A voice for young people in care

8 January 2014

Young people in care at Bromley Council have been given a voice thanks to a collaboration with Pad Creative. Bromley’s Active Involvement Officer  Jane McGill asked Pad to create welcome packs for children and young people entering care and then develop a website, www.speakoutspeakup.co.uk, for Bromley’s looked-after children and care leavers – and the young people were involved in the project every step of the way.

Jane explained: “Pad’s prices were very competitive but far more important was the team’s attitude. They were reliable, friendly, professional and keen to involve the young people throughout the project.

“Although I was the person in charge of the project, Pad made sure that it was driven by the young people. Pad’s Creative Director Alison Steward listened carefully to the brief, presented the concepts to the young people and took all their feedback on board. It meant that they really felt in control of their own project.”

The young people really appreciated the help they got from Pad, agreeing that the company executed their ideas very well. One said: “I loved Alison and Jon and would gladly work with them again. They were always very helpful and friendly.”

While Alison was fine-tuning the designs, the young people worked with Jane on the wording for the website and helped put it all together. Finally, Alison invited them into the Pad studio so they could be trained on how to update the website. “It was a brilliant experience they will remember for a long time,” said Jane.

“I gave Pad a challenging deadline but the welcome packs and website were all completed on time and to a really high standard. Everyone involved is so proud of our achievement.”

Alison said: “We’re really proud of Speak Out Speak Up and it’s lovely to hear that the young people we worked with are equally proud of it – they should be because they had some great ideas. It was a pleasure to work with them.”