A Children’s Parliament

Pictured: Colette Roberts from Knowsley Council’s Citizenship and Social Inclusion Unit is seen here with children and one of the completed citizenship banners.

Children as young as five are being given a chance to have a say in matters that affect them now that a Knowsley Children’s Parliament (KCP) has been set up in the borough. The KCP involves youngsters from every walk of life and every area of the borough.

The first sittings of the KCP took place during Inclusion Week recently. Matters up for discussion from the youngsters, whose ages range between five and 13, included recreational facilities for young children such as parks, playgrounds and activities in leisure centres as well as school meals. The children designed a banner that summed up how they felt about their area and what changes they would like to see for the future.

The Parliament is complemented by Knowsley Youth Parliament (KYP) for young people aged between 13 and 20. Operating on similar lines to KCP, this parliament works on an ‘area forum’ basis where young people can bring forward issues to be discussed - such as bullying and raising the image of their peer group. These are then fed into the Council’s area forum system where action can be taken.

Colette Roberts from Knowsley Council’s Citizenship and Social Inclusion Unit explains, “More and more emphasis is being put on what young people say and do and indeed what they can offer in terms of ideas, views, solutions and in raising issues relating to them and their peers.

“KYP and the Schools’ Council are very valued parts of Knowsley Council’s decision-making process and with the introduction of a forum for our youngest members of the community, we can now listen to them in a formal set up and feed their views back to the Council.”