Our City, Our Future. Understanding the needs of young people in Westminster in 2020/21 Report by Rocket Science for Young Westminster Foundation 04 06 08 Introduction About Young The 2020 from Phil Barron Westminster Needs Analysis Foundation 1o 20 28 Impact of Life Plans // Youth Voice Covid-19 Education, and Action Training and Emplyoment 36 42 48 CONTENTS Health and Physical and Community Wellbeing // Sexual Health and Spaces Mental Health 56 60 68 Transport Crime and Safety Internet and Social Media 72 80 82 Calls To Action Peer Research: Appendices What Did We Learn? 85 Thank You CO ntents | 3 Our City, Our Future describes the issues and The need for YWF and the which provides an opportunity to respond and improve experiences of young people growing up in signposting. This report provides clear findings and Westminster and has been written with the findings youth sector to adapt is ‘calls to action’ which will help focus and frame YWF’s of ten peer researchers at its heart. We conclude that priorities for the coming few years. despite a challenging year, young people are optimistic needed more than ever. It for their future. The report is the culmination of over is incumbent upon us all This report serves as a tool for the wider Westminster a year’s work which started before the pandemic, community including YWF’s 100+ member continued through the height of the lockdowns and is as a sector to continue to organisations, business partners, Westminster City published now in March 2021 as schools reopen their Council, Met Police and NHS to collaborate and to doors after the UK’s third national lockdown. Working provide spaces to listen and open a conversation about the needs of young people with Rocket Science, Partnership for Young London respond. and act together. YWF believes that every young and Kings College London’s MSC in Public Policy & person in Westminster should grow up healthy, safe Management Programme has allowed us to draw and happy with the best opportunities for brighter on a wealth of research expertise to inform the work The pandemic has further exacerbated social and futures. Coming out of this pandemic the world will be undertaken through the time of Covid-19. economic inequalities in Westminster; this was a different place and our future lies with young people. highlighted through the focus groups in terms of The Foundation believes that youth voice should be at Our 2017 needs analysis, A City Within a City, was poverty, access to food, poor living conditions, the centre of decision-making. a defining point in establishing Young Westminster isolation, physical and mental health and access to Foundation (YWF) and our strategy. Listening to young education. The need for youth services has never been people’s experiences helped establish four of the most so acute. YWF has been able to respond in real time to pressing themes for our work including Crime and some of the initial findings of the research, for example Safety; the Local Environment; Health and Wellbeing through the Digital Futures Project, providing over Philip Barron, CEO and Accessing Opportunities. This framework has 1,800 laptops for disadvantaged families. Young Westminster supported our approach to fundraising and developing Foundation programmes. The report also provided a number of Young people reported that the pandemic has had recommendations which have focussed our work a significant impact on their lives, however it is over the past three years including ‘acting as a bridge encouraging to hear this is tempered by a certain between different organisations and sectors’ and optimism and motivation about communities 1 The Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index (2021) https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/about-the-trust/ ‘brokering applications to external funders’. Fundraising supporting each other better in the future. Nationally, news-views/tesco-youth-index-2021 to sustain the sector and having a positive impact on 74% of young people believe their generation “can young people has been a massive drive and we have change our future for the better”1. The potential for increased our turnover from £200k to £1.4m in three stronger youth voice and action is really exciting. years. The emerging data on unemployment for young people Three years later, refreshing the needs analysis, the in Westminster is stark and suggests an urgent need sector is more cohesive and collaborative; supported to respond. There are several practical responses and reinvigorated by the new infrastructure of youth to this emergency outlined in the ‘calls to action’ hubs established by YWF and Westminster City Council including greater collaboration between schools, youth (WCC) in 2019. These partnerships have paved the organisations, WCC Early Help and businesses. way for a systemic approach to the research published here. Unfortunately, during the planning we had not Another major area of concern arising in this report is foreseen a pandemic breaking out at the same time as around mental health and emotional wellbeing. Young focus groups were due to get underway. people in Westminster face significant pressure. There has been progress with partners collaborating on this I NTR N We were able to quickly adapt the project through issue locally but we need to maintain momentum to O virtual means and share the initial findings from focus improve referral routes, co-location of counsellors and O DUCTI groups in the first phase of the project in an efficient DUCTI develop new interventions in existing community and O way to keep partners up to date on the changing settings. A further theme emerging from this research O N NTR situation for young people. is around accessing information on a range of services, | 5 INTRODUCTION FROM PHIL 4 | I Young Westminster Together, the YWF community shares a vision for all ABOUT YOUNG Foundation (YWF) is a cross young people in Westminster to grow up healthy, safe, and happy with the best opportunities for brighter A B O sector partnership connecting futures. UT youth charities, young people, YO WESTMINSTER YWF’s 100+ members range from large youth clubs to UN businesses, Westminster City smaller grass roots organisations; all driven by their G W Council and other partners passion to provide the best services, opportunities estminster FOUNDATION and support for local young people. such as universities, the Met Police & the NHS. The Foundation believes that youth voice should be at FO the centre of decision making. Their goal is to identify undati and address the challenges faced by young people today, all the while ensuring that they are truly at the O N heart of the conversation. | 7 THE 2O20 NEEDS ANALYSIS Established in 2016, Young Westminster Foundation’s The first stage involved Rocket Science conducting first piece of work was to conduct a peer-led needs bi-weekly focus groups with Westminster youth analysis, examining the experiences of young people workers in the Spring and Summer 2020 to under- scoping working online training growing up in the borough of Westminster. That report, stand the varied impacts of Covid-19 on young people, in January 2020 attended A City Within A City, formed the basis of the Founda- leaning into existing relationships between young workshops by 30 organisations from tion’s strategic direction to date. As part of this work, people and youth workers 1 4 for peer researchers with the YWF committed to undertake a regular needs across the Young Westminster hours of Rocket Science & Partnership analysis every three years. The second stage of the research involved Rocket community for Young London Science and Partnership for Young London training Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Young Westminster young peer researchers to interview 98 young people Foundation began work with Rocket Science, King’s in Autumn 2020 (information about interviewees is College London and Partnership for Young London to provided in Appendix 2.) The peer researchers were MSc students Westminster conduct a broad assessment of young people’s needs recruited through YWF’s member organisations and from King’s College London youth in Westminster. The project would examine the experi- were asked to conduct interviews with a range of co-designing organisations ences of various communities of young people across their peers. While this report cannot represent all 2 22 the borough; with a particular focus on the new Youth young people in Westminster, youth practitioners the project contributing insight Hub regions and localised experiences, ensuring the were consulted to explore the experiences of young research was representative of the diversity of experi- people who may not have been represented in peer ence across Westminster. The emergence of Covid-19 researcher findings. required this planned approach to change resulting in a focus groups in depth two-stage simple, flexible and online research process with 14 youth workers interviews (details of which can be found in Appendix 1): 8 throughout Summer 2020 98 with young people peer researchers recruited to co-design 10 research questions and conduct interviews nalysis A EEDS 2020 N HE 8 | T 11% Asian/ Covid-19 Asian British Top 3 Most Important Crime & Safety Social/Political issues Tackling Racism 17% Mixed/ 60% (n=58) of respondents Multiple Ethnic Groups were female, 39% (n=38) were male and 1% (n=1) of participants 29% Black/ selected ‘prefer not to say’. 65% (n=63) were aged 13-16 and 34% African Black British (n=34) were aged 17-25. Just under 3/4 95% of young people expressed that a loss of 40% White free travel would impact felt supported by how they get around. their youth club 3% Other Ethnic Groups during the pandemic. Young people generally feel safe in Westminster, but (29%) 1/3 of young people Over 70% thought it would be ‘very expressed concern difficult’ or ‘somewhat about people carrying 44% of young people Over half of young people difficult’ to find out about knives; being followed education, employment or ambushed; or sexual Over 3/4 or training opportunities.