More than 20,000 young people from Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton have shared their views on the issues that matter to them – from vaping and relationships to discrimination and loneliness – as part of a pioneering youth-centred wellbeing programme.
The #BeeWell programme seeks to improve young people’s wellbeing based on their direct feedback. It is working with Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council, and Portsmouth City Council to run annual surveys with young people across the region and to drive community action in response to the findings.
Completed by 20,348 pupils
The second and latest survey in the region was undertaken in autumn 2024 and completed by 20,348 year 9 and 10 pupils across 89 schools, including 10 special schools. This represents 47 per cent of young people in these year groups across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, and Southampton.
Young people themselves continue to lead the response to the survey data through the #BeeWell youth steering group, which has identified six key priorities to focus on in the coming year, based on the following key findings:
Vaping
The latest #BeeWell survey found that the number of young people reporting daily or recent vaping increases between years 9 and 10, from 4 per cent to 7 per cent.
Relationships with family and friends
Young people reported being more likely to seek advice from someone close to them, than from an online or telephone support service. Based on this feedback, the programme has committed to working with young people to understand how best to promote trusted online support services.
Discrimination
Young people reported experiencing discrimination due to race (24 per cent), gender (20 per cent), disability (15 per cent), sexuality (13 per cent), and faith (12 per cent).
Feeling Safe
Over 80 per cent of young people reported feeling safe in their local area. However, this was less likely to be the case for young people who are questioning their gender or who identify as trans and gender diverse.
Loneliness
As with last year’s survey, around 10 per cent of young people have reported that they often or always feel lonely.
Promoting wellbeing through arts and culture
Year 9 pupils are more likely than their year 10 peers to take part in arts, culture and entertainment activities, which research has shown to have positive links to wellbeing. The most frequent activities were sports, exercise and gaming.
Commenting on these priorities, Henry, a young person on the local #BeeWell youth steering group, said,
“The results of the survey reflect the clear issues that we face as young people. This is especially clear in the levels of discrimination that the survey reports, as well as the rise in vaping in teenagers. We need to use these findings to drive action across our communities to ensure the issues that we face are being addressed effectively.”
Next steps
The #BeeWell findings continue to inform activity across the region, with schools, voluntary sector organisations, and children’s services working closely with young people to interpret and act on the results.
Recent examples include a school-based pilot project in partnership with Girlguiding which focuses on girls’ self-esteem, and the commissioning of ten projects all handpicked by young people that are designed to promote positive wellbeing.
Chosen projects include forest schools, music lessons accompanied by a wellbeing practitioner, and a theatre tour for neurodiverse young people.
James Roberston, #BeeWell’s National Director, said,
“It’s inspiring to see so much action taking place in response to the latest #BeeWell data in Hampshire. Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. But there is more work to do to turn the tide on the decline in young people’s wellbeing, and we’re excited to work with partners and schools to understand this year’s data, and what we can do to support young people to thrive.”
Participating schools will now be supported to identify priorities for improvement based on their individual findings. An interactive public dashboard will show more detailed results and insights into young people’s wellbeing across 46 different neighbourhoods in the region. This will be published online at the end of March 2025, with a view to inspiring further action across local government and civil society.
Read more
Further information can be found in the #BeeWell Headline Report for 2024, embedded below for your convenience.
News shared by Hampshire County Council. Ed
