Arun Youth Council

CONSTITUTION

Part 1

1. The Name

The association’s name is the Arun Youth Council (hereinafter called the Youth Council)

2. The Objectives

The Youth Council’s objectives are to provide young people with the opportunity to:

• Increase our awareness and understanding of local decision-making.
• To give our views to the people who make decisions.
• To make a difference within our community.

3. Dissolution

In the event that it is necessary to dissolve the Youth Council, there will need to be a unanimous decision by a quorum (see 8.) of Youth Councillors to do so.

4. Amendments

Any provision contained in this constitution may be amended provided that:

1. Any amendment is agreed following discussion between Youth Councillors.
2. Any resolution to amend a provision of this constitution is passed by a quorum present at a general meeting.

Part 2

5. Membership

1. Membership is open to all those aged between 11 and 18 years
2. Most Youth Councillors are elected by their school councils at the six secondary schools within the Arun District.
   (a) However, membership is open to any young person who lives, trains or attends education within the Arun District.
   (b) In the event that a member of the Youth Council moves away from Arun, but attends a club (where nominated for membership) they can still serve as a Youth Councillor
3. (a) The Youth Council may only refuse an application for membership if, reasonably and properly, they consider it to be in the interests of the Youth Council to refuse the application,(b)The Youth Council must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal within twenty one days of the decision.
4. Membership is not transferable
5. The Officer(s) appointed by Arun District Council (The Arun Officer(s)) must keep a register of names of the Youth Councillors, including. Schools must hold up to date emergency contact information.
6. Each secondary school can nominate an unlimited number of representatives to the Youth Council, from students distributed across their year groups.
7. In the event that an ex-council member should wish to return to the council following a termination/removal.  Their intent to return must be provided in writing to the Arun District Council Officers who oversee the Youth Council.  At the next Council meeting a vote shall be held; given a majority ruling the ‘ex-member’ shall return at the following meeting.

6. Termination of membership/Removal of Officers from elected posts.

Membership is terminated if:

1. The Youth Councillor dies or, if the Youth Council ceases to exist;
2. The Youth Councillor resigns;
3. The Youth Councillor fails to attend three consecutive meetings without giving apologies or offering a reason.
4. The Youth Councillor is removed from the Youth Council by a resolution by the majority of the Councillors that it is in the best interests of the Youth Council that his/her membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a Councillor from the Youth Council may only be passed if;
   (a) The Youth Councillor has been given at least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the Youth Council at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed, and that the Youth Councillor (or nominated representative) is afforded the opportunity to make representations at this meeting.

7. General Meetings

1. The Youth Council must hold a general meeting every half term
2. An annual general meeting must be held every year, and no more than fifteen months shall elapse between successive annual general meetings. At least 28 days’ notice of the proposed date of the annual general meeting must be given to the nominated school coordinators.
3. The Arun Officer(s) responsible for the Youth Council may call a general meeting at any time giving at least 21 days’ notice of the proposed date of the meeting to the nominated school coordinators.
4. The Arun Officer/s responsible for the Youth Council must call a meeting at least once every half term,

8. Quorum

1. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present.
2. A quorum is a third of Youth Councillors entitled to vote upon the business.
3. If:
   (a) A quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting; or (b) During a meeting a quorum ceases to be present

Then the meeting shall be adjourned to such a time and place as the Arun Officer responsible for the Youth Council shall determine.

9. Chair

1. All meetings shall be chaired by the person who has been elected as  Chairman.
2. If there is no such person or he or she is not present at the arranged start time of the meeting, then the Vice-Chairman shall chair the meeting.
3. If both the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are not present, then the Youth Councillors are entitled to nominate one of their members to chair the meeting.

10. Adjournments

1. The Youth Councillors present at any meeting may resolve that the meeting shall be adjourned
2. If a meeting is adjourned by a resolution of the Youth Councillors present at the meeting, At least 21 days’ notice shall be given of the reconvened meeting

11. Votes

1. Each Youth Councillor shall have one vote but if there is an equality of votes then the person chairing the meeting shall have the casting vote in addition to any other vote her or she has.
2. If a Youth Councillor is unable to attend a meeting at which he or she would like to vote on a resolution, he or she may have a proxy vote, whereby the Youth Councillor signs a document expressing his or her voting wishes or leave his or her vote to another Youth Councillor’s discretion, as identified by the signed document.

12. Positions within the Youth Council

1) The Youth Council shall always have the following:

• A Chairman
• A Vice Chairman

2) Other positions to be voted in (depending on nominations) at an annual general meeting include;

• A Secretary -vice vice chairman
• A Communications Officer

3) A Youth Councillor can stand for another position different to those identified above provided that they are nominated by at least one Youth Councillor to do so and that the position identified is supported as beneficial to the Youth Council by the Chair/Vice-Chair

4) Those elected in the positions identified above shall form a ‘Management Team’ who shall meet outside of general meetings in order to agree work and set priorities, organise special events, and input into the process of agenda setting for general meetings. Any member of the Youth Council may be invited to attend this meeting if required, or can request to attend through the Chair/Vice-Chair provided they state their purpose for doing so.

5) The Chair and Vice-Chair positions may not be occupied by students from the same school. 

13. Election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and positions on the Management Team.

1) Elections shall take place at every Annual General Meeting or earlier if;
(a) A current post holder leaves the Youth Council or does not wish to continue in the post
(b)The current post holder is considered unsuitable for the post and is subject to the conditions set out in part 6 of this constitution

In the event of the above the post may be filled at a subsequent general meeting.

2) Each year it is anticipated that the Vice-Chairman shall be the Chairman for the following year subject to election by the Youth Council unless;

1. The current Vice-Chairman stopped attending meetings or moved away
2. The current Vice-Chairman was removed from post after being subject to any of the conditions laid out in section 6 and 13(b) of this constitution.

3) In order to stand for an elected position within the council an AYC Councillor must have attended the two previous general meetings of the Youth Council.  Unless unable to due to ill health.

4) In order to stand as Vice-Chairman whether at an Annual General Meeting or General Meeting a Youth Councillor must nominate themselves and will then be voted on by the youth councillors at the AGM. 

5) In the event that the Chairman departs prematurely for any of the reasons outlined in part 6, the promotion of the Vice-Chairman to this position will be automatic and the new Chairman will be expected to continue as Chair for a full calendar year following the subsequent Annual General Meeting.

6) Each Youth Councillor will have one vote for each nominated position. In the event of a tied vote, the Chair will have the casting vote as outlined in part 12(1)

14. Responsibilities and rights of the Youth Councillors and Arun Officers

1) The Chairman has the responsibility to;
(a) Chair the meetings of the Youth Council;
(b) Present the views of the Youth Council to the Arun District Council, external partners and to the wider community.
(c) Guide the development of future projects in cooperation with the involved Youth Councillors and the Arun Officer responsible.
(d) Delegate responsibility to other members of the Youth Council, as and where appropriate

2) The Vice-Chairman has the responsibility to;

(a) Chair the general meetings of the Youth Council when the Chairman is absent

(b) Support the Chairman in his or her responsibilities to further enhance the objectives in the constitution and the development of future projects.

3) The Secretary has the responsibility to;

(a) Keep minutes of all proceedings at general meetings

(b) Take notes of any other meetings that he or she may be present at concerning the work of the Youth Council

(c) To circulate any general meeting notes either via the Arun Officer(s) or directly to Youth Councillors

(d) To liaise with the Arun Officer(s) concerning the production of an agreed agenda for general meetings.

(e) In the absence of a dedicated Secretary another Youth Councillor can agree to take on this role on a meeting by meeting basis. In the absence of any Youth Councillor the Arun Officer(s) will be expected to perform the role of Secretary.

4) The Communications Officer has the responsibility to;

(a) To inform and educate as wide a section of the community about the work of the Youth Council.

(b) To liaise with the Communications Officer at Arun District Council concerning communications issues.

(c) To ensure that external communications channels such as social media are used in line with Council Policies.

5) Any other elected officer has the responsibility to;

(a) Carry out his or her duties in line with the objectives of the Youth Council and in line with the policies of Arun District Council.

6) All Youth Councillors have a duty to notify the Arun Officer(s) responsible for the Youth Council, of any meetings or contact with other Council Officer, external organisations and stakeholders so that there is a record of involvement.

7) It is the responsibility of the Arun Officer(s) to;

(a) Encourage elected officers of the Youth Council to engage with the relevant internal and external partners by assisting in organising meetings or providing contact details.

(b) To do all that is possible to further the interests of the Youth Council

(c) To hold a list of contact details and emergency contact details for all Youth Councillors

8) It is the responsibility of all Youth Councillors to:

(a) Ensure that their personal contact details and emergency contact details are kept updated by providing the most up to date information to the Arun Officer(s) for their records.

(b) To act in a reasonable, sensible and appropriate manner when attending meetings or representing the Youth Council at events.

9) It is the right of every Youth Councillor to;

(a) Have the opportunity to meet with or contact the relevant Arun Officers,   Councillors and external organisations.

(b) Have the opportunity to make recommendations to the Management Team, Youth Council and Arun District Council on any issue they consider of importance or significance.

15. Change of Arun Officer(s)

1) In the event of a change of post holder supporting the Youth Council, members of the Youth Council are to be consulted when deciding his/her replacement.

Amended 3/7/2023 at Youth Council AGM                                                                                                                                                                                         

Draft Guidelines for Youth Road Safety in Arun

• KS3 level: 1 lesson per Half Term allocated to safe road crossing and behaviour around road awareness
• KS4 level: 1 lesson per Half Term allocated to content above plus and driving safely around school and other high traffic public areas
• KS5 level: 1 lesson per Half Term allocated to content supporting road safety behind the wheel of a car
• email outreach (to parents/carers) around driving safely and more slowly within school and high traffic/ footfall areas
• Youth Council to advocate local authority and schools for more signs and awareness on the location of crossings and how to safely cross / the behaviours around roads such as not using headphones or phones. 
• Youth Council to lobby West Sussex County Council (who are in charge of local roads) for more safe crossings such as zebra crossings; against potholes and illegal parking around schools which make roads unsafe and for increased taxi bays.  

Overall, the group discussed the ideas of charity events, advertisement of charities (especially local/smaller ones) and advertising donating and volunteering in the area.

Guidelines

1. We suggest that local schools host one charity event a year. This could be by having non-school uniform days or holding school events like charity football matches and school fetes.
2. School student councils could research local charities so that they can be promoted through school newsletters or websites. The students in council meetings within their school could use that time to find charities and what they do. Some charities researched could then be promoted through the school’s media presence.

 We advise schools to promote volunteering and donating within the school. We suggest that volunteering is promoted to try to get young people more involved in helping our community. Plus, promoting donations means it is presented that you do not need money to help, with the cost of living crisis it is harder for families to give money however clothes and objects can also be donated to certain charities. This could be done by asking representatives from different charities to come talk in assemblies.

Outcomes

Arun Youth Council hopes that with these guidelines that more young people will feel more invited to help in the local community giving hope to local charities and experience to the younger generation. We hope to get all schools involved in the guidelines so that we can build a stronger community. We feel these guidelines have many benefits to our community.