Got spare time on your hands? 

Interested in engaging with children and young people in Croydon, to actively involve them decision making?

The ‘Croydon Xpress Project’ are recruiting young people as volunteers to join its dynamic team. Croydon Xpress ‘actively’ involves children and young people aged 5-25 and their families in having a say about issues that affect their lives. The project is part of the wider Community Involvement team at Croydon Voluntary Action.  You will be able to develop valuable skills as well as gaining work experience in any of the following exciting roles:  Xpress reporter, Xpress evaluator, Xpress outreach or Xpress researcher!

• For more details email Nicole. 

We are a team of dedicated young people trained to actively engage children and young people aged 5-20 years (primarily 8-13) and their families to have a say on issues that affect their lives.

Croydon Xpress aims to increase their participation, allowing them the right to be heard and acknowledged in Croydon. We specialise in making sure children, young people and families are at the core of local decision-making, using planned and regular participation projects, working in partnership across the borough using a range of internationally recognised methods including:

• Kids Xpression Zone (a free, fun day of activities combined with creative participation tools to get children and young people involved in local issues)
• Themed workshops and events (working out solutions to issues raised by children and young people)
• Community based, child friendly research (gather views to influence local policy and planning)
• Multi-media projects such as Participatory Filming
• A page for young people on  www.talk2Croydon.co.uk (our online tool for children and young people to ‘Xpress’ their voice, using discussions and polls, which links to our Facebook, Twitter and You Tube pages)
• Young Evaluators and the HYPE Evaluation Tool ("How Young People Evaluate" toolkit used to measure qualities identified by young people)
• Youth Participation training for professionals working with children and young people (recently delivered to Croydon Safer London Transport Team - Metropolitan Police), designed and lead by young people. Click here for a report. The team has been recently funded again by the Metropolitan Police to deliver four additional session to Croydon police officers in March 2012. 

Engaging children and young people through school councils, Croydon Community Bus, Junior Youth Clubs, face to face outreach and more, we bring together their thoughts, opinions and views to influence local and national decision making.

Croydon Xpress is hoping to further test the HYPE Toolkit in a children’s and young people’s service in London, to evaluate its effectiveness, to help practitioners provide a better service to children and young people.