East Sussex Youth Cabinet

The Youth Cabinet is made up of young people aged 11 to 18. They are chosen to speak up for young people in East Sussex.

The Youth Cabinet works on projects and campaigns that young people vote for in an annual survey called #makeyourmark. They meet with other youth groups and organise events. They also talk to local leaders to help make things better for young people.

Every month, there is a consultation when adults who make important decisions can meet with the Youth Cabinet. They share what they are working on and listen to what young people think. To book a slot, please email the Participation Team.

#EastSusssexYouthVoice Groups

The Youth Cabinet works closely with:

How Youth Cabinet works:

Youth Cabinet members find out what young people think by using:

Surveys
Workshops
Events
Creative consultation

They tell the adults in charge what young people say, and work together to make things better for everyone.

The Youth Cabinet works with our Children and Young People’s Trust Partners:

NHS organisations and the Integrated Care System
Police
East Sussex Fire and Rescue
Schools and settings
District and Borough Councils
Government departments
East Sussex County Council services – libraries, transport, school improvement and early help
Businesses - nurseries, museums, galleries
Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise organisations.

Projects and campaigns:

Recently, the Youth Cabinet has worked on projects and campaigns that include:

Health and Wellbeing
Jobs and the economy

Tackling domestic violence
Environment, climate change and sustainability
Mental health and emotional wellbeing
Knife crime prevention
Addressing race equality
Improving transport

As a result of the campaigns, we:

Made surveys and events that let young people share their thoughts
Informed the refresh of the Children and Young People's Plan
Informed the Sussex Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing strategy
Informed the Children’s Services climate change strategy
Helped to develop the Schools Race Equality Guidance
Launched Top Ten Tips on Mental Health for parents and teachers
Helped to develop and launch the 3-iD Card

Working together as East Sussex:

The Youth Cabinet works with voluntary, community, and public sector partners. It brings young people together to collaborate with leaders on key issues.

Twice a year, there is a newsletter to show what they have done.

You can read:

Autumn and Winter Newsletter 2024-2025 [16.4 MB] [pdf]

Support for Children and Young People's Voice:

The Equality, Participation, and Strategic Partnerships team supports the Youth Cabinet.

Participation colleagues within this team at East Sussex County Council are:

Atiya Gourlay: Lead - Equality, Participation and Strategic Partnerships
Nic Bryson: Lead – Children and Young People’s Participation
Aisling Page: Senior Business Administrator
Freya Arbenz: Business Administrator Apprentice

Email the Participation Team

Youth Cabinet elections and members:

Each school and college in East Sussex can have one Youth Cabinet member. To become a member, other students must choose you in an election.

If you are not at a school or college but want to join, you can email the Participation Team .

The Youth Cabinet changes members every two years. The last election was in January 2024.

Current Youth Cabinet members are:

for Eastbourne:

Mabel Young
Farah Ahmed
Ossian McAleece
Akeelah Matope

For Hastings and Bexhill:

Ethan Seale
Henry Kicinski-Mason
Todd Burton

For Lewes and Coastal:

Shiv Sheth
Edith Bryan
Lola Grover

For Wealden:

Toby Clark
Maya Arno
Martha Crompton

For Seaford:

Pelagia Lowe
Isla Hoch

Current members of the UK Youth Parliament (MYPs) are:

Eastbourne and Coastal:

Mabel Young

Bexhill, Hastings and Upper Rother:

Henry Kicinski-Mason

Lewes and Wealden:

Martha Crompton

Email participation.team@eastsussex.gov.uk if you would like to get in touch with a youth cabinet member.

UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) elections and members:

Every year, East Sussex picks three members for the UK Youth Parliament. The Youth Cabinet votes for who will take these places.

Current members of the UK Youth Parliament (MYPs) are:

Eastbourne and Coastal:

Mabel Young

Bexhill, Hastings, and Upper Rother:

Henry Kicinski-Mason

Lewes and Wealden:

Martha Crompton

Email the Participation Team if you wish to contact one of the UKYP members.

Current campaigns:

Health and Wellbeing

In spring 2024, more than 6,000 young people in East Sussex voted to make Health and Wellbeing the most important campaign for the Youth Cabinet. For the next two years, the Youth Cabinet will work on this topic.

They plan to:

user test online support for young people who need to access help with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.
host a Mental Health conference for Year 7 pupils across the county.
record podcast episodes where they speak with professionals and services who work with children and young people to improve their health and wellbeing.

As well as this, they have recently carried out a consultation with other youth voice groups across the county. They have started to inform how to shape the rest of the work this year on their campaign. At their next meeting, they will begin to create campaign plans based on their suggestions and priorities.

Employment and the Economy

The second most popular issue in the Make Your Mark vote was Jobs and the Economy. Youth Cabinet members will also campaign on this issue on behalf of their peers in East Sussex.

They plan to:

record podcast episodes where they will speak to services supporting young people with apprenticeships, work experience, and employment.
help to promote and produce PSHE resources for schools across the county.

They have also:

Consulted with other youth voice groups to inform their campaign work. They know that it is based on the priorities of groups that represent other young people in East Sussex.
Hosted an event to bring together youth voice groups from across East Sussex (who then received employability training.)

Youth Voice Hopes and Values

We have developed an East Sussex Youth Voice Hopes and Values message, which has been co-produced with young people from youth voice groups in East Sussex during recent joint meetings.

Young people shared their thoughts and ideas about four important statements: Kindness, Courage, Commonality, and Inclusivity. They hope this will help others think about how they listen to and work with young people in East Sussex.