Have Your Say Too - we hope that one of the legaciesof Somerset Children's Fund will be this message from children and young people.

In 2002, prior to Somerset Children's Fund opening, consultations took place with approximately one hundred and fifty children and young people. These were published in the paper ‘Have Your Say'. This work was led by Barnardo's (the Accountable body that has managed the Children's Fund) and The Children's Society.

Since then, Somerset Children's Fund has funded projects which have worked with approximately 8,500 children and young people. The priorities identified in the original ‘Have Your Say' set the agenda for the next five years of Children's Fund work.

After five years of hard work to support the most excluded and vulnerable 5-13 year olds in Somerset, the Children's Fund is coming to an end in March 2008. (Although our funded services will continue!) The Children's Fund Management Board and the staff felt that it was important to celebrate the work of the Children's Fund and leave a challenging legacy. ‘Have Your Say Too' evolved because we wanted to support children and young people to send out a clear message to the whole County about what they see as the priorities for the next three years.

You can download the full report here . The paper is a summary of the consultations that took place with over 100 children and young people in early 2008. All of the work was led by Barnardo's staff. The consultations took place in a variety of community and school based contexts. For a copy of the DVD that accompanies the report please contact us.