise awareness of the issues associated with GID in children and young
people, in order to promote understanding in wider health, social care and educational establishments, and thereby promote a more informed and effective response in terms of speed and appropriateness of referral, assessment and treatment (where appropriate).
To support the development of children and adolescents (and their families) in a positive self-affirming environment where there is appropriate support for informed choice for young people through transition to adult services at the age of 18 years old.
The national Gender Identity Development Service reduces risk of suicide to between 1% and 2% (Di Ceglie et al 2002) cited by NHS England (2013)

18. Building Healthy Public Policy
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Building Healthy Public Policy
Publishing and implementing Wrexham Transgender Guidance for schools
Acknowledging the significance of this project and it's contribution to the local Strategic Equality Plan;
Engaging in Welsh Government consultation on the experiences of trans people to inform and shape national policy

19. Nef’s Dynamic Model of Wellbeing
Wrexham Trans Youth Support Project Prosiect Cefnogaeth Ieuenctid Traws Wrecsam
Nef’s Dynamic Model of Wellbeing