Councillor Victoria Mills, Cabinet Member for Children and Schools to introduce the theme item.
Health & Wellbeing of Young People in Camberwell – presentation by Kirsten Watters, Consultant in Public Health.
Young People to discuss their experiences of living in Camberwell.
Minutes:
Councillor Victoria Mills, cabinet member for children and schools, introduced the theme item. Councillor Mills highlighted some of the good things available for young people in Southwark:
- Local schools have seen a big improvement in the last 6-10 years. 91% of Southwark schools are regarded by Ofsted as good or outstanding
- More of our young people are going to university
- The council has created 400 new apprenticeships in the last year alone
- Investment and regeneration in the area means that more people were employed in Southwark than at any time in the current or last century
- The council’s youth fund had created a range of opportunities for local young people, including scholarships to university or paying education maintenance allowance.
The council was committed to protecting the most vulnerable young people of Southwark and had ring fenced council spending on children’s social care. Councillor Mills asked for the views of young people on what would make them happy, healthy, active and safe. Also, what would prepare them for the future they wanted and what should the council be prioritising to that end.
Dog Kennel Hill Adventure Playground
The manager of the Dog Kennel Hill Adventure Playground (DKHAP) explained that DKHAP had arranged play and youth provisions in the community for decades and had seen generations grow up using the facilities. There was a great need in the area to continue with those provisions. DKHAP offered young people a wide variety of different experiences in arts & crafts, sports and gardening. He said it was integral to children’s development and it catered for children ranging in ages from 5 – 15, though older ones return to volunteer.
Kate, a play worker, explained that she had been working for about 17 years as a play worker and at DKHAP for about eight years. She had seen in recent years in other boroughs the available facilities change and not be so focused on play. Yet DKHAP was unique and maintained its play focus which was very important.
Young people in attendance gave examples of the various activities they had enjoyed at DKHAP. These included: sports tournaments, cooking and outdoor play. They explained the playgrounds were essential as they gave them something positive to do in an environment that felt like their own. They described it as a place that was close to their hearts.
Health & Wellbeing of Young People in Camberwell
Kirsten Watters, consultant in public health, gave a presentation.
Young and diverse borough
- 68,542 under 20 years old
- Over 50% of the young population are in the 1-9 year old age group
- 66% of the population under 20 are BME.
High but falling levels of deprivation
- Southwark ranks 9th in London and 18th in England against the child poverty index
- 28% of children and young people in Southwark are living in poverty compared with 24% in London and 19% in England.
Children and Young People’s Health is improving
- Our children start reception with a good level of development
- Issues with low birth weight and infant mortality are falling
- Numbers of children immunised against infectious diseases increasing
- Compared to London and England fewer Southwark young people smoke or drink alcohol to harmful levels
- Significant decrease in teenage conceptions since 2000
- Overall upward trend in education attainment from primary school to GCSE level
- Children and young people attend school and go on to jobs, training and education.
Sex, drugs, mental health
- High levels of sexually transmitted infections amongst under 25s – with chlamydia most common infection
- Southwark seems to have lower hospital admission rates due to substance misuse among young people aged 15 to 24, compared to London and England averages.
- In 2014, 37% of Year 10 boys and 28% of Year 10 girls said they had been offered cannabis
- 67% of pupils reported that, in general, they were satisfied with their life either quite a lot or a lot
- Southwark has higher numbers of young people with poor mental health compared to London and England but lower rates of self-harm.
Summary
- Build on successes, in particular our achievements in school readiness and educational attainment but a number of challenges remain
- New Healthy Weight Strategy
- Working with Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group to improve the way Southwark delivers services and through Children and Young People Health Partnership for Lambeth and Southwark
- Looking at how Southwark delivers services to young people – risk and resilience
- Looking at mental health services and improving access to support
- Working with and supporting schools to be health promoting places.
Contact: Kirsten.watters@southwark.gov.uk
Southside Young Leaders Academy
Daniel, Darren and Kumar spoke of their experience of living in the area and attending Southside Young Leaders (SYLA). They expressed concerns over traffic, litter, gangs and police sirens. The boys enjoyed trips, English lessons and how they felt better about opportunities for the future.
SYLA was a small charity working with about 50 boys. SYLA worked in partnership with schools and parents to provide a 'wrap-around' service, bringing about transformation for marginalised and vulnerable young people, already showing signs of risk.
Some recent achievements:
- Jessie Duffet tenants had received 9 planters built and painted by boys to brighten up the local community
- Boys organised community days in local area for families and children
- 11 SYLA young leaders obtained scholarship places
Youth Futures
Joseph Duncan, director of Youth Futures (YF), explained it was a small charity that had been working in the Camberwell area for about 7 years. There were youth work sessions, a personal development programme, a mentor programme and leadership programme. Joseph added that YF was stretched and looking for new premises. The charity worked on complex issues including some child protection cases and would welcome a new base to work from.
Young people from YF explained that the support available had helped them navigate through various difficult phases of their lives. The support they received felt like a big family and helped them to reach their goals and potential.
The chair thanked all those who had taken part in the presentations.