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Services for young people

There are 15,500 young people aged between 10-19 living in South Oxfordshire and making up 12% of our population. The Council provides a number of services and opportunities that have a direct and positive impact on the lives of young people. In particular, our sports and leisure team work hard to develop a range of recreational activities for teenagers throughout the school term and during holidays.

What Didcot youth wants film project

Filmed about young people, for young people and by young people, the short DVD documentary “What Didcot Youth Wants”, gives a fresh outlook on our youth’s role in society.

The project, funded and organised by South Oxfordshire District Council, gave young people in Didcot the opportunity to research, write and film a 20-minute DVD, which condenses the findings of a group of young people from local youth groups and schools across Didcot.

• View the "What Didcot Youth Wants" film clip

Young People's Strategy

From our discussions with young people and those who work with them, we know there is more we can do, and our Young People's Strategy sets out some of the things we plan to do over the next three years.

We have developed the strategy in response to feedback from residents that facilities and activities for children and teenagers is a high priority for them.  We have carried out extensive consultation with young people, and with groups who work with and on behalf of young people, and the strategy and actions reflect what they have told us.

The strategy is aimed at the 11 to 19 age group, as this group is less well catered for currently than younger age groups.  It is based around six themes.  These are:

• Engagement and communication
• Recreation
• Being safe
• Improving the image of young people
• Life skills
• Protecting the environment

We will review our progress and the action plan itself in autumn 2007.

You can download a copy of the Young People’s Strategy from the menu on the right.

For more information on the Council’s work with young people, contact the Young Peoples Co-ordinator.

Young People's Networking Event, March 2007

The Council held a young people’s networking event on Friday 23 March. The event was part of our initiative to engage young people in the democratic process. We invited representatives from secondary schools and community youth centres across the district to participate in the event.

Boris Johnson was a guest speaker in the afternoon - and young people had the opportunity to ask him questions. The event included a wide range of activities throughout the day, such as debates, games and quizzes.

The theme of the day was ‘It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part’. The event was for young people age 11-19 and aimed to demonstrate the importance of young people’s input into their local community and the value of their opinion in the democratic process.  

You can watch a video clip of Boris's question and answer session at www.southoxon-outburst.co.uk