Blue Spark Foundation

BlueSpark provided funding for the Riviera Education Trust in Torbay, Devon to organise and host a Children’s Parliament. The objective was to deepen the children’s understanding in three areas namely the democratic process; presentation and debating skills; and homelessness in Torbay and beyond. Ten local primary schools held their own elections to elect a team to represent their respective schools at the Children’s Parliament. At the Parliament event, each team gave a presentation on homelessness. These were judged by the children’s peers and a panel including the local MP, the Chief Executive of Torbay Council, the Director of Education for Torbay and the council portfolio holder for Housing. Stewart Biddles, the CEO of Riviera Education Trust, told BlueSpark that the event helped the children to understand that they could make a difference and that their voice could be heard. He also told BlueSpark that the project has had a lasting impact on the curriculum for the schools involved. The Children’s Parliament event will now be held annually and the schools will use this to support the teaching of modern British values and the democratic process.