We have teamed up with the charity Barnardo’s to find out what Barnardo’s support practitioners view as the most important issues facing young people.
For this research, we analysed data from quarterly surveys of Barnardo’s frontline workers across the UK to assess what practitioners view as the most important issues facing young people, and how these issues changed between June 2019 and November 2021.
Practitioners told us that young people face a mental health emergency, heightened online dangers and a lack of support until reaching ‘crisis point’. You can find a brief summary of our findings and recommendations below. You can find the full report on the Barnardo’s Website.
Photo by Matese Fields on Unsplash
What does our evidence show?
Our joint research found that our practitioners are particularly concerned about five key issues facing young people:
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Increasing mental health issues and insufficient support
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Poverty, financial instability, and inequality
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Potential exposure to sexual exploitation and online abuse
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Lack of safety and cohesion in the home
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Poor transition between services for young people
What needs to happen?
Our analysis of our practitioners’ perspectives has raised some urgent issues that must be addressed by policy-makers and other decision-makers. Our recommendations are:
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Providing appropriate mental health support to prevent young people reaching crisis point
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Addressing poverty and inequality as adverse experiences
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Preventing exploitation and victimization
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Fostering safety and cohesion in the home
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Supporting transitions between services pre- and post-18
Read the full report on the Barnardo’s Website.
In collaboration with: 