Children and Young People’s Council
For 12-17 year olds born with a cleft in the UK.
The voice of the UK cleft community is at the heart of all we do at CLAPA. From developing new services and shaping our messaging to collaborating with researchers, we want the cleft community to be involved every step of the way.
This page lists opportunities for you to use your voice to impact on CLAPA’s services and strategy, as well as other longer-term opportunities to impact on cleft care.
We want to make our community as inclusive as possible. Our groups are currently underrepresented by people from ethnic minorities, men, people of colour, and people who follow religions other than Christianity. If you represent any of these groups, we strongly encourage you to get involved so that your voice is heard.
Current Focus Groups and Involvement Groups
Young Adults Group (YAG)
For 18-25 year olds born with a cleft in the UK
Have your say about NHS Cleft Services
Join the Cleft Development Group’s Patient Engagement Group (CDG PEG)
Young Adults Group
Do you want to use your voice to help shape, support, and guide CLAPA to deliver the right services for adults born with a cleft in the UK?
Join CLAPA’s online Young Adults Group (ages 18-25) to meet other adults and discuss topics like gaps in services, recent experiences, ideas for improving services, and much more. When signing up, please let us know if there’s anything we can do to support you to take part in these meetings.
This group is currently supporting development of a range of engaging resources to support young adults in the cleft community. Members will offer their experiences and insights to ensure CLAPA remains current, accurate, and supportive of young adults.
It’s important to CLAPA that this new group includes a range of voices, and applicants of all backgrounds, experiences and walks of life are encouraged to apply.
If you have any queries or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
You can find out more about these groups below or apply here:
Do you feel passionate about the support available for young adults born with a cleft? Are you interested in working with CLAPA to develop work in this area?
Key Tasks
- Take part in regular group sessions with other young adults
- Provide feedback about services for young adults and help develop new content. This could be for the CLAPA website and social channels.
- Advise CLAPA on gaps in our support for young adults and help to design new services
- Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with CLAPA and also visitors to the group
We’re looking for someone who is:
- IT literate able to use e-mail and Zoom
- Able to maintain confidentiality
- Able to recognise boundaries and how and when to seek support
We can offer you:
- A unique and rewarding role
- The chance to meet other young adults born with a cleft
- Experience for your CV
- An opportunity to share your views on topics which matter to you
Time commitment:
- Once every two months via Zoom for 2 hours
- We will keep in touch via email and WhatsApp between meetings
- Membership of the group is up to a maximum of 3 years, you can add a second term on if you chose, up to a total of 6 years or the age of 26, whichever is
sooner
No. As long as you’re passionate about using your voice to support others born with a cleft in the UK, you’re fully qualified!