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Hi all – I’m Fran Slater, the new Youth Co-Creation Lead in Greater Manchester. As part of my role, I’ll be producing regular blog posts discussing the youth engagement we are doing here at #BeeWell in Greater Manchester, as well as making space for the young people we are working with to share the things that matter to them and how they find working with our team to improve young people’s wellbeing.
For my first post, I wanted to introduce myself. But being Youth Co-Creation Lead, I didn’t want to do that on my own. So, instead, here I am answering some questions that members of our Youth Steering Group set for me:
1. What was it that made you want to join #BeeWell?
That’s a big question to kick off, but I suppose it makes sense to get straight to the point. While I was looking for jobs, what I read about #BeeWell in the job description and during my research online really struck a chord with me.
Before coming to this role, I was working as a Research Officer with Barnardo’s. Prior to that, I worked as a Mental Health Practitioner for young people aged between 11 and 25 and, previously, a Personal Adviser for those who had left, or were about to leave, the care system. All that work had included running participation groups, and in a couple of my roles I had also facilitated youth-led research.
So, the fact the #BeeWell is not only a research project, but also a programme which aims to have the voice of young people at its heart, was attractive to me.
I also believe that while surveying young people on the scale that #BeeWell does is hugely important and impressive, data is often more impactful when it is backed up by the stories of why it says what it does. And I really enjoy supporting young people to tell their stories.
2. Is there a specific moment where you were like, this is the job for me? And if so, when was it?
I love this question. But if I’m being honest, there wasn’t really one specific moment.
A lot of what I’ve said in my answer to the first question was a starting point that made me feel confident I’d like the job. And that feeling was made stronger by my interview.
It was a great interview, but I was particularly encouraged by the way in which one of the Steering Group was included on the panel and was given due weight to ask their own questions and be an equal part. I’ve been to interviews where the young person on the panel didn’t feel like they were fully involved, but that wasn’t the case here. That gave me confidence that #BeeWell really values young people’s voices, and doesn’t want to work with young people simply in a tokenistic way.
And then since I started, there’s been a lot of small moments. I have met great people who are clearly passionate about the wellbeing of young people, I’ve had my ideas and plans taken seriously and I can already see where I can make a difference, and people across #BeeWell are honest in that they think there are still ways we can improve how we do participation and co-creation. That encourages me because it means I’m here to use my knowledge and experience to move things forward.
Finally, over the last few weeks, I have started to work closely with those of you who are in the Youth Steering Group. You’ve been really welcoming, you’ve shared your ideas and experiences, and you even let me win at bowling!.
So no, there hasn’t been one specific moment that made me think this was the job for me – but there has been lots of different moments that make me confident I’m in the right place.
3. How have you been finding the transition to your new job and the change of environment?
I like this question because it shows me that you have been listening when I talk! This is definitely a change in environment for me. After years of working in the charity sector, it feels strange to be in the big, flashy office of the GMCA and being so closely involved with people working for a government organisation. Many of my previous roles have involved trying to get the voice and thoughts of young people from the charity sector into those who work in government, because we know that’s where real change can happen.
And now those people, those teams, are at my fingertips. There is something really exciting about knowing that the voices of the young people I work with now will have such a direct throughline to people who can influence change and policy.
On the other hand, there are different challenges to those in the charity sector. In previous roles of mine, I have been surrounded by colleagues with similar experience, people who have worked in safeguarding and child protection for years. Working across a partnership programme such as #BeeWell, and in such a varied organisation as the GMCA, there is a huge variation in skills, experience, and knowledge – and things are set up differently to how a charity might be – so, sometimes, I have to remind myself that the processes and ways of doing things are different and there’s a lot for me to learn.
But I don’t see any of that as a bad challenge. In fact, I think it’s really encouraging that people such as myself, those who have spent time working on the frontline within charity settings, are getting the opportunity to work closely with decision makers and people who work across a host of government priorities.
4. What are your early reflections on how young people work with #BeeWell outside of the Steering Group, such as in interviews and board meetings?
What I have seen so far is really encouraging. It is clear that those who work across the #BeeWell team are passionate about involving young people in as many things as they can, and so far, I have seen involvement in Delivery Board meetings, interview panels, research proposals, event facilitation, and meetings with employees across the GMCA.
This is obviously a great thing. That said, I am in the process of thinking through some ideas about how we ensure young people are getting the best out of the opportunities that are put in front of them and that their needs and best interests are considered.
I want young people to be involved in everything they can be. I think that decisions, projects, plans, and ideas can only be improved by having the voice of young people at their centre. But I also want to make sure that, on the other end of that, young people are coming away from those opportunities with something that is also meaningful to them.
I’m not saying that hasn’t been happening already, I am just saying that I think we can strive to make the way young people work with #BeeWell even better, and I want to work closely with young people to do that.
5. What are your plans for working with the Steering Group?
This feels like a great question to end on. I’ll start by saying that I think there has been so much good work done already, that I don’t come here thinking sweeping changes are needed. I want to continue to support what has been happening so far.
But from my experience working with youth groups, I think that the best work happens when the group members know each other well and feel a lot of trust for one another. So, I’m keen to start mixing the amazing, crucial work you all do to help #BeeWell understand and share the data from the survey with some fun activities that help us to get to know each other really well and create some strong working relationships.
Initial ideas I have outside of that are for us to take on some co-created projects, get out there and speak to other young people, and to create opportunities (such as peer mentoring) for you to grow outside of the group and learn things that will benefit your future.
I feel lucky to be coming into a group with so much knowledge and experience, but we also need to recruit new members and grow the group so we have a wider range of voices in place (if anyone reading wants to join they can contact me on fran.slater@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk). And one other thing I’m really keen to do is help the group, and any other young people who work with us at #BeeWell, to tell the story of why wellbeing matters to them and what our team can do to improve things.
Watch this space!
