Children and young people’s mental health: focus group research

Posted on August 15, 2018August 18, 2018 By Chris

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in England has published findings from focus group research carried out to understand the views of children and young people, parents and carers, and professionals on the proposals in ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’.

The student insight report, carried out by Young Minds, looks at the views of 55 young people aged 11-18 across England. Findings show that they were broadly in favour of the core three proposals but felt that there needed to be an additional focus within the new approach around causes of ill mental health amongst young people.

Youth Access looked at the views of 11-15 year olds and 16-25 year olds. Findings include: participants were generally positive about the proposals; they had concerns that the needs of many groups of young people would not be met in its current form including those not willing or able to access support in a school setting; many felt that the green paper did not go far enough in acknowledging some of the root causes of young people’s mental health issues.

The National Children’s Bureau reported on the views of over 80 professionals and parents. Findings include: the green paper proposals were broadly welcomed but that further consideration should be given to ensuring children in the early years develop well emotionally and are prepared for the transition into school; and better continuity of care for young people with mental health conditions transitioning to adult services.

Suicide in England and Wales increasing among young people

Posted on June 12, 2018June 20, 2018 By Chris

The Guardian reports on figures that show the overall the number of deaths by suicide among those age 10 to 19 in England and Wales has increased by 24 per cent from 148 deaths in 2013/14 to 184 tickets in 2015/16. The number of deaths by suicide in the same age category increased by 107 per cent from 2013/14 to 2015/16 in London itself.

The Brent Centre for Young People in north London under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act requested the information from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The centre called for more investment in mental health services and education to prevent a “needless waste of young lives”.

Dr Maxim de Sauma, the chief executive of the centre, which supports more than 600 young people with mental health problems each year, said: “When young people with crippling or disabling mental health conditions are not given the support they need, it wastes lives.”

Read the full article here.

Have your say on Ashurst Hospital vision

Posted on July 6, 2017July 13, 2017 By Chris

Ashurst Hospital in the New Forest needs a new lease of life and there is an exciting opportunity to redevelop facilities on the site to make it modern, welcoming and fit for purpose, now and in the future.

Working with our local healthcare partners, West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group has started to build a vision. We want to create a child and family friendly Health Centre which focuses on providing a range of services for our children, young people and families living in the New Forest and Totton and Waterside areas.

The New Forest Birth Centre, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and Hearing Screening are already based at Ashurst Hospital and there is room to turn our vision into a reality so we want to explore this opportunity further.

There are, of course, some restrictions on what can be provided in a local community health facility but your thoughts and ideas will help us to build a vision for the future and identify what health services and facilities for children, young people and families are important to you.

Please help us by answering this short survey: 6Ashurst Hospital Survey

Reports from the UK government on Domestic Violence

Posted on December 30, 2016December 29, 2016 By Chris

The Home Office have launched a range of papers recently on the theme of domestic violence and abuse.

The changes to the definition of domestic raise awareness that young people in the 16 to 17 age group can also be victims of domestic violence and abuse.

By including this age group the government hopes to encourage young people to come forward and get the support they need, through a helpline or specialist service.

A young people’s panel will be set up by the NSPCC. The panel will consist of up to 5 members between the age of 16 and 22, who will work with the government on domestic violence policy and wider work to fight violence against women and girls.

Here are some of the key recent publications:

Want to help young people start work well?

Posted on June 16, 2016July 24, 2016 By Chris

Great news! Second round applications for September’s Changing Light are now open:

Changing Light is our new weekend experience for people in their first years of working life or preparing to start work.
At this vital life stage, it’s an opportunity to:

Experience God’s love as workers and catch his exciting vision for work.
Dose up on fellowship and prayer and be commissioned at the start of working life.
Hear stories of how others have done great things for Christ in their work and experienced the odd failure along the way too.
Receive input and encouragement from those further along similar career paths.
Prepare for and celebrate the start of this vocational life.

Many people have told us that they wish they’d had something to help them through the transition into work. Changing Light meets that need. Do you know someone who might benefit?

Where: Camping in the beautiful fields of Latimer Minster, Bucks, HP9 2XD

When: Friday 9 September to Sunday 11 September, 2016

How much: £80 (including food)

There are just 50 places available so pass on this link licc.org.uk/changinglight for all the details and to register interest by 18th July.

Feel free to get in touch with me if you have questions or would like a high quality version of the film below to show in your church.
Blessings,
Jen Logan

LICC Contemporary Projects Leader

Hampshire Police Youth Commission are recruiting!

Posted on March 1, 2016 By Chris

Applications are open until the 4th March to those aged 14-25 in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to become a member of the Youth Commission. The Youth Commission makes young people part of the solution to tackling crime and policing issues that are of most concern to them.

The Youth Commission currently consists of 25 members who provide opportunities for young people to inform, support and challenge the Police and Crime Commissioner’s work.

Simon Hayes, Police and Crime Commissioner, said:

“I set up the Youth Commission because I believe it’s important to take young peoples’ views into account. They are the future and will drive social change. I encourage any young person, including those who have direct experience of the police and justice systems to apply.”

Youth Commission members identify what issues affect young people in their area and gather their opinions. They then tackle these issues by raising awareness at events and via campaigns. Members will also make recommendations for change to the Police and Crime Commissioner and suggest solutions to their priority issues.

Find out more here

Apply Here

Archbishop of York Youth Trust 40 Day Youth Led Action – 4th Week’s Challenge

Posted on March 1, 2016 By Chris

Week 4 of the Archbishop of York’s Youth Trust 40 days of youth led action Lent campaign and the theme is…NEIGHBOURS!

Any young person can sign up here and each day during Lent (10th February to 26th March) there will be a challenge to encourage young people to ‘Be the change they want to see’

Campaign aims to open up jobs to young people without degrees

Posted on February 23, 2016 By Chris

Two major children’s charities have launched a campaign urging employers, particularly those in the voluntary sector, to make more job opportunities available to young people without degrees.

The Open To All campaign, started by Children England and the National Children’s Bureau, aims to encourage more inclusive recruitment practices among employers so that candidates’ suitability for a role is judged on their skills and experience rather than whether they have a degree. It has been launched to counter the growing trend in the charity sector of entry-level positions being taken by graduates. Find out more on the Children England website.

Teenagers do the most amazing things!

Posted on January 16, 2016 By Chris

TED Talk Jack Andraka

Teenagers do the most amazing things!

In this TED Talk Jack Andraka talks about how he developed a promising early detection test for pancreatic cancer that’s super cheap, effective and non-invasive — all before his 16th birthday – something none of the pharmaceutical companies had managed to develop.

[youtube id=”g-ycQufrgK4″ width=”580″ height=”337″]

Why are young people drinking less alcohol?

Posted on December 23, 2015 By Chris

There was a fascinating article published in New Statesman about how young people are drinking less and that individual alcohol consumption in Britain has declined sharply.

Whenever horrific tales of the drunken escapades of the youth are reported, one photo reliably gets wheeled out: “bench girl”, a young woman lying passed out on a public bench above bottles of booze in Bristol. The image is in urgent need of updating: it is now a decade old. Britain has spent that time moving away from booze.

Here’s some useful facts pulled from the article:

In 2013, the average person over 15 consumed 9.4 litres of alcohol, 19 per cent less than 2004.
As with drugs, the decline in use among the young is particularly notable: the proportion of young adults who are teetotal increased by 40% between 2005 and 2013.
80% of adults are making some effort to drink less
There are 13% fewer pubs in the UK than in 2002.

Ofcom’s Children’s Media Use and Attitudes Report 2015

Posted on November 26, 2015 By Chris

The 10th Ofcom report on ‘Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report‘ has just been published.

This report examines children’s media literacy. It provides detailed evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 5-15, as well as detailed information about the media access and use of young children aged 3-4.

The report also includes findings relating to parents’ views about their children’s media use, and the ways that parents seek – or decide not – to monitor or limit use of different types of media.

Summary of key themes

This year’s report shows that:

In 2005 levels of take-up of key media among children were higher than we might recollect, and not dissimilar to those of today. However, the experience of using these devices has been transformed, leading to a much richer and more expansive online experience than was the case in 2005.
Over the last few years, tablets are increasingly being used as a default entertainment screen, particularly among younger children. This is set alongside a small but important decrease in the numbers watching TV via a TV set.
The content children are consuming is increasingly curated by digital intermediaries, including providers like YouTube and Google. As well as attractive sources of content, rivalling traditional broadcasters, they are also seen by some children as legitimating brands, helping to vouchsafe the veracity or trustworthiness of content accessed through their sites.
The move towards smaller screens makes supervision more difficult for parents, and the proliferation of devices increases the need for parents to keep up to date with technology. For example, while over half of parents use any of the technical tools we ask about to manage their children’s online access and use, and around a quarter use ISP network-level filters, less than one in five parents whose child uses a smartphone or tablet use any of the tools for restricting app installation or use that we asked about.
The wider range of sources of content, set alongside the increased exposure to advertising, the use of services like social networking and the relatively low levels of critical understanding raises challenges for how children keep their personal information safe, understand the implications of sharing personal information and content and navigate the increasingly complex online environment in a way which allows them to reap the benefits and minimise the risks.

Pages 4-12 contain the Executive Summary with key themes and findings – if you don’t have long, do take the time to read these few pages. Section 3 also contains some fascinating charts on the difference in usage by children between 2005 and 2015.