Wokingham

Last week (July 25) saw some 40 Wokingham children and young people enjoying the end of term and beginning of the summer holidays by joining in the fun at a BBQ organised by Wokingham District Council’s ListenUp! project.

As well as the BBQ there were team building exercises and a tug of war contest. Before the tug of war started, the Wokingham children and young people made the rope from toilet roll before they challenged each other to a contest! And if that wasn’t enough to keep them entertained, there was a creative workshop where the young people were asked to design a poster for the ListenUp! project to use.

Fire fighters from Wokingham Fire Station also joined in the activities and children and young people had a tour of the fire engine – proving to be a real hit with the younger guests.

Last year, Wokingham district council set up a new project called ListenUp! The project works with children and young people across the district to find out what they think about the area in which they live, and to make sure their ideas are being listened to when the council makes decisions about the area in which they live, work and study. And to say thank you for all their hard work over the past year, a BBQ was held in their honour on one of the hottest days of the year!

Tina Gayle, development manager in Wokingham children’s services, said: “It was a fantastic day for everyone who attended the BBQ – they had so much fun and it was a great way to start the school holidays! There was so much involvement from them and I hope this will continue through the work of the ListenUp! project. It was an opportunity not only for the children and young people to participate in activities, but it was a chance for Wokingham council officers to join in too. With activities such as these, we hope to really build on our opportunities for children and young people to help us make the right decisions on services that affect them.”

Wokingham District Council