Bucks Youth Summit 2024 – Feedback
This page contains all of the feedback received on the Bucks Youth Summit 2024.
Feedback from young attendees
Young attendees were invited to share their feedback on the event via feedback postcards which were collected at the end of the day. The cards asked, “What’s been good?”, “What could have been better?” and “Sum up today in 3 words!”
The summing up words have been made into a wordcloud!
What’s been good?
• Interactive
• Variety of options
• Unique stools
• The information that I learnt.
• The spaces were fun
• The subjects
• All the friends I made today
• SEND area ok
• Inclusivity, safe space to openly talk
• The spaces and the engagement
• The interactive stuff
• Being able to come and voice my opinion
• The activities were really fun
• The staff
• The people are kind
• Talking
• The creative corner
• Ballot counting politics
• Everything
• SEND space really helpful. Green space really interesting and got a lot out of that, which was important + cost of living.
• Activities
• The mental health
• The options. Goodbye bags. I liked how we were able to express the way we felt about subjects not used to discuss this on a daily basis.
• The staff and their kindness/helpfulness
• Being able to talk to adults that care about the same thing as me
• The activities and people
• Learning about all of these different topics and hearing other peoples opinions
• Level of understanding
• How engaging it was with the 4 topics
• The green space activities were fun and engaging
• Everyone Is kind and make it interesting
• Green space, mental health, goody bags
• The creative mental health spaces. I also liked the market place and the opportunity to join groups.
• Interesting discussions
• Quiet spaces! Interactive activities and food
• The creative space, mental health, marketplace
• Talks / stalls were interesting. Whole area felt welcoming. Safe and inclusive. Quiet room was helpful.
• Opinions of different people and to see people.
• I enjoyed that everyone could see anything. Anonymous
• They have all listened and will use the information to better things, sex education
• Organisation
• All the spaces were very informative
• More organised timings were better, market place better at lunch
• The staff were all lovely
• The green space was my favourite. All of them were good and engaging
• Activities
• Good chats
• Good information
• Range of activities
• I really liked all of the sensory activities in green space and mental health
• Sex education
• All the sessions I did were very informative and taught me a lot
• Connecting with new people
• I love the LGBTQ+ section you should take inspiration
• The activities
• Spending time with friends
• I have enjoyed speaking to new people and learning interesting facts
• Creative corner
• LGBTQ+ space and the green space
• The cost of living crisis. Talking about money crisis
• Talking to people about things that affect todays youth
• Socialising with other students
• The fact that everyone had different opinions and it was a safe place to discuss any worries
• Conversation spaces
• Fun spaces, meeting new people
• The interesting talks and fun activities
• Everyone has been friendly and most of the activities were quite fun
• The police session and SEND space
• They listened to the ideas
• New understanding of different topics socialising with others
• Inclusive
• I’ve been able to express myself
• The staff were very respectful and goodie bags were great
• Learning about everything there is to offer here
• The creative and green space
• The freebies and interactive conversations
• The organisation of every workshop
• The different sections
• Learning about vapes
• Meeting new people and learning new things
• The discussions
• LGBTQ+ space, supportive staff. I have never felt so welcomed and okay with who I was before.
• Learning about different things and values
• Engaging activities with a variety of topics
• The creative and set activities
• I liked all the toys
• The chance to speak and ask questions
• Interactions and activities
• Great experience
• Lots of activities and interaction
• Chance to share our experiences and talk about hidden disabilities
• Adults were kind
• being with friends, learning new stuff, mcdonalds
• I learnt a lot about the Police and how vaping can affect you in more ways than people know.
What could have been better?
• Police come in uniform.
• Longer time per option
• More upbeat work shops
• Longer time on activities
• The break could have been longer
• More gifts
• More upbeat stations
• Opportunity to visit more spaces
• Have more conversations
• The conversations could have been more informative
• Making the tasks more interactive
• Better directions / interactions
• Could be more interaction
• Talk more deeply about mental health
• Nothing
• Mental health wasn’t what I thought it would be
• Ask for opinions
• The SEND space
• Toilets could have been cleaner
• Enough stock for food
• I wish there was more opportunities to explain changes we would like
• The way they explained everything
• Some more leaflets to keep about the topic
• Have more interactive activities
• Bit more activities and bigger groups with different people.
• Navigating around the theatre
• In small groups
• Maybe organised
• The green space could have included something about how to like sustainability. Also more signs
• Clapping at the creative space distracted relationship with police session
• Smaller groups
• Crowds were overwhelming
• More sessions
• The cost of living crisis
• Variety of conversations
• Timing bells in auditorium spaces
• More free stuff
• Easier directions. Some places were busy and crowded.
• Labels for venues
• Time management
• Move freely between spaces, make it start later, and end later
• More freebies
• more freebies
• longer sessions
• Cost of living
• A bigger variety of options like a space on racism
• Being pushed to uncomfortable things
• More contribution
• Try and get more of a variety of people in
• More time at a session
• The spaces were a bit crowded, and it would have been better if the quiet space was in a more obvious place
• The mental health space could talk about mental health for schools.
• More interactive sessions
• More engaging sessions
• More time in the different conversations
• More physical activities
• I liked the format of he political space and other activities could have done that. I would have liked if open conversations were had in all activities.
• More engaging, it was quite boring
• Next time, before the summit meeting whole thing. Maybe tell us what is in the sessions
• More help in finding lessons
• The signs could have been a bit bigger or clear
• A bit more interactive and less sitting around
• Political space
• If there were more activities and then had more chairs
• More prizes
• If it was more active
• It got boring at the end, and needed more chairs
• Boring
• Smaller groups
• Finding the quiet space was stressful and I was handed over from person to person a lot
• The mental health section
• More prizes and incentives
• More practical’s
• The mental health one was a bit boring
• Larger variety of options
• Too many stairs
• Timing and a larger variety
• More schools participation
• Could bring a guest speaker in to talk
• They could have taught us ways to save money and give us advice
• Nothing
• Nothing really.
SEND Young Inspector
During the Youth Summit, a Shout Out for SEND Young Inspector went undercover to review the event.
They attended conversation spaces alongside the other young attendees and provided feedback to the Youth Voice Bucks team.
Read the Young Inspector’s Report
Mystery Shopper
Another young person who attended with their school acted as a mystery shopper.
They attended conversation spaces and wrote an article about what was good and what could be improved to make the event even better.
Feedback from facilitators
- “The mental health space was lovely, and I really enjoyed engaging with the young people”
– Tionne, CAMHS Social Prescriber and Recovery Worker, facilitator in The Mental Health Space - “A huge THANK YOU to you and your team for planning and holding such an excellent event! It was a brilliant opportunity for us to talk to young people about how RSE / PSHCE is actually delivered in their schools and how they feel about that.”
– Joy, Education Coordinator for Brook, facilitator in Sex Education: Do Better - “I thought it was a great event, and Pippa and Willow were amazing in their energy, professional delivery and adaptability! It was great to be involved.”
– Hilary, SEND Lead Practitioner, facilitator for The SEND Space - “It really was meaningful participation and it is such a breath of fresh air when that happens. I absolutely LOVED being involved. It was a fabulous day, it was organised so well and really put young people at the heart of it all.”
– Emily, SEND Commissioning Officer, facilitator for The SEND Space - “Thank you for the privilege of taking part in this event and working with some amazing young people. Krissie to you and all your team for pulling off such a great event where all I heard was young people praising the fact they felt heard and valued. I hope our team also supported that ethos and are keen to support if future events like this. A huge congratulations again and thank you for making it happen.”
– Juanita, Team Leader for the Mental Health Support Team, facilitator in The Mental Health Space MHST - “Thank you again for inviting us to attend. We got lots of useful information from the students and hope that this could make a positive impact on RSE in schools for the future. “
– Katherine, Education & Wellbeing Coordinator at Brook, facilitator in Sex Education: Do Better - “A big thank you for inviting me to the Bucks Youth Summit on Monday. It was a great event and you should be very proud of all you and your team achieved. Absolutely well done and I am sure the feedback will be fabulous.”
– Melissa, Health Behaviours Team at Oxford University, Marketplace Stallholder - “I attended in the morning, and was delighted to join 2 of the conversation areas. It was a pleasure to see and hear so much energy from the young people and all the facilitators were incredibly helpful. I have given this feedback to the ICB Chief Nurse, and if the event goes ahead next year, I have a few more ideas about potential health attendees. I think you and your team can feel very proud of this event😊”
– Gilly, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board - “The ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ conversation space was very well attended and there were some really considered and respectful conversations between young people and facilitators that created a space within which young people felt able to share their own experiences and the experiences of others in a meaningful way” – Dylan, HAF Coordinator and facilitator in the Cost of Living Crisis Conversation Space
- “The Youth Summit was a fantastic event, and something I wish had been available to me when I was in school – the opportunity to talk about topics that matter to young people, without the awkwardness or embarrassment of it being someone you know so well is crucial. The Mental Health space had a great variety of services and organisations providing information, activities, or gathering feedback, and I know that we learnt so much from the young people that visited our space.” – Jasmine, Young Adult Facilitator in the Mental Health Space
Feedback from teachers and group leads
What school / group are you with? |
What’s been good? |
What could have been better? |
Sum up today in 3 words! |
| The Buckingham School | Range of activities and groups for students to choose from. | Last year I preferred sitting around the round tables as we could discuss the day as a group better at break and lunch | Creative, inspiring, inclusive |
| Youth Concern | Lots of opportunities for young people to share views/opinions | Quite loud in places which overwhelmed SEND children. Clapping from creative caused issues concentrating in police session. |
Well organised opportunity |
| Sir William Ramsay | The sessions were run very well, students felt safe around the space | Allow opportunities for more students to come | Informative, insightful, positive |
| John Hampden Grammar School | Such a well organised event from planning stages to today. Very inclusive and accessible |
More seating for staff. Tea and coffee more readily available. |
Inclusive, inspiring, organised |
| JHGS | Safe space for our pupils to share their views | Seating for staff and some tea/coffee | Great minds together |
| JCS | Well organised, great spaces | Table in the Auditorium please | Relaxed, valued, engaging |
| John Colet | Variety of topics being run by young people | Dedicated table space for each school so we had a ‘base’ for students | Inspiring, inclusive, relevant |
| The Grange School | Topics, organisation | More workshops. Workshops for adults about similar topics to help us speaking about it to young people. |
A great experience even for adults |
| Cressex Community School | Giving students the opportunity and platform to be involved is very powerful | Make the next steps more explicit. Perhaps use last years success as example of how discussions move on. |
Empowering, engaging, effective |
| The Cottesloe School | The student were overjoyed to be listened to. Lots of different areas | Inclusion for staff | Student based inclusive |
| Bourne End Academy | Well organised bags. Nice touch having snacks and fidgets. |
Slightly lacking atmosphere, felt a little flat. Could music / some performances help bring the energy? |
Interesting, topical, important |
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who was part of this event for sharing your feedback with us!
We will use this feedback to make the Bucks Youth Summit 2025 even better than the Bucks Youth Summit 2024.