• Leader of Sutton Council pledges to send a councillor into every Sutton secondary school
• Detailed report of summit findings to be published 

Back row l-r: Harry Ward, Daigan Reid, Erin Horsley, Ethan Smith. Front l-r: Shabnam Khan, Rahma Salia, Granthic Barua and Farida Augustine. Click image to download.

Young people well and truly had their voices heard, as the council held its second annual Sutton Youth Summit last week, Wednesday 18 March.

Teenagers from 12 of the borough’s secondary schools spoke up at Sutton Life Centre about the best ways to tackle issues from bullying and mental health to equality among minority groups and keeping safe online.

The summit, organised by the council’s Integrated Services for Young People, aims to  inform the council and service providers of what young people think. It supports  the work being done by the Sutton Youth Parliament and Teens with a Voice.

Ethan Smith, the Youth Parliament member for Sutton, said:

“We don’t have the right to vote until we are 18, so we can’t align with a political party. Young people have to find other ways to affect their futures.

“At the end of the day, young people and adults – we are both human. Young people aren’t stupid. Our views are just as valid and they need to be heard.”

Cllr Ruth Dombey, leader of the council, said:

“It was inspiring to hear just how passionate our young people are about the future of their borough. We want and need our youth to care about making Sutton a better place.

“That is why I have pledged that every secondary school in Sutton will have a councillor visit to listen to the pupils’ views. I am confident that, together, we can start working towards some practical changes to help improve the lives of our young people.”

Having councillor open days in schools was one of Ethan Smith‘s pledges for the year.

The crowd at last Wednesday’s summit.

Five different topics were discussed and considered in workshops at the summit, as decided on by more than 100 of the borough’s secondary students.

The topics were:

• Bullying
• Equalities
• Keeping yourself safe
• Mental health
• Young people people listened to

Young people from Sutton Youth Parliament planned and delivered all five of the workshops. They included: Rose Baker (Greenshaw High School), Granthic Barua (Wallington County Grammar School), Farida Augustine (Sutton High School), Harry Hamilton (Overton Grange School), Erin Horsley and Shabnan Khan (both of Wallington High School for Girls), Rahma Scalia (Sutton High School), Youth Parliament Member for Sutton Ethan Smith (Stanley Park High School) and  Deputy Member Daigan Reid (Wilson’s School).

Almost 100 people attended the day-long event of workshops and speeches, including pupils from Greenshaw High School, Wilson’s School, Sutton High School, Wallington High School for Girls, The Limes College, Overton Grange School, Stanley Park High School, Wallington County Grammar School , Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service (STARS), Cheam High School, Carew Academy and Sutton Grammar School.

Listening to the young people’s concerns were representatives from Sutton Council including leader Cllr Ruth Dombey and chair of the Children, Family and Education Committee Cllr Wendy Mathys, Sutton Police, Sutton Black History Group, the Sutton LGBT Forum, Jigsaw4u and the British Youth Council.

The young facilitators will publish a paper on the summit’s findings in coming weeks.