Latest news with #BeeWell
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
One in ten kids experience food insecurity in Greater Manchester
A survey of almost 100,000 young people has highlighted urgent issues around food insecurity. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority's #BeeWell programme, which started in 2021, is the largest survey of its type in the UK and seeks to understand the wellbeing of young people and the factors that impact it. This year, the survey found that one in ten young people reported that food in their house did not last and there was no money to buy more. The survey also found that only one in ten are consuming the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The #BeeWell youth steering group said more awareness was needed about how nutrition affects energy levels and wellbeing, alongside increased support for families to make healthy choices. It also introduced new measures on access to trusted adults, revealing that while 75% of young people say they have someone to talk to about their worries, boys are less likely to feel they have someone to confide in than girls. The survey aims to highlight how the community can support young people to live well across the city-region. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: "The #BeeWell findings make it clearer than ever why our Live Well ambition is so important. "We are listening to young people, and they are telling us that access to support in their neighbourhoods, safe spaces to go, and someone to talk to are vital to their wellbeing. "Through Live Well, we are ensuring that every young person, regardless of their background, can get the help they need to thrive." The survey also identified that while 60% of young people feel like they belong at school, the report found lower levels of school belonging reported among girls and LGBTQ+ young people. Read more: Tesco updates customers after mass complaints over tinned beans shortage Colls put the brakes on high-flying Motors in home draw Experts reveal the cheapest time to renew your car insurance saving you £150 Saint, from the #BeeWell Youth Steering Group, said: "It is incredibly important that we run #BeeWell surveys so we can accurately determine where young people need more support. "By analysing these key headlines, we can target the most significant factors impacting the mental wellbeing of young people and aim for improvements within those areas. "Every young person should be given the opportunity to flourish and succeed and ensuring this not only provides an environment of safety and belonging for the individual, but will collectively help us progress into a more cohesive and compassionate society in the long run." In response to the findings, #BeeWell will work with Greater Manchester's 10 local authorities to support the development of an action plan to improve young people's wellbeing across the city-region. An event bringing together young people, schools, and community partners to co-design a plan for action based on the #BeeWell insights will be held in the coming weeks.
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Whitehall has left generation of teenagers with no hope, says Andy Burnham
The number of young people not in education, employment or training has risen to unacceptable levels because Whitehall is failing to listen and respond to their needs, Andy Burnham will say this week. The mayor of Greater Manchester will warn in a key speech that the number of 'neets', which now stands at almost 1 million - the highest figure in 11 years – will continue to rise unless the Department for Education (DfE) adopts a new schools policy more geared to their requirements. Over recent weeks, government ministers have attempted to make a 'moral' case for welfare cuts and changes to the benefit system, partly by highlighting the number of young people who are not in employment or trying to get work, and instead are living on benefits. Based on experience from Manchester, Burnham will say that one of the main causes of this is a school system that fails them and is overly focused on the traditional university route, rather than catering for the requirements of those who want to pursue technical paths. He will say that schools in England are judged by Ofsted on their performance against the English baccalaureate (EBacc), described on the DfE's website as a collection of GCSEs 'considered essential to many degrees'. He will argue that this has left England with an education system designed for some but not all young people. In Greater Manchester, about two-thirds do not pursue the traditional university route. The rise in the number of neets is causing increasing concern among MPs at Westminster and educationists, with senior figures in government also growing ever-more alarmed by the loss of a potentially huge skill base to the economy. The Policy Connect thinktank and the independent Skills Commission last month launched a new inquiry, to be chaired by a cross-party group of MPs, aimed at developing policies to ensure that, by 2050, the UK has the lowest percentage of young people who are not in education, employment or training in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The neets rate has remained at 12% or higher for several decades. According to labour market statistics published by the Office for National Statistics in February, the UK unemployment rate for young people aged 16 to 24 was 14.8%, up from 11.9% the year problems is bound up with ethnic inequalities, with young people from Black Caribbean backgrounds having a neet rate more than double that of young people with white British backgrounds. Regional inequalities are also substantial, with neet rates of 15% in the north-east of England, compared with 9.4% in the south-west. Results from a recent survey of schools in the Greater Manchester region based on 100,000 students reveal that many young people are losing their sense of connection with school as they progress. While 67% of pupils told the #BeeWell survey that they felt a sense of belonging in year 7, this dropped to 51% by year 10. About 64% of pupils reported 'good' wellbeing in year 7, compared with 55% in year 10. In a speech to the Institute for Government on Wednesday, Burnham will say: 'Whitehall is simply not hearing the voices of these young people who need something very different from the education system. It is clear from the BeeWell survey that too many get to the end of secondary school and feel that the system has disinvested from them. Too many are leaving without hope and a clear path for the future.' He will call on the DfE to change schools policy and bring in a principle of parity between academic and technical education and the devolution of responsibility for the post-16 technical system. He will say: 'Different regions of England have different economies and therefore it stands to reason that post-16 technical education is a prime candidate for devolution. The Department for Education's long-running resistance to this is a significant barrier to growth.' To balance the EBacc, Burnham and his team have developed a Greater Manchester baccalaureate, or MBacc – a selection of subjects linked to seven sectoral gateways to the Greater Manchester economy. The ambition, by 2030, is to provide a high-quality 45-day work placement for every young person who wants one, linked to T-levels and BTecs. The mayor will say that the country's failure to tackle longstanding problems such as the rise in neets is a reflection of the top-down way in which it has been run. Burnham will call for radical change in the architecture and culture of the British state, with the new devolved bodies across England being given a much greater role in setting direction. He will say: 'As a former minister, I have great respect for Whitehall and for the people who work within it. But it is not wired for growth. By definition, growth can't be ordered from the top down by individual silos but has to be nurtured from the bottom up, linking education to transport, employment, planning and housing. 'I give credit to the civil servants in government who have driven England's devolution journey to this point but the truth is that all now need to get with the programme. Devolution needs to go much deeper and faster if we are to get the growth we need.' A DfE spokesperson said: 'Getting young people into education, employment or training is key for our mission to grow the economy under our Plan for Change. 'Through our new Youth Guarantee, every 18- to 21-year-old in England will have help to access an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or help to find a job. 'To give all young people the foundations they need to achieve and thrive, we're also recruiting 6,500 new teachers, rolling out careers advice, increasing opportunities through Skills England, widening access to apprenticeships, improving mental health support in schools and delivering a cutting-edge curriculum to ensure pupils are set up for life, work and the future.'
