West Sussex now has two Youth MPs sitting on Amplify, the Advisory Group for the Children’s Commissioner for England.
Kyle Schmidt, Youth MP for East Arun, Adur and Worthing, was selected to join the group at a recent recruitment event.
He joins Deputy Youth MP for Horsham and Mid Sussex Rhianna Roberts-Masterson, who joined the Amplify group last year.
West Sussex Youth MPs are supported in their work by West Sussex County Council Youth Support and Development Services.
Kyle said: “Amplify meets around three times a year, and there are plenty of opportunities for involvement in-between. You can also involve the young people of West Sussex with research for the group, for example by taking questionnaires to your area to get their views.
“The recruitment event was really interesting, we were joined by previous members of the group who talked us through their experiences. It was fascinating as there were around ten young people at the meeting from all over England, from a wide range of young people’s organisations.”
County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Families Peter Evans said: “Once again West Sussex young people are at the forefront and ensuring our young people get their voices heard at a national level. My congratulations to Kyle for joining Amplify, and also to Rhianna for her continued work on the group.”
Amplify is a national group of young people who inform the Children’s Commissioner for England Maggie Atkinson, giving their viewpoint on particular issues concerning young people. They also work with the Children’s Commissioner on a range of projects, last year this included school exclusion. Individuals can apply to join Amplify as well as through youth groups.