priorities for community action were discussed and voted on by young people at a recent Delegates Assembly held at Okehampton Primary School recently.

Three schools within Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust — Okehampton Primary School, Tavistock College and Bridgerule CE Primary School — met to discuss issues which they believed were a priority in their local community, as part of the trust’s partnership with Citizens UK.

They had launched listening campaigns in the autumn term where the students had listened to the concerns within the school and then the wider community including parents, voluntary groups, community police officers and town councillors.

The sessions, in part led by enthusiastic children, were designed to encourage people of all ages across the community to discuss what is great about the places they live and what could be done to improve these areas. At the assembly, students chose one idea for change in their town or village. Amongst priorities for the three schools were more youth clubs in the evening and more sports opportunities for girls. Everyone at the Assembly also voted on a topic which could be common to all children across the schools and this was litter and the environment. The next steps will be to find ways this can be tackled. More schools will be included in the summer term.