A teenager took control of a £500m budget and three local authority children’s departments for a day.
Klaus Visha, 15, of the Bridge Academy, Fulham, spent the day in the shoes of Andrew Christie shared director of children’s services for the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea.
The Takeover Day was part of a national initiative aimed at giving young people a chance to work with adults and be involved in decision-making. The aim was to give young people more of a voice and involve them in issues that affect their lives.
Klaus said: “I wanted to see how unfortunate children and families get the help they need and how Andrew has an input into this.
“This was also an opportunity to see if my views on how children’s services could be improved would be taken seriously and to find out ways to make my suggestions happen.”
Andrew said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for all of us at the council to learn from our young residents, to listen to their views and get a fresh perspective on how we provide our services. It is central to the success of tri-borough children’s services that our councils offer young people what they want and what is important to them.”
Radio 1, the Metro newspaper, shadow chancellor Ed Balls and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also took part in the day.
Maggie Atkinson, children’s commissioner for England, said: “Now in its fifth year, the number of young people taking part in the day has grown each year as more and more organisations have realised the benefits to us all of listening to children’s views and opinions.
“Children get a real insight into the world of work whether at the heart of government, writing for a major newspaper or the numerous other organisations from mayors to museums or broadcasters to businesses.”