Young people across Greater Manchester have places to spend their free time and feel they belong at their school, according to the results of a survey released today.

Greater Manchester’s #BeeWell programme, which focuses on young people’s wellbeing, carried out the biggest survey of its kind in the country in Autumn 2021. More than 160 schools took part in the initiative in its first year, in an enormous region-wide push to support young people’s wellbeing – led by young people themselves.

Young people co-designed the #BeeWell survey, launched it in schools, and have worked with researchers to identify key findings and priority areas of research. The survey received just shy of 40,000 responses, representing approximately 60% of all young people in Year 8 and Year 10 in the city region.

There are noteworthy gaps in wellbeing scores between males and females, with girls reporting lower wellbeing than boys. There are also sizeable inequalities for young people who identify as LGBTQ+, who on average report higher levels of stress and emotional difficulties.

The majority of young people say they have things to do and places to go. 73% reported they can almost always/often do what they like in their free time, and 70% agreed/strongly agreed that they have places to go to spend free time in their local area. 4 in 5 young people also feel that they belong at their school.

Physical activity levels appear to have fallen following the pandemic, with only 1 in 3 young people reaching the recommended levels of physical activity set by the Government’s Chief Medical Officer.

Despite this, a large majority of young people (67%) are still getting involved in sport outside of school at least once a week, and 4 in 5 young people feel they have good, very good or excellent physical health.

This World Sleep Day, the #BeeWell study can also reveal that 40% of young people say they do not normally get enough sleep to feel awake and concentrate on schoolwork during the day. The average time spent on social media per day is 4.4 hours a day.

Professor Neil Humphrey, academic lead for #BeeWell at the University of Manchester, said:

“The #BeeWell research team is delighted to begin reporting the initial findings of our first annual survey. The young people of Greater Manchester have spoken. The crucial next step is for the system to respond to what they have told us with the kinds of support that young people want and need, supported by professionals and their local communities. This is just the start of the research we will be able to carry out with the dataset and we will work closely with young people and partners to maximise its impact.”

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, portfolio lead for young people in Greater Manchester, said:

“This is an exciting moment for Greater Manchester as we celebrate and learn from the first year of findings of the #BeeWell survey. There are brilliant strengths emerging throughout the city region that are a testament to our schools and our communities. There are also clear opportunities to act together, with young people leading the way, to improve our support for their mental health and wellbeing.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here