Kiddies. It's a seemingly innocuous word but one the young people pick up on as soon as Matt* the social worker who said it has left the room. "He said kiddies every time he meant kids. So that was very irritating," says Brenden, and the others wholeheartedly agree.
What I'm watching is a debrief by Lincolnshire's Young Inspectors. It's a bit like X Factor if you substitute Simon Cowell and co for three young people. At one point Brenden even says, half-jokingly: "It's a no from me." The "act" they are judging is Lincolnshire County Council, specifically how its services work with young people. Rather than ITV prime time, this discussion takes place in private to allow honesty and no hurt feelings, which is why the names of the social workers being inspected have been changed for the purposes of this article.
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