D1560809 Main Cover E.Indd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2008 Children and Young People’s Well-being Monitor for Wales D1560809_main cover_e.indd 1 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 14:44:12 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 © Crown copyright November 2008 CMK-22-08-0053 D1560809 D1560809_main cover_e.indd 2 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 14:44:13 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 Contents Foreword 3 Acknowledgements 5 List of tables 7 List of figures 11 List of abbreviations 15 Executive Summary 19 Chapter 1 An Introduction to the Monitor 31 Chapter 2 Children in Wales 53 Chapter 3 An Introduction to Particular Groups of Children at Risk of Disadvantage 59 Chapter 4 The Early Years 71 Chapter 5 Access to Education, Training and Learning Opportunities 93 Chapter 6 Health, Freedom from Abuse and Exploitation 115 Chapter 7 Access to Play, Leisure, Sport and Culture 143 Chapter 8 Children are Listened to, Treated with Respect and have their Race and Cultural Identity Recognised 163 Chapter 9 Safe Home and Community 173 Chapter 10 Child Poverty 197 1 Main eng.indd 1 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:13 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 Appendix 1 - Summary table of the Welsh Assembly Government’s child poverty targets and progress made to date: 29 September 2008 217 Appendix 2 - Key surveys used in the 2008 Monitor 241 Appendix 3 - Indicators of children and young people’s well-being used in the 2008 Monitor 253 Appendix 4 - Welsh Assembly Government: Key policies, programmes and initiatives relating to children and young people 271 2 Main eng.indd 2 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:13 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 Foreword We are pleased to present the 2008 Children and Young People’s Well-being Monitor for Wales. This Monitor is the first of its kind in Wales and represents the absolute commitment of the Welsh Assembly Government to investigate the issues that affect the lives of all our children and young people. The decision to develop the Children and Young People’s Well-being Monitor for Wales was made following the publication of the UNICEF (2007) Report Card “An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries”. This provides an assessment of the material, physical, social and emotional well-being of children in the UK, but it does not include a breakdown of the data for Wales. The aim of the Monitor, which will be updated on a regular basis, is to report on the well-being of children and young people (aged 0 to 18 years), using a variety of child well-being indicators and other statistical and research sources. The Monitor is based on themes taken from the Assembly Government’s seven core aims for children and young people, which seek to ensure that all children in Wales: • have a flying start in life • have a comprehensive range of education and learning opportunities • enjoy the best possible health and are free from abuse, victimisation and exploitation • have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities • are listened to, treated with respect, and have their race and cultural identity recognised • have a safe home and a community which supports physical and emotional wellbeing, and • are not disadvantaged by poverty. We hope this Monitor will be an invaluable resource to all those in Wales with an interest and commitment to the care and well-being of our children and young people. And we believe it is important for a number of reasons. It provides access to reliable and up-to-date information on child well-being in Wales, allowing the Assembly Government to monitor and respond to key trends. As a Government we remain committed to the challenging targets that we have set ourselves 3 Main eng.indd 3 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:13 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 to reduce child poverty in Wales and this Monitor provides an opportunity to measure progress against those cross-cutting targets within the overall context of child well-being. Regular reporting by the Assembly Government will help to raise awareness of the issues that need to be tackled to secure children and young people’s well-being in Wales. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) calls on all State Parties to regularly publish data on children’s well-being. The Assembly Government’s commitment to the Convention is paramount and we are pleased to deliver on this in Wales with the publication of the 2008 Monitor. Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM First Minister for Wales Ieuan Wyn Jones AM Deputy First Minister 4 Main eng.indd 4 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:14 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 Acknowledgements There are a large number of people who have contributed to the development of the 2008 Children and Young People’s Well-being Monitor for Wales. Particular thanks go to the government social researchers, statisticians and economists who have helped with drafting chapters. In addition to the authors and co-authors, we are also grateful to the help and advice from Steve Marshall, Judith David, Henry Small, David Jones, Mathew Wellington, Martin Parry, Robin Jones, Richard Mathews, Gareth Morgan, Glyn Jones and Emmanuel Idowu (all Welsh Assembly Government), Richard Harry (Sports Council for Wales), Huw Jones and Adrian Smith (Local Government Data Unit - Wales), and Maria Morgan (Cardiff University School of Dentistry). Staff within the Office of the Chief Social Research Officer (OCSRO) also deserve special thanks. In particular, Natalie Ellis (Appendix 3 and 4), Rachel Hope (referencing), Naomi Copestake and Launa Anderson (research reviewing), Sophie Bennett (internet searching), Jessica McQuade (equalities evidence sources) and Eoghan Mortell and Angela Evans (editing). The development of the Monitor was overseen by a Technical Working Group, whose members (Richard Thurston, Kate Chamberlain, Mike Harmer, Joanne Starkey, Stephen Hughes, Beverley Morgan, Launa Anderson, Jonathan Price and Chris Roberts) provided invaluable assistance throughout. We would also like to thank members of the Monitor’s Project Board for their helpful comments on draft chapters: Tracey Breheny, David Middleton, Ian Butler, Elizabeth Williams, Chris Tudor-Smith, Helen Thomas, Keith Ingham and Linda Mann. Many thanks also to Professor Peter Kenway, Dr. Sam Clutton, Professor David Gordon and Anne Crowley for their advice and (very helpful) peer review comments. Finally, we would like to thank members of the Assembly Government’s Graphics and Translation Teams, including Paul O’Leary, Karen McClean, Julie Langston and Gavin Elias. Office of the Chief Social Research Officer (September 2008) 5 Main eng.indd 5 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:14 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 6 Main eng.indd 6 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:14 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 List of Tables Chapter 2 Children in Wales Table 2.1 Number of deaths of Welsh Residents aged 0 to 19 (1996-2006) Chapter 3 An Introduction to Particular Groups of Children at Risk of Disadvantage Table 3.1 Children looked after by local authorities in Wales, year ending March 31 2007 Table 3.2 Children in need receiving services in Wales, at 31 March, 2007 Chapter 4 The Early Years Table 4.1 Percentage of children reported as being treated for a range of illnesses, by age and sex (aged 0-7) (2005-06) Table 4.2 Percentage of mothers smoking during pregnancy by country (2005) Table 4.3 Percentage smoking during pregnancy in Wales by mother’s age (2005) Table 4.4 Percentage of 3 year old children with asthma, wheezing and recurring ear infections by maternal smoking (2003/04) Table 4.5 Drinking behaviour before and during pregnancy by country (%) (2005) Table 4.6 Percentage of pupils achieving at least level 2 at Key Stage 1 in teacher assessments (2008) Chapter 5 Access to Education, Training and Learning Opportunities Table 5.1 Reasons given for permanent and fixed-term exclusions (2005/06) Table 5.2 Percentage of pupils at Key Stages 2 and 3 in Wales achieving the Core Subject Indicator by gender (1999-2008) 7 Main eng.indd 7 Welsh Assembly Government 12/11/08 16:15:14 3 CertifiedPDF® ISO-15930 PDF/X-1a:2001 Chapter 6 Health, Freedom from Abuse and Exploitation Table 6.1 Percentage of children aged 8 to 15 years reported as being treated for a range of illnesses, by age and sex (2005/06) Chapter 7 Access to Play, Leisure, Sport and Culture Table 7.1 Extent to which family does indoor activities together at home with 5 year old child (%) Table 7.2 Extent to which 5 year old child does sport/exercise (%) Table 7.3 Gender differences in physical activity levels, aged 7 to 11 (2006) Table 7.4 Extracurricular activity for 7 to 11 year olds (%) (2000-2006) Table 7.5 Club participation and leisure centre usage, children aged 7 to 11 (2000-2006) Table 7.6 Percentage of extracurricular activity for 11 to 16 year olds (2001-2006) Table 7.7 Club participation and leisure centre use amongst 11 to 16 year olds (2001-2006) Chapter 8 Children are Listened to, Treated with Respect and have their Race and Cultural Identity Recognised Table 8.1 Where the UNCRC is taught in schools across the UK Chapter 9 Safe Home and Community Table 9.1 Offences (resulting in a disposal) by 10 to 17 year olds in Wales and English Regions (2006/07) Table 9.2 Number of 0 to 18 year olds admitted to an NHS hospital (Welsh residents treated as an in-patient or day case) for injury, poisoning and other certain consequences of external causes (2001-02 to 2006-07) Table 9.3 Injuries (in the previous year) among 11, 13 and 15 year olds in Wales (2005/06) 8 Main eng.indd