Agenda item

Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) places a strong emphasis on understanding and addressing the health needs of children and young people. Central to this approach is a commitment to capturing their voices, and a key mechanism for this is the biennial Schools Health and Wellbeing Survey (SH&WS), which has used the “Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire” (HRBQ) since 2011.

Councillor Alison Born introduced the report to the Panel. She explained that the survey provides robust data and insights into the health, wellbeing, and behaviours of children and young people, supporting evidence-based service planning and targeted interventions.

She informed the Panel that the work is supported by St John’s Foundation, which has provided grant funding to B&NES Council to enable the continuation of the SH&WS for five survey rounds on a biennial basis, through to 2030.

She stated that a number of areas for concern have been identified and that the survey highlights persistent inequalities affecting vulnerable groups, including pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) either now or in the past six years, those with s SEND, young carers, children looked after and those identifying as LGBTQ+, pupils living with just one parent or from BAME backgrounds.

Councillor Liz Hardman commented that she felt that the survey was a useful tool and was pleased to see that arrangements were in place to start the organisation of the next survey.

She asked what can be done to improve the response rate (58%) from Primary Schools, while noting that 100% of Secondary Schools had responded.

The Public Health Principal replied that all schools are invited to take part in the survey and that they had not received a direct notification to say that a school would not be taking part. She said that the assumption was that they had not had the time to complete it.

Councillor Hardman asked what can be done to improve the areas of concern identified.

The Public Health Principal replied that Public Health use the survey to assess where resources should be placed, promote particular campaigns and to advise partners in B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire.

Councillor Hardman said that she was concerned that the inequalities for Young Carers were across many of the categories.

The Public Health Principal replied that the concern was shared and she was aware of work planned to begin to address this.

The Director of Public Health & Prevention added that they would also welcome suggestions for where the results of the survey could be shared.

Councillor Anna Box raised a number of points on behalf of Councillor David Harding who had left the meeting.

·  The increase in self harm from 14% to 17% in primary schools. Was this known why and is there a policy to address it?

·  Vaping remains high with 27% of secondary and 54% of FE students having tried e-cigarettes at least once. Work to be done……

·  Exercise – No mention of this within the survey to address obesity or losing weight. Young people should be encouraged to enjoy exercise.

The Public Health Principal replied that self harm remains a priority locally and that Mental Health support teams were in place across BSW alongside School Nursing.

She explained that a Parent & Carer seminar had been held recently on vaping and hoped that information gained from this would lead to ways that could be identified to reduce numbers.

She stated that exercise was indeed a key area to address to ascertain the level of physical activity undertaken by young people.

Councillor Michael Auton asked if a list of the schools that did not take part was available to be able to encourage their involvement.

The Public Health Principal replied that she would check what information could be shared and said the offer of help was appreciated.

Councillor Jess David asked if the data from the survey could be compared nationally.

The Public Health Principal replied that not all areas of the country take part in the survey. She added that they do compare some elements of the data with the Office for National Statistics.

Councillor Joanna Wright commented that she was concerned about the amount of screen time / digital use by young people.

The Public Health Principal replied that they are aware of this as an issue and said that schools do receive an individual report back for them to use the results to address areas of concern.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked when the B&NES Play Policy was last reviewed.

The Public Health Principal replied that she was not able to answer that question.

Councillor Lesley Mansell commented that she acknowledged the areas of concern raised and asked how young people could be addressed to ensure that messages are being received correctly and understood.

She also asked if the Primary questions were set out for them in the right way.

The Public Health Principal replied that she wanted to assure the Panel that representatives from the provider carrying out the survey attend the school to support survey responses from pupils.

The Chair commented that she would welcome an update on this work to a future meeting of the Panel.

The Director of Public Health & Prevention replied that it was their role to share the results of the survey and to change, where direct control allows. She added that they could seek follow-up from partnerships on other matters.

The Panel RESOLVED to promote and refer to the survey results when considering the needs of their local children and young people.