Agenda item

Young People's Survey Presentation

Minutes:

The Board received a presentation from Benjamin McGowan, Bromley Youth Council on the young people’s ‘Make Your Mark’ survey.

 

Every year the UK Youth Parliament ran the ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign to enable young people to choose the issues most important to them from a shortlist of ten issues.  The Bromley Youth Council had distributed the survey to young people across the Borough with 9,110 votes being cast, representing a 30.5% turnout of all 11-18 year olds.  The top three issues in Bromley were ‘End Knife Crime’, ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Period Poverty’ which reflected the top three priorities within the London region and nationally.

 

The Chairman congratulated the Bromley Youth Council for the exceptionally high response to the ‘Mark your Mark’ survey. 

 

In considering the presentation, the Chairman confirmed that knife crime and mental health were key priorities of the Local Authority and its partners, and that the survey provided a timely reminder of the public health aspects of youth violence.  The Director: Public Health was reassured that the key priority issues of youth violence and mental health had also been identified as priority areas within the Children’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2018, which suggested that the data being used to inform strategies was accurate.

 

Board Members generally discussed the issue of period poverty which had not previously been identified as a key concern with the Borough.  A Board Member advised that a voluntary sector scheme, the Red Box Project, was in operation in the majority of secondary schools and some primary schools in the Borough which aimed to ensure no young person missed school due to their period by providing free menstrual products, and suggested that all Bromley schools be encouraged to participate in the scheme.  A Member noted that having to request menstrual products at school could be embarrassing for young people, and praised a pilot scheme at the Ravensbourne School where free menstrual products would be made available in a specific location without young people having to request them; the Member suggested that this pilot scheme be rolled out to other schools across the Borough.  The Bromley Youth Council Representative reported that at its Full Council meeting on 30th January 2019, the Royal Borough of Greenwich had agreed a motion to fight period poverty in a range of ways including by supporting the Red Box Project and that this was reflected in action taken by a number of local authorities across the United Kingdom.  A Board Member stressed the impact of period poverty on young people’s physical and mental health and suggested that links be made with General Practitioners around this issue. 

 

The Bromley Youth Council Representative gave anecdotal evidence around the lack of information provided to some young people around menstruation and underlined the need for schools to ensure that young people were well-informed, suggesting that this learning could be given at a fixed point within the primary school curriculum.  The Interim Director: Children's Social Care proposed that this issue be raised with the Primary and Secondary Health Teachers’ forums.  Dr Jenny Selway, the Consultant in Public Health Medicine confirmed that schools were able to buy-in a puberty talk through the Health Support to Schools service but that this option had not been taken up by many Bromley schools.  It was important to ensure parents and carers were equipped to support young people in understanding menstruation.

 

The Chairman requested that an update on the outcome of Ravensbourne’s School’s pilot scheme be provided to the next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board on 21st March 2019. 

 

The Chairman led Board Members in thanking Benjamin McGowan for his excellent presentation which is attached at Appendix B.

 

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.