A study examined participatory practice with children and young people in case studies of 29 organisations. It said that acting on children and young people s views brought positive outcomes: in service developments; by increasing young people s sense of citizenship and social inclusion; and by enhancing their personal development
Source: Perpetua Kirby, Claire Lanyon, Kathleen Cronin and Ruth Sinclair, Building a Culture of Participation: Involving children and young people in policy, service planning, delivery and evaluation, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
A report summarised qualitative research into the attitudes of younger consumers to saving for retirement. Young people on low incomes faced significant barriers to saving that put any prospect of a comfortable retirement at severe risk: they had little confidence that their saving would pay off, and their trust in government on pensions was so low that any moves to force them to save for retirement would be unpopular. MPs debated pension provision for younger women.
Source: James King, No Nest Egg: Research into attitudes of younger consumers to saving for retirement, National Consumer Council (020 7730 3469) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 28 October 2003, columns 1WH-24, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | NCC press release | TUC press release | Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A briefing paper summarised the initial results of a study of attitudes in England towards children. The study found that children felt less welcome in public places as they grew up, and became less likely to believe that most adults were friendly. Among adults, 53 per cent thought that England was friendly towards children, but only 36 per cent thought the same in relation to teenagers.
Source: Nicola Madge, Is England Child-friendly Enough?, National Children s Bureau (020 7843 6029)
Links: Briefing paper (pdf) | NCB press release | Community Care article
Date: 2003-Oct
An annual survey provided answers to over 100 health-related behaviour questions from 37,150 young people aged 10-15. Up to 37 per cent of those aged 14-15, and nearly 45 per cent of those aged 12-13, felt unable to respond positively to a question about knowledge of methods of contraception. Up to 65 per cent said they had smoked by the time they were 14. Among boys aged 10-11, 25 per cent had drunk alcohol in the previous week; 42 per cent were not aware of AIDS. Among girls aged 10-11, 39 per cent felt afraid (at least 'sometimes') of going to school because of bullying. Up to 61 per cent of those surveyed aged 14-15 were fairly sure' or certain' that they knew a drug user. The percentage of boys aged 10-11 who read at playtime/dinner time had decreased from 29 per cent in 1997 to 17 per cent in 2002.
Source: Young People in 2002, Schools Health Education Unit/University of Exeter (01392 667272)
Links: SHEU press release and summary
Date: 2003-Oct
Research among children and young people aged 9-19 examined how they used the internet, and their opinions on its safety and value. It was found that, while the safety message was getting through to young people, governments, internet providers and parents could still do more to make the internet safer for children. Children were becoming the internet experts in families, but were still mainly using the internet as a means to communicate with friends and relatives, and for music and games.
Source: Sonia Livingstone and Magdalena Bober, UK Children Go Online: Listening to young people s experiences, Department of Media and Communications/London School of Economics and Political Science (020 7955 7710)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | LSE press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Oct
A report summarised developments in policy relating to children and young people, and its implementation in each of the nations of the United Kingdom. It said there was a risk, when encouraging one national administration to learn from another, that politicians learned the wrong lessons.
Source: United for Children? How devolution is impacting on children's policy across the UK, NCH (020 7704 7000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report (Welsh) (pdf) | NCH press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A research report said that the internet was starting to open up politics to young people - and it could help to engage more of them with the political process. While only 11 per cent of those aged 45-54 with access to the internet had visited a political or campaigning website, signed an e-petition or joined a political chatroom, the figure rose to 30 per cent among young people (aged 15-24).
Source: Rachel Gibson, Stephen Ward and Wainer Lusoli, Participation, Political Organisations and the Impact of the Internet, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC press release
Date: 2003-Sep
A study examined the aspirations of young disabled people in Scotland for housing, and their actual experiences. Young disabled people had similar aspirations to their non-disabled peers. Most wanted to leave the parental home and most did not regard their first house as a home for life. They expected eventually to form a new household with a partner and/or children and to seek suitable housing.
Source: Jo Dean, Unaddressed: Housing aspirations of young disabled people in Scotland, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 431213)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 973
Date: 2003-Sep
A report argued that more needed to be done to prevent disadvantaged young people from being 'locked out' of the jobs market and education system. It said that too many disadvantaged young people were being held back by a lack of qualifications, bad behaviour, drug or alcohol abuse, or a criminal record. The report was based on interviews with more than 900 'hard to reach' young people aged 14-25.
Source: Andrew Calder and Rob Cope, Reaching the Hardest to Reach: Breaking barriers?, Prince's Trust (0800 842842)
Links: Report (pdf) | Prince's Trust press release (Word file)
Date: 2003-Aug
A report examined what young people aged 11-18 felt about politics and politicians, what issues concerned them, and what could be done to make them more engaged in the political process.
Source: Young People's Attitudes towards Politics, Nestl Family Monitor 16, Nestl UK Ltd (020 8686 3333)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
The Department for Work and Pensions published an annual report on action to promote greater involvement by children in the formulation of policy.
Source: Children and Young People s Participation in the Planning, Delivery and Evaluation of Policies and Services: 2003/4 Action plan, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7712 2171)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jul
The Electoral Commission began consultation on whether the minimum voting age in elections should be reduced to 16.
Source: How Old is Old Enough?: The minimum age of voting and candidacy in UK elections, Electoral Commission (020 7271 0500)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Electoral Commission press release
Date: 2003-Jul
The government announced a new 500,000 fund, designed to help children and young people take part in conferences and events to give their views on government policies, and on services affecting them.
Source: Press release 31.7.03, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: DfES press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A report recommended the development of a national minimum standard, for use in measuring how organisations focused resources and used effective practice to involve young people.
Source: David Cutler, Standard!: Organisational standards and young people s participation in public decision making, Carnegie Young People Initiative (020 7401 5460)
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jul
The government published its response to the manifesto and action plan drawn up by the UK Youth Parliament. It included three case studies that examined how young people could work with government.
Source: The Government's Response to the UK Youth Parliament's Manifesto and Agenda for Action, Children and Young Person's Unit/Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: Response (Word file) | Manifesto (Word file)
Date: 2003-Jun
A report examined the involvement of children and young people in children's services in Northern Ireland. It described the present limited involvement of children in planning processes as non-strategic and informal . It noted that, in particular, the voice of children and young people with disabilities is often absent when services are planned to meet their specific needs.
Source: George Kernohan, Methods of Involving Children and Young People in Children s Services, University of Ulster (028 9036 6178)
Links: News report | UU press release
Date: 2003-Feb
A report profiled the changing social, emotional, personal and cultural needs of young people, and identified the implications for museums, archives and libraries.
Source: Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, Start with the Child: The needs and motivations of young people, Resource (020 7273 1444) and Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2003-Feb
A paper explored a life-course account of the pathways to adult social exclusion for children born in 1958. It was found that childhood disadvantage had more powerful legacies for women than for men; that experiences of disadvantage between the ages 16 and 23 related as closely to outcomes at age 33 as at age 23; that the excess legacy of childhood disadvantage for women was mediated through lone motherhood; that unemployment or divorce between ages 23 and 33 promoted disadvantage at age 33; and that the legacies of divorce were more powerful for women.
Source: John Hobcraft, Continuity and Change in Pathways to Young Adult Disadvantage: Results from a British birth cohort, CASEpaper 66, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Abstract
Date: 2003-Feb
A briefing document examined the reasons for low participation by young women in public life, and gave practical examples of how their involvement could be encouraged.
Source: Turning Opinion into Action: Young women and participation, Young Women s Christian Association (01865 404215)
Links: No link
Date: 2003-Feb