Loudspeaker. Young NCB

download Loudspeaker. Young NCB

of 8

Transcript of Loudspeaker. Young NCB

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    1/8

    LoudspeakerISSN 1475-6129 YOUNG NCB MEMBERS MAGAZINE ISSUE 28WINTER 2012

    Young NCBpriorities

    update

    Young NCBNorthernIreland

    Politicaleducationand votes

    at 16

    Thescrappingof GCSEs

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    2/8

    Join Young NCB for free at www.youngncb.org.uk For details phone 020 7843 6099 or email [email protected]

    No regrets with Air Cadets 2

    The scrapping of GCSEs:

    What does it mean for us? 3

    Freedom 3

    What have Young NCBmembers been up to 4

    Young NCB priorities update 4

    Young NCB Advisory Group 5

    Political education and votes at 16 5

    Young NCB Northern Ireland 6

    Save our hospitals 7

    Energy Bill Revolution update 7

    Member proles 8

    WhatsInside ..? Welcome to Loudspeaker winter2012 - we have lots to update you on

    since our last edition so please take a

    look inside!

    On page 2 Rana tells you what its

    like being an Air Cadet. Ugo writes

    about the scrapping of GCSEs andwhat eect he thinks this may have

    on children and young people, and

    Finn talks about moving up from

    GCSEs to A Levels on page 3.

    There are photos for you to have

    a look at on page 4 to see what

    members have been up to, as well as

    an update on Young

    NCBs priorities. On

    page 5, Shivani talks

    about the Advisory

    Group residential

    and leaving the

    group, while Yasmin

    tells us what she

    thinks about votes

    Welcome from Young NCB!

    Disclaimer

    Theviews expressedbymembersinthiseditionofLoudspeakerarenotneccesar

    ilythoseof

    YoungNCB

    Sara-Jane

    Air Cadets- not only an army based project. Not only linked to the

    Royal Air Force (RAF) but a fun and exciting adventure of my life. I

    have made new friends, had new experiences and been given new

    opportunities. Who wouldnt want to join? I joined because I have a

    passion for physics, such as understanding how aircrafts are able to

    y and also to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, shooting,

    camps, BTECs and parading.

    As with anything you have to work hard to achieve it,

    and the same applies with being a cadet. It takes a couple

    of months for you to pass out, meaning graduate. But

    to get to that stage you will have to pass some exams

    consisting of the history of Air Training Corps (ATC) and RAF.In addition, you have to pass some practical tasks such as

    drills, which are always fun to do.

    One of the best things I have done so far is having

    a fancy dress Halloween night. We all dressed up and

    everyone looked amazing! Prizes were given out for the

    top three best dressed. It is great just to relax and socialise

    with everyone and we played apple bobbing and it was

    hilarious as some people managed to get

    extremely wet.

    In conclusion, I think that joining the Air

    Cadets was one of the best decisions I have

    made and I would encourage all teenagers

    to take the opportunity and join.

    Rana, aged 16

    NoregretswithAirCadets!

    Rana

    at 16 and how this ts in with political

    education.

    You can read about what Young

    NCB Northern Ireland members have

    been doing on page 6. On page 7,

    Sadaf tells us about a protest shewent on to save her local hospital and

    there is an update from Young NCB

    members involved in the Energy Bill

    Revolution campaign.

    We hope you enjoy reading this and

    if you want to nd out more about

    Young NCB please visit the websiteor

    drop us a line to tell us what you

    have been doing.

    Thanks for reading!

    Sara-Jane - Young NCB

    www.youngncb.org.uk

    [email protected]

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    3/8

    The scrapping of GCSEs: What doesit mean for us?

    in Shakespeares Twelfth Night?Does it honestly matter

    that a2+b2=c2? But the truth is, regardless of whether

    or not these facts are useful to us, they are all part of one

    enormous learning curve. Our rst taste of freedom!

    We have reached young adulthood and seventeen year

    olds across the country have emerged from their cocoons,

    blinking in the sunlight of further education. We are more

    liberated than we ever have been before. Sixth Form

    prepares us for a lifetime of free will. And regardless of how

    terrifying that may sound, we should forever respect the

    words of Jim Morrison.

    Expose yourself to yourdeepest fear; after that,fear has no power, and thefear of freedom shrinks and

    vanishes. You are free.

    Finn, aged 16

    \Freedom

    Finn

    Ugo

    As was the move from primary to secondary school terribly

    daunting, so too is the transition from GCSE to A Level study.

    Day after day, essay after essay, grade after grade ...The entire

    experience is exhausting. The sudden release from the cradling

    wing of statutory education into the sixth form mine eld has

    opened my eyes to an entirely new concept that I dont think I have

    ever truly experienced before freedom!

    This new sense of independence is arguably the most

    signicant aspect of sixth form. While we had previously

    been conned in our Key Stage 4 cocoons, dependent on

    our teachers and our parents, being told what to do and

    where to be, how to act and what to say, we have now

    been thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool of

    snakes and spiders and all manner of grisly and graphic

    metaphors.

    Two years of seemingly endless essays, equations andexams may seem rather excessive. I mean, whats it all

    about? Does anyone care whether Richard of York gave

    battle in vain? Must I really understand the theme of excess

    Michael Gove (the minister of education for the current UK

    government) intends to scrap the standard GCSE course. There has

    been outcry from the supporting unions of the Labour party, whoare saying that a return to O-Level qualications means a return

    to having a CSE qualication. Before the Conservatives introduced

    GCSEs, CSEs existed as a form of lesser O-Level. For example, if you

    got a Level 1 (Distinction) grade in your CSE, you had the equivalent

    of a C in the same subject at O-Level.

    Generally, CSEs were poorly regarded in terms of

    employment. However, they were the qualications the

    masses could attain, so they were needed anyway. The

    unions who strongly protest against a two-tier system have

    clearly forgotten about the dierence between Higher and

    Foundation papers. Right now at GCSE level, getting the

    highest mark in a Foundation paper will give you a grade C.

    Isnt it this the same as the CSE anyway?

    I suppose you could say that because Ive sat my GCSEs,

    this wont aect me. But if GCSEs change, then A Levels

    will too. What concerns me most is the fact that I am a

    candidate who will not have been through these new

    qualications. So what does it mean for me and my grades?

    For starters, will my GCSEs fade in comparison to those

    who have done the harder exams? Will they become more

    employable? The same goes for when A Levels inevitablybecome harder. Will other peoples grade As or Bs be worth

    more than mine?

    If thats the case, a whole restructuring will take place

    and people like me who have worked hard at what weve

    been set will be displaced in the employment system.

    This must, again, be accounted for. I think that the eects

    will be minimised because the changes will happen at A

    Level very gradually. Hopefully, even with the very gradual

    movement, the government can produce a scheme of

    work that I can complete to bring my knowledge up to

    the standards they expect.

    These are just my thoughts. What I

    want to ask you is what do you think

    about all of this change and do you

    support Gove or not?

    Ugo, aged 16

    3

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    4/8

    What have Young NCB members beenup to since the summer?

    Young NCB members have been involved in a varietyof

    events and activities since our last edition ofLoudspeaker.

    Hereare a few photosofwhatwe have beenup to

    Young NCBs Advisory Group have been working hard on the two

    priorities- Wake up to Your World and Challenging Discrimination.

    The Advisory Group have nished their poster forWake up to Your World which includes what children

    and young people need to know about Parliament

    and how it works. We have sent this out to all of our

    members as part of Parliament Week which ran from

    19-25 November 2012.

    The Advisory Group have also completed their

    questionnaire to send to children and young peoplein order to nd out what you think are the most

    important areas that we should cover under the topic

    of discrimination. You can take part in this survey to

    tell us what you think, so keep your eyes peeled on the

    website to have your say!

    Parliament Week briefing andtour at the Houses of Parliament

    ThePersonalFinance EducationAdvisoryGroup atthelaunch oftheirtoolkit

    Launching theGet Money Savvy Toolkit

    British Youth Councils AnnualCouncil Meeting

    TheAdvisorygroupworking on

    aproblem solvingteamactivity.

    IshwarandBillal readytohavea go

    onthezip wire!

    Young NCB Advisory GroupResidential

    Claire and Shivani at the Houses of Parliament

    Young NCBs priorities update

    NCBs Annual General Meeting

    YoungNCBmembersattheAGM(Ben,Teri-An

    n,

    Jamie,Aneela,AdamandOrtega)

    Aneela

    andKiran

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    5/8

    5

    One of our current Advisory Group members talks about the

    residential she went on in September, her time on the Advisory Group

    and how she is feeling about leaving

    At the residential, we discussed the main areas

    related to our two priorities, Wake up to Your World and

    Challenging Discrimination.

    We decided on content and design for a

    poster for Wake Up to Your World explaining

    to young people the importance of politics and

    what they can do to nd out more information

    and get involved. For Challenging Discrimination

    we nalised the questionnaire for young people

    about their views on discrimination. We also had

    team building exercises where we did activities

    like problem solving and a zip wire.

    My favourite part of the residential was getting to knowthe members who I have worked with better and learning

    new skills like leadership and teamwork. It was good

    to go to the residential to be able to work in a dierent

    environment with the members and learn new things

    along the way.

    Young NCB Advisory Group

    I am really upset to be leaving the Advisory Group as I

    am so attached to everyone and its a shame to leave them

    all. My highlight of being an Advisory Group member is

    that I have been able to express my views about topics we

    have discussed, and knowing that everything I have said is

    being taken into account and that having my opinion heard

    has made a dierence. I have seen a big change in

    my personality as a whole. I have become a more

    condent and independent person.

    I would suggest that anyone who comes across an

    opportunity like this should seize it with both hands,

    as it is a life changing experience, but also a lot of fun!

    Shivani, aged 16

    We will be recruiting for the Advisory Group in December andJanuary, so if you would like to get involved then please email

    [email protected] complete an application form. You will

    nd more information on the Young NCB website and if you are a

    member we will email you all the details.

    Shivani

    In the UK there are more than 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds and

    according to Votes at 16 they are knowledgeable and passionate

    about the world they live in and are capable of engaging in thedemocratic system. Are we really that knowledgeable and passionate

    about politics?

    In 1998 the British Youth Council surveyed 1000

    young people about participation in society and the

    understanding of the political process. The results were

    then published in the report State of the Young Nation.

    This was the rst time that many people thought about

    lowering the voting age to 16, and it reinforced the British

    Youth Councils campaign on the subject.

    Ever since then there has been an ongoing debate on

    whether it is right to let young people vote at 16. At the

    age of 16 the law says that you can do a number of things,

    such as:

    leave school and enter work or training

    pay income tax and National Insurance

    obtain tax credits and welfare benets in their

    own right

    get married or enter a civil partnership

    join the armed forces.

    Many people argue that if young people can take on so

    many responsibilities, that they should be able to vote.

    The main opposition to 16 year olds having the voteis that there is not enough political education taught in

    schools and therefore young people dont know enough

    about current aairs and

    politics. Citizenship has been

    compulsory since 2002

    but many schools are not

    using this to teach political

    education early enough.

    Teaching political education

    in schools from a young age

    would equip 16 year olds

    with the knowledge and

    maturity to vote at 16.

    However we still need to

    ask is there enough interest

    from young people to

    vote and how much of an

    impact would it make in national

    and local elections?

    Yasmin, aged 14

    Do young people really need to learn about politicaleducation so that they have the chance to vote at 16?

    The Houses of Parliament

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    6/8

    If you want to contact Young NCB Northern Ireland send

    an e-mail to: [email protected]

    NCB in Northern Ireland are running the ENGAGE programme,

    providing support and advice for projects funded through the

    Reaching Out: Empowering Young People programme, on behalf of

    the Big Lottery Fund.

    ENGAGE is also supported by a young persons reference

    group to make sure that young people are central to the

    delivery of the support programme.

    Two of the Young NCB Northern Ireland members tell you

    what they have been getting up to:

    Hi my name is Lauren and Im an Engage N You

    member. In September we made a DVD about hard

    to reach young people. It involved members from

    Phoenix ADHD Project and other young people who

    are part of NCB. We went to Mountsandel forest park

    to do some lming. By making the DVD we are trying

    to get adults to understand what young people are

    going through these days.

    Lauren aged 16

    My name is Robert and I also worked with NCB to

    help make the DVD. To help us make it we also did

    some group work. I enjoyed making the DVD because

    a lot of people will see it. The people at NCB have all been

    very helpful and caring.

    Robert, aged 15

    The young peoples views on how adults could improve

    working with hard to reach young people was shown

    at an Engage workshop and this DVD can be seen at the

    Participation Works website.www.participationworks.org.uk/northern-ireland

    Engage NYoumembers atameeting

    Join Young NCB for free at www.youngncb.org.uk For details phone 020 7843 6099 or email [email protected]

    Workingwithhardtoreachyoungpeople

    Workexperience

    For one week in October I got the opportunity to

    do work experience in NCB Northern Ireland. I got

    to help out with everything going on in the o ce

    and to nd out what NCB does.

    I helped the research team by going

    out to a school to get them to ll in

    a questionnaire and I also got the

    opportunity to help judge this year s Anti-

    Bulling Poster Competition for the

    NI Anti-Bullying Forum.

    I feel that I have learned so

    much this past week and I would

    love to work with NCB Northern

    Ireland in future. I have alsojoined Young NCB and I hope to

    be doing great things with them.

    Anthony aged, 15

    Anthony from Young NCB Northern Ireland

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    7/8

    Mariyam and Kiran highlighted the impact on children

    and young peoples health of living in cold, damp homes.

    They provided the young peoples view, while Dot Gibson

    from the National Pensioners Convention gave an older

    persons perspective. Together they provided a really strong

    voice to show just how critical it is for people to live in safe,

    healthy homes.

    Kiran said I think it was important that we were there

    to reinforce the message that fuel poverty isnt just an

    old peoples issue but something that aects everyone,

    especially children and young people.

    NCB supports the Energy Bill Revolution campaign which

    calls on government to use the money it will receive from

    carbon taxes to make homes energy e cient. This will

    help reduce fuel poverty and slash carbon emissions. You

    can nd out more about the campaign on their website orwatch the Young NCB Fuel Poverty Champions speak about

    the campaign on the NCB website:

    http://ncb.org.uk/sustainable-lifestyles

    /fuel-poverty-and-childrens-health

    www.energybillrevolution.org 7

    Save our hospitals!

    Save Ealing Hospital

    Mariyam and Kiran at the event in London

    On the 15 September, I was involved in the protest in London to Save

    Ealing Hospital. Ealing Hospital is in close proximity to working class

    areas that are heavily dependent on the hospital, and the closure

    will aect the poor and the vulnerable, especially those who do not

    have the means to travel. This to some feels like the beginning of a

    two-tier system whereby those who live in wealthier areas close tohospitals will have better access and response times and those who

    live further away will suer, particularly the economically dependent

    elderly outpatients.

    It cannot be denied that all the hospitals being closed

    are close to or neighbouring poorer areas. Saving our local

    hospitals is an issue very close to my heart as I believe

    the areas close by have little investment or infrastructure

    development mainly when considering population sizes

    and tax contributions.

    Without Ealing, Charing Cross or Hammersmith Accident

    and Emergencies, ambulances would have to travel miles

    and deaths would rise. The residents need their local

    hospitals. Ealing Hospital alone is used by 100,000 people a

    year and without it patients in desperate need would have

    nowhere to go.

    With gas and electricity prices set to rise again just in time for

    Christmas, the cost of fuel bills are a real concern for many families

    again this year.Mariyam and Kiran Iqbal, two of Young NCBs Fuel

    Poverty Champions, were asked to speak at the Local action

    for warm homes event in London in October. The event was

    organised to show how councils can help to reduce fuel

    poverty in their areas.

    Highlighting the impact of living incold homes on children and young people

    Throughout my community in Ealing there is a general

    feeling the restructuring of the NHS is a cover, that the

    government is not planning on making our health care

    better by closing our hospital as they claim but rather a

    simple exercise in cutting costs.

    The NHS is responsible for Ealing Hospital; it is the fault of

    the NHS that the hospital is under performing, not that of

    the residents themselves.

    The people of Ealing are paying for the mistakes of

    a select few in the city who have made poor nancial

    decisions, possibly with their lives.

    Sadaf Moosvi, age 15

  • 7/30/2019 Loudspeaker. Young NCB

    8/8

    Join Young NCB for free at www.youngncb.org.uk For details phone 020 7843 6099 or email [email protected]

    Member profiles

    Name: Lauren Caldwell

    Lives: Coleraine

    Age: 16 years old

    How long have you

    been involved in

    Young NCB and what

    sort of things have you done?

    For about a year now. I have been to the

    Belfast activity Centre and taken part in

    things like questionnaires.

    What other interests do you have?

    I like to play sports.

    What are you studying?

    Childcare at Rutledge Recruitment

    and Training.

    What are your plans for the future?I would like to run my own childcare

    business one day.

    What qualities do you like in

    other people?

    Sporty people because I like sports and

    also people who are friendly.

    And what do you dislike in people?

    When they are very rude!

    Who do you most admire in life and

    why?

    I admire David De Gea because he

    makes me try to succeed when I play

    and Martin Luther King because he

    fought for everyone to be treated

    equally.

    What are the main things that stop

    young people from getting their

    voice heard?I think its when they are too shy to give

    their opinion.

    What are the biggest issues for young

    people your age today?

    Getting pressured into things.

    Do you have any words of wisdom for

    your fellow Young NCB members?

    Dont give into peer pressure and voice

    what you think - dont be shy!

    Name: Ethan Gulliford-

    Knight

    Age: 12 years oldLives: Bradford

    How long have you

    been involved in

    Young NCB and what

    sort of things have you done?

    I have just joined the NCB, this is my rst

    o cial involvement but I am keen to

    contribute in the future!

    What other interests do you have?

    Scootering, laser-tag, guitar, karate,

    hiking, rugby, pool and reading

    What are you studying?

    My favourite subjects are English, Maths,

    Drama and PE.

    What are your plans for the future?

    To acquire the Duke of Edinburgh

    Award, GCSE English, Maths and Physics,

    A-Level Maths, English, Physics, Politics,

    Law, Psychology and Id like to study

    philosophy.

    What qualities do you like in

    other people?

    What I truly like in people is honesty andI like people to inspire me to be positive,

    by being positive towards everything

    and to bring an optimistic vibe when Im

    with them.

    And what do you dislike in people?

    People who act like they are superior

    and who walk around with a chip on

    their shoulder.

    Who do you most admire in life

    and why?

    My grandpa, who I call Bampa! He

    is so intelligent, knowledgeable and

    accomplished.

    What are the main things that stop

    young people from getting their

    voice heard?

    Children can feel self- conscious

    because other kids prejudice them

    and make feel that their thoughts and

    opinions arent cool.

    What are the biggest issues for

    young people your age today?

    Kids not getting the right start in lifethrough poverty, not having access to

    the best schools and opportunities. They

    are not able to reach their full potential.

    Do you have any words of wisdom

    for your fellow Young NCBers?

    When opportunities emerge take

    them! Trying new things will build your

    condence regardless of what other

    kids say.