As Children’s Commissioner, young people tell me all the time about the importance of play and activities, especially access to outside spaces. Childhood is precious and every child deserves the opportunity for play and leisure time, alongside a great education.
It was clear from The Big Ambition that children have different priorities for community spaces to adults. They want to be able to play in a safe, unrestricted space.
They said in The Big Ambition that they didn’t feel consulted on the development of community spaces although many did report that there were fun activities in their local area, but sadly this was far from unanimous.
One thing I hear very often from young people is how important the Duke of Edinburgh Awards are as they get into their teenage years. The awards give young people an opportunity to access nature in a safe way with their friends and to learn new skills.
That’s why I was so pleased that my young Ambassadors Maya, Ben and Mehul were able to speak to Ruth Marvel OBE, chief executive of the Duke of Edinburgh (DoE).
In the podcast, my Ambassadors heard from Ruth about the work the DoE Awards is doing to widen access so that more young people can take part and develop skills and strengthen their mental and physical health, while building resilience.
Ruth spoke about the work the Duke of Edinburgh Awards is doing in prisons and young offender institutions (YOI) to offer young people new opportunities. She spoke of one person who took part in DoE while in a YOI who then went on to become a successful chef, with a top selling cookbook.
Another element Ruth was keen to highlight was the work the DoE is doing to widen opportunities for young people facing poverty and coming from low-income homes, which includes offering them bursaries to take part in the Awards.
Joining Ruth for the interview was DoE Ambassador Safa who shared how she got involved in the scheme to help her young brother who has additional needs. As a young carer, she was aware her brother had limited opportunities to get involved in schemes and programmes so wanted to help support him in accessing the DoE. She’s since gone on to complete her Gold Award and is working hard to encourage other young Asian people to get involved with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.
Maya, Ben and Mehul asked both Ruth and Safa about their ambitions for other ways to improve young people’s lives in England in 2025 and beyond. Ruth wants to see more focus on ending poverty and widening opportunities for young people. While Safa wanted there to be greater regulation and protections online for young people.
Visit the Duke of Edinburgh website for more information about their Awards.
You can Listen to The Big Conversation on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon/Audible podcasts.
