1. What does co-production mean to me
What does co-production mean to me? Issy Wood (Chair of STARS) Andy Smith (C&YP Advocate) Erica Douglas-Osborn (Educational Psychologist)

2. Outline - The Bury STARS: their involvement with Local Authority co-production; - Where we are now, what supports us and what are the challenges; - Things to think about and next steps…

3. Social Transition Advocacy Recreational Support
S.T.A.R.S
Social Transition Advocacy Recreational Support
ASK ERICA TO ADD AGENDA NOTES AND POSSIBLY AMEND TITLE SLIDE TO REFLECT CO-PRODUCTION EMPHASIS

4. About Us
STARS is an unincorporated association for young disabled people within the Bury area. Our aim is to promote:
Self advocacy
Transitional support
Greater social opportunities
STARS was formed in 2015 and stands for Social Transitional Advocacy Recreational Support
STARS began as a group of young disabled people with a common interest in improving the services offered to people like us in our community. After carrying out initial research and speaking with other young disabled people and their families/carers, we decided to formalise our group and called it STARS. As well as raising Disability Awareness generally in our community, our main aims are to give young people a voice and access to helpful resources, to provide support and guidance to those facing transitions in life such as moving from school to college and to offer a greater range of accessible social opportunities to young people with disabilities.

5. Our Current Work Consultation work for Bury council.
Workshops for schools
Weekly youth group
CONSULTATION – Transport Report: Reflected views and opinions in a report
SEND threshold document questionnaire (fun and engaging video diary targeting those affected by SEND legislative changes)
Schools Workshop – Presentations about Disability Awareness and Hate Crime which are delivered in a fun and interactive way.
Youth Group: The club meets each Thursday and our activities include: cooking, arts and crafts and outings amongst other things. In the spirit of true participation, all our activities are suggested and agreed upon by the young people in the group which allows us to be truly user-led and offer genuine value to those who attend.

6. Why STARS Works True participation: Not a ‘box ticking’ exercise.
Sustainable service.
Not a model of practice
Giving young people a voice at a strategic level
Supported by local government departments
True participation – We ask young people their views. This is about what young people want not what professionals think they want. We set up this group so that we could offer realistic advice and positive solutions to our peers in relation to issues which are faced day by day by young people with disabilities.
Sustainable Service – Engaging young people by asking young people to engage with their peers. This is not adult-led.
Not a model of practice - All young people are different so their groups should reflect this. This way of working could inform other ways of working
Strategic Decisions – Young people must be able to sit in on strategic meetings and be on Strategy Groups in order to have a proper influence. We are actively recognising the importance of allowing young people to make strategic decisions so that their voice can be listened to.
Local Government Support: We are extremely grateful to be supported in some of our work by various local government departments including: Bury Educational Psychology Service, Bury Youth Service and the higher local authority. We have also recently established a link with the Partnership Team at Greater Manchester Police.

7. Community Funding Success
Greater Manchester Police Crime Commissioner Fund.
Bury Community Safety Partnership
The Pitch
We have successfully applied for some funding which has been used to help us further our aims within our local community:
Greater Manchester Police Crime Commissioner Fund – Monies were used for the development of the STARS website and telephone support service.
Bury Community Safety Partnership – Develop and run workshops to raise awareness of disability-related hate crime and how to recognise and report it.
The Pitch – Initially we secured funding from the pitch to help us fund a weekly supper club to help people with disabilities to develop cooking skills in order to promote independence.
The Pitch: We also received Funding towards the cost of a residential stay at Bendrigg for a group of young disabled people. This will take place in March 2019.

8. What the future could look like
To maintain a functional website with support services, information and accessible resources for children and young people with SEND.
To receive self-referrals from children and young people with SEND in Bury.
For there to be an increase in children and young people with SEND accessing services in Bury.
For children and young people in Bury to gain greater aspirations, reduce social isolation, develop positive peer relationships and develop social independence.
THIS COULD BE WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE – MAY BE OF HELP TO ANDY (I AM NOT USING THIS SLIDE, IT IS FROM AN OLDER PRESENTATION BUT SOME OF THE POINTS MAY BE USEFUL)

9. Thank you for listening. info@burystars.org.uk
Any Questions?
Thank you for listening.

10. Developing an approach to engaging with children and young people in Bury
Everyone introduces themselves and says that they want to be involved with what is happening in Bury.
Bury Educational Psychology Service

11. We have talked about STARS as they there own group, not LA run.
There are more then just a group for participation and this helps them to be sustainable.
The idea of co-production is adult-led – we need to listen to C&YP before we start (do C&YP even want to be involved??!)
The STARS is the right place to start…

12. Where to start… Working with the STARS group Set-up a C&YP group
Professionals interest group
C&YP ‘Have your say’ event (primary aged and secondary/post 16): games, craft, computer, drawing workshops – lunch choice (pizza or hot dogs, ice cream or lice lolly) – circus workshops (we had a quite room)
Erica
Educational Psychology Service

13. Where to start… Working with the STARS group Set-up a C&YP group
Professionals interest group
C&YP ‘Have your say’ event (primary aged and secondary/post 16): games, craft, computer, drawing workshops – lunch choice (pizza or hot dogs, ice cream or lice lolly) – circus workshops (we had a quite room)
Erica
Educational Psychology Service

14. Have your say event – findings
Children at primary school felt they were supported well, however at secondary school lots of young people felt that they were not well supported due to their difficulties and differences: ‘School don’t really understand me, teachers think I’m naughty’
All children and young people felt both school staff and other pupils need to understand special educational needs and disabilities.
At school children and young people wanted more practical lessons/activities and to be supported to make friends.
Kane
Educational Psychology Service

15. Have your say event– findings
Children and young with special educational needs and disabilities would like greater social opportunities in Bury: would like to: ‘…make more friends’.
They would like better accessibility for disabled children and young people in Bury.
They suggested that the local offer website could be used by children and young people to understand what is available for them in Bury and to feed back on services (this information is feeding into the Local Offer group).
Kane
Educational Psychology Service

16. Previous work in Bury
Currently children and young people feel their voice has no impact on how they are supported: ‘what's the point’.
They want to feed back on their experiences of services and for this to have an impact on how they are run.
They want to find out more information about services before they are involved with them.
They want more opportunities to engage in non-academic activities and social activities both in and outside of school.
They want choice/availability of provisions to meet their strengths, needs and interests.
Erica
Educational Psychology Service

17. Where we are now… Presented information to strategic leads
Set-up a youth forum / STARS – CHARTER (what C&YP have a right to/responsibility to/LA needs to do)
Trying to get an Inclusion Advocate in place – runs youth groups for C&YP with SEND / who goes into schools to let children know about their rights and to gather their views / training and workshops / support C&YP on steering groups or their views to be represented.

18. Where we are now…
Developing the Local Offer – using the website as a way to feedback on services and online consultations. Providing different mediums for C&YP to be involved
Attempting to join up current processes

19. Where we are now…

20. Barriers
Professionals do not understand participation and co-production
Professionals not being willing to power-share
Professionals not valuing or supporting this work
Things not moving along…

21. Facilitators
Involvement of different professionals (e.g. youth team/participation team/educational psychology/strategic leads with an interest/schools)
LA providing time to do this work
C&YP getting something out of it that they are interested in

22. The idea situation and what we need to think about… Starting with the C&YP

23. 1) Changing the attitude of the child/ young person
1. Trying their best to fit in and ‘be normal’:
Burnout, mental health problems, suicidal thoughts and feelings
Eventual self acceptance in adulthood, after difficult childhood and challenging mental health problems
2. ‘You are so much more than your disability’ e.g. autism is only a part of you and you are more than that – the attitude that is usually used by professionals
This is an attempt to promote positivity, but it actually has a negative effect
Makes people feel like they have negative baggage that is stuck with them and they can’t get rid of.
Tailors people towards wanting to ‘fix’ themselves, ‘cure’ themselves, ‘remove’ the negative baggage
Andy

24. Both of these attitudes are wrong
3. Instead, we need to promote self acceptance
SEN children need to be taught that it is ok to be different. The most important thing in life is to not try and fix the negatives of your disability, but instead to accept and embrace them, and live the best disabled life you possibly can. This is how you can ensure you get the most out of life.
This message is promoted by disability advocates across the globe, and this attitude needs to be brought to Bury.
Andy

25. How?
Make sure professionals don’t promote the wrong messages and have the right attitudes.
Ensure parents get the right message to lead a positive life from professionals
Make sure children actually know about their SEN and what it means.
Rather than trying make the child become part of ‘the community’, help them become a part of their community. Connectedness is the most important thing for a person’s wellbeing

26. 2) Changing the attitudes of professionals
‘We don’t have enough money to support your child’
Seeing SEN CYP as a problem, rather than a challenge
Need motivation to learn about SEN, and to realise that SEN CYP can thrive with the right guidance and support
Short term work in supporting the CYP will make things a lot easier in the long term
There is a complete lack of understanding
The one thing that will make a huge difference in the lives of SEN CYP is the attitudes of professionals

27. ‘I’m not being difficult, I am having difficulty’
CYP punished for ‘bad behaviour’, when the reason for the behaviour is that they are lacking skills to support them in certain situations
E.g. emotion recognition, social skills
Cognitive ramping
Too focused on academics and grades, rather than key life skills
Need to have opportunities to learn from SEN children and young people with self advocacy skills, as well as SEN adults who can reflect on their own experiences
Andy

28. 3) Enabling SEN CYP to connect
For a truly connected community, self acceptance comes first, then:
Giving CYP the opportunity to connect through appropriate social opportunities
Not a social opportunity that children go to for the sake of ‘respite’ or ‘getting out the house’, but social opportunities that enable children, young people and their families to connect and develop positive relationships
Current social opportunities aren’t really ‘social’
Many CYP cannot access current social opportunities
Also need a good range of different social opportunities
The feeling of connectedness when you understand someone and they understand you is stronger than anything else, in a world where you feel different to everyone else
I know many SEN CYP in Bury who are isolated and don’t know anyone else who relates to them, this should never be the case
`Example of ‘the connection’
Only once these people are connected will their voice truly be heard
Andy

29. 4) Peer acceptance
Promoting a culture that accepts difference from as early as possible
Again, the right approach is needed
How to do this? ASK US!
Andy

30. “What I love about life is how people can dream and be whatever they want to be. You can let your dreams guide you and work towards making them a reality. No matter how odd, or different you are, only you decide your future” – Benjamin, age 11
“It’s a fact you have autism, but you choose what to do with it. Find the pros in your personality; try to live through the cons. After all, life exists to exist. And there’s no changing who you are. Autism? More like awesome-tism!” – Finley, age 11
“Life for me is enjoyable but different compared to other people. Being different is ok – everyone is different, but not everyone is brave enough to admit it.” – Connor, age 14
“What I love about life is life. I may as well enjoy it while I’m here. If I wasn’t alive, I’d be dead!” – Scott, age 14
“What I love most about life is… myself. I love myself.” – Gavin, age 7
Andy

31. What next Having this being someone/every ones responsibility
Children and young people want to engage, but it has to be meaningful to them – social groups/youth groups.
Children and young people have to be able to have their say directly to services after involvement and also at a strategic level (whether attending a children and young people group or not).
Use of school councils…
Having a clear CO-PRODUCTION STRATEGY
Don’t know what to do …just ask!
Erica

32. Thank you for listening
Alex