Can you give us an example? Earlier this year, I helped parents petition the Scottish Parliament for a play strategy for Scotland: this was to ensure that every young person in Scotland has access to a safe, challenging and accessible play environment.
How did you get into this? I saw an advert for a job working with 14- to 16-year-old "school refusers", as a classroom befriender, in alternative education, based in a little industrial unit in the middle of nowhere. To me, the young people were brilliant, really dynamic and interesting and enthusiastic. It was the adults and the system letting them down; the young people were descending to the low expectations that people put on them and responding to years of feeling they had no control. This made me realise the importance of helping young people by working with their parents and adults who have influence on their lives. I then went to work in a young parents' project. That led to me working for Stepping Stones for Families.
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