Winner announced for Portsmouth’s next member of youth parliament

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After a close contest for Portsmouth’s next member of youth parliament, the winner has been announced. The campaign began on Monday 8 March when voting opened for seven young people who were shortlisted for the coveted role. Each candidate recorded a video and presented a manifesto that young people could review as part of the voting process.

Those aged between 11 – 18 years old who live, work or study in Portsmouth chose their candidate before voting closed on Wednesday 17 March.

The member of youth parliament will work alongside councillors and influence key decisions that affect young people and children.

Destiny Rose-Forde Kennedy, 16, who is a student at The Portsmouth Grammar School and the city’s next member of youth parliament said:

“I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for me. The 52 candidates who originally put themselves forward were all incredibly talented.

“Giving young people a voice is something that I believe to be essential and invaluable because we are the future and if we’re not involved in important discussions, so many significant experiences and perspectives will be excluded and that would be devastating.”

Due to the high calibre of candidates shortlisted, two deputy roles have been created to support the member of youth parliament for Portsmouth.

Ella Reilly, 17, who is a student at Havant and South Downs College (HSDC) and a deputy said:

“This new role will enable me to support Destiny, ensuring more young people’s voices are heard and represented at council meetings. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to help build a change making platform for Portsmouth.”

Willow Lindstrom-Fabik, 13, a student at Priory School and a deputy said:

“I am incredibly excited to be a member of youth parliament deputy and work collaboratively with Destiny and Ella. I’m hoping to expand my political knowledge and meet new, innovative people that I can learn from.”

UK Youth Parliament provides opportunities for 11-18 year olds. All members of youth parliament meet nationally twice a year at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting and UK Youth Parliament House of Commons Sitting.

Supported by Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth Education Partnership brings together all Portsmouth schools and partner organisations to improve attainment and opportunities for young people across the city.

The campaign to find Portsmouth’s next member of youth parliament meets the partnerships priorities of inclusivity, ensuring no voice goes unheard.

The partnership also supports teacher recruitment and retention as well as increasing attainment levels of school children across the city through awareness campaigns.

For more information on the city’s member of youth parliament, local residents can visit the PEP pupil voice webpage.

All aboard! Apprenticeship bus inspires next generation with exciting futures

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Amazing opportunities in a wide range of apprenticeships await secondary school students aboard the apprenticeship bus from 4 – 6 February as part of National Apprenticeship Week. This year, the bus will be arriving at schools across the city for an additional day.

The initiative is led by Shaping Portsmouth and other partners including The University of Portsmouth, The Solent Apprenticeship Hub and Stagecoach. The bus was first launched in 2018 with the mission to inspire secondary school children to consider apprenticeships as an alternative after education.

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Attendance and Aspirations Week at Wimborne Junior School

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As part of Portsmouth City Council’s ongoing ‘Miss School, Miss Out’ school attendance campaign, Wimborne Junior School held an Aspirations Week from 21 – 25 January to help children to think about what jobs they would like to have in the future, what skills they will need in order to succeed in those jobs and how important attending school is in helping them to achieve their goals.

During the week, pupils looked at their future selves and discussing goal setting, resilience, potential barriers and the support available to help them.

Cllr Suzy Horton, cabinet member for education at Portsmouth City Council, visited the school and said that she was “overwhelmed with the quality of conversation not only about aspirations but also their understanding of what they need to do to become the best version of themselves.”

Carina Jacobs, head teacher at Wimborne Junior, said: “During Aspirations Week, we’re looking forward to inspiring the children to think about their futures and to helping them to understand the steps they can take to ensure their own success and the help available in school to aid them in reaching their goals. Hopefully they will take this forward with them into secondary school and beyond.”

#MissSchoolMissOut