Child Friendly Warwickshire

Children make their voices heard and win prizes to help their school become more child friendly. 

Earlier this year Warwickshire young people were asked to get creative and show what being child friendly means to them through an art medium of their choice. The aim was to help children and young people to learn more about Child Friendly Warwickshire, contribute to discussions about helping to make the county more child friendly and become advocates for positive change.   

The competition challenged children and young people in Warwickshire to think about what the Child Friendly Warwickshire outcomes mean to them, and suggested how each of us can take action to be more child friendly. 

The competition entries included creative submissions including videos, essays, poetry, photographs, paintings and even a sculpture and winners were chosen in three age categories.  

• 4 – 7 age category: 

James Plant (Bishop's Tachbrook CofE primary school) with a video. You can watch the video here.

& Sreenidhi Karthikeyan (Paddox Primary School) with a drawing: 

• 8 – 11 age category: 

Koray Dogan & Heidi Steventon (Woodside C of E Primary School) joint entry with their painting:

& Leanne Nikisha Fernandes (St Anthony's Catholic Primary School) with her video. You can watch the video here. 

•  12 – 15 age category: 

Lucy Aratoon (Southam College) with a painting

Each young person that entered had the chance to win £2,500 for their school or college to spend on projects related to the five Child Friendly Warwickshire outcomes and important themes identified by Warwickshire children and young people in a recent engagement with them: 

• Increased climate change awareness 

• Better access to mental health support 

• More open green spaces 

• More opportunities and careers advice 

• Access to more clubs and activities 

• Increased cost of living support 

• Safety in Warwickshire  

John Coleman, Assistant Director, Children and Families at Warwickshire County Council, said: “We were blown away by the quality and creativeness of the entries we received and the detail that went into each and every one of them. The brilliant ideas from young people help us to think of new ways to create a Child Friendly Warwickshire, and we strive to listen to their voices and ensure that their thoughts and ideas shape where they live.   

“This is why we created Child Friendly Warwickshire – to support children and young people to be heard, happy, healthy, skilled and safe, and become advocates for positive change.  

“Congratulations to the winners, well done and thank you to everyone who entered.”   

The competition judging panel included Youth Councillor Laaiqah Iqbal, Quality & Impact Service Manager Dan Atkins and Marketing and Communications Officer Antzelina Katsi. Laaiqah said: "The quality, effort and creativity were at such a high standard! It was challenging to judge but a pleasure to see the enthusiasm in every single entry." 

In addition to the £2,500, the winner's work will also form part of a showcase for children, young people and professionals at the Warwickshire Youth Conference taking place in November 2023. 

Mel Mason, Headteacher of Southam College said below for their student Lucy: “We are incredibly proud of Lucy’s effort with this competition and admire the consideration for outdoor spaces being part of a child friendly Warwickshire.  The desire for safe outdoor spaces and having an appreciation of nature is vital for supporting mental health and raising awareness of climate change.  We look forward to working with Lucy to plan how best to spend the money she has won, to improve provision for the young people in the area.” 

Jane McSharry, Headteacher of St. Anthony's Catholic Primary School said below for their student Leanne: “We were delighted to discover that one of our children who entered the Warwickshire Child Friendly Competition from St. Anthony's, Leanne from Year 4, won her age group category with her exceptional entry. It was wonderful to learn how incredibly impressed the judges were with Leanne’s entry and had commented that it brought a smile to their faces. It is also very exciting that Leanne won £2,500 for our school to spend on resources to support children's mental health and wellbeing and we are looking forward to all our children being able to contribute to the plans for using the money.”