Joe, Child and Youth Voice Team Manager - Care Day 2022

Meet Joe, Child and Youth Voice Team Manager

Hi, my name is Joe Sutton, and I have the privilege of managing the fantastic Child and Youth Voice Team at Wiltshire Council. Like everyone else in the team I spent a large part of my childhood living in foster care. I was lucky enough to be part of my local authority’s children in care council and this gave me skills and knowledge that helped me through my education and that I also took with me into my adult working life. I now have a family of my own and feel that my upbringing has given me strength to want to be a positive role model both in my personal life and in my job.

I love working in the Child and Youth Voice Manager role as it enables me and everyone else in the team to draw on our lived experiences to make positive changes. Since the team was launched in April 2021, we have achieved a lot, including setting up a Young Persons Fostering Panel, creating a new Wiltshire Youth Council and recruiting Youth Consultants who have also had experience of receiving support from social services.

I am really looking forward to our two new apprentices joining the team and continuing to give children and young people a chance to give their views and make a real positive change in Wiltshire.