The largest ever study of young people on the Isle of Wight has found that nine out of ten children were happy with their lives.
The statistic is of one of the headline figures from a survey of 5,000 Island children aged between eight and 15 carried out by The Children’s Society supported by the Isle of Wight Council last year.
The survey covered a wide range of aspects of children’s lives and provides an important insight into the wellbeing and quality of life of Island children. The results are currently being studied but will be used by schools, the council, and other agencies both to build on the positives and to address areas of concern.
The finding that nine out of ten young people were happy with life here was very much in keeping with the national findings of other Children Society surveys.
‘Happier than the national average’
In two aspects of life, Island children were happier than the national average.
First, there were indications that they were happier with their family relationships, which is encouraging because this aspect of life is one of the most important determinants of overall wellbeing.
Second, children on the Island seemed to be more satisfied than average with their local area, and in particular with the facilities available to them.
There were however, some aspects of life with which children and young people were less happy, in particular issues relating to their school and their physical appearance. In terms of school the findings were very much in line with young people nationally except that pupils in secondary schools reported feeling less safe than children elsewhere. Similarly on the issue of how good young people felt about their appearance, scores were generally very similar to findings elsewhere with the exception of teenage girls who scored significantly lower.
Children and Young People’s Plan
The findings of the survey, in particular the issues raised are being discussed with schools and the multi-agency Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership. They will be considering the actions needed to build on the positive findings and tackle the issues raised. These actions will be form part of the Children and Young People’s Plan which will be published towards the summer.
Councillor Dawn Cousins, cabinet member for children’s services and education, said: “I am delighted that so many children and young people feel happy with their lives here and am thankful to everyone who took the time to take part in the survey. The results are invaluable to us as it is only when we can understand the problems and challenges that our children face that we can start to address them. We are now able to focus our resources in the areas that will make the biggest difference to our children and young people’s wellbeing.”
Jim Davis, good childhood adviser at The Children’s Society, said: “We’ve been conducting research into children’s wellbeing for many years, but the work on the Isle of Wight has been our first opportunity to produce a detailed picture of children’s experiences across an entire local authority.
“The response from schools has been fantastic, with so many children taking part and giving us their views and ideas. There is much to celebrate about children’s lives on the Island, and we now have a good idea of what could be improved. We hope that parents, professionals, and children themselves will play their part in making that happen.”
The results of the survey can be viewed at https://www.iwight.com/council/publicServices/serviceWebPages.aspx?servID=2757&pageID=1203&wpPreview=true
