Council publishes youth survey

Herefordshire Council has just published the findings of one of the biggest surveys of young people ever conducted across the county. More than 2,000 13 to 18 year olds returned a questionnaire aimed at getting young people's views about the services they use in the county.

Information was gathered on a whole range of issues including the opportunities for young people to influence important local decisions.
Overall 31 percent of young people who responded felt they could influence important local decisions and that Herefordshire Council gives young people enough opportunity to do so. This shows a large improvement as only 19 percent responded positively to this issue in a survey undertaken in 2005.

The results show that young people want to have a say in the future of their county. If a major new development was planned in Herefordshire such as new leisure or shopping facilities, 64 percent would want to have a say on the matter.

The survey asked what activities young people do in their spare time on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. Three percent were very satisfied with what there is to do in Herefordshire, whereas 42 percent said they were satisfied but thought that some improvements could be made. 58 percent stated that there were activities they wanted to do but were not available such as ice-skating/ice hockey, cinema and sports clubs/grounds.

The information gathered will be used by council departments, Herefordshire Community Youth Service, Connexions and other organisations throughout the county to improve services used by young people.

In some areas, work has begun already: In a teenage lifestyle survey published earlier this year, the issue of bullying was flagged up as an area of concern. In order to understand the issue better, more detailed questions were included on bullying in the youth survey. The findings revealed that 24 percent of young people say they have been bullied in the last 12 months, most of them at school or college. Just over half of those bullied had asked for help, mostly from a teacher with 39 percent saying this resulted in the bullying stopping.

"Bullying is a problem nationally and Herefordshire is no exception," said Dennis Longmore, manager of social inclusion. "It creates misery, attacks lifestyles, health and personal development so it is important we have policies about how to deal with it," he continued.

"We've been working with schools for some time to help them tackle bullying and are consulting on a new anti-bullying policy for the county which includes sections on cyberbullying. The final version will be distributed at a special anti-bullying conference scheduled in February for all organisations who work with young people. Clearly, we are not complacent in any way where bullying is concerned.

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "The youth survey has provided us with a wealth of information which we can use in our own service planning, but also to help other agencies working with young people know what their needs are.

"We know that bullying is one of the biggest concerns parents have about their children's safety and well-being, particularly at school. It is also one of the top concerns of children and young people themselves.

"Schools and people who work with young people need to be able to identify the signs of bulling and tackle it head on when it occurs. The Herefordshire survey shows that most young people who report the incident find it is treated so seriously that it stops, but this isn't always the case. We need to make sure young people are taken seriously and can trust the adults they are working with to help them."