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News

  • Annual Report 2024

    Berkshire Youth Annual Report (002)

    7 November 2024

  • Waterside’s 2nd Birthday!

    Today, we are celebrating the second anniversary of Waterside Centre reopening.

    3 August 2023

  • Duck Race

    Our friends at the Rotary Club of Reading Abbey have asked us to share news of the charity fundraising event they’re running at The Oracle on Saturday 9 September.

    31 July 2023

  • Tilehurst Youth Club

    Thank you to youth worker Jessica for this update!

    31 July 2023

  • Waterside – July 2023

    Kelly told us: “The summer months bring a range of activity to Waterside Centre.

    31 July 2023

  • The Wayz – July 2023

    A real summer of fun at The Ways; the month started brilliantly with the Community Fun Day and Bracknell Together Walk.

    31 July 2023

  • Britwell – July 2023

    Britwell Youth and Community Project’s Summer Holiday Club is running from Monday 24 July– Friday 18 August (daily Monday – Friday), 11am – 3pm.

    31 July 2023

  • Updates from our Flagship Youth Clubs

    Please click on the links below for the latest updates from our flagship youth clubs in Slough, Bracknell and Newbury.

    31 July 2023

  • Youth Development and Community Engagement Update

    The school holidays are now upon us and our summer programmes are in full swing.

    31 July 2023

  • Training News

    Here are our upcoming training courses, including posters.

    31 July 2023

The 2021 Youth Survey from Berkshire Youth

20 May 2021

Newly published data from Berkshire Youth finds that the most important issues currently facing Berkshire’s young people are mental health and wellbeing1 and school / education2

Our 2021 Youth Survey, published today, reveals the significant detrimental effect the pandemic has had on local young people.

Recognising the huge challenges young people have faced over the last year and that many are still struggling, we supported a steering group of six young people from across Berkshire to create and market an anonymous online youth survey this spring. The steering group were also instrumental in shaping the report, for young people aged from 8 to 24, giving a valuable insight into what is on the minds of young people and giving them a voice.

More than 750 young people across Berkshire responded to the survey, which has shown that Covid-19 has had a huge negative effect on young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and that young people are calling out for more support in this area. The report also highlights the overwhelming need for young people to have safe and inclusive spaces with positive role models to talk to, emphasising the importance of investing in both universal and targeted youth work.

Cameron, a young person on the steering group, said: “I was really pleased that so many people answered the survey. I was sad to see the self-harm rates were so high but this didn’t surprise me.”

Fellow steering group member, Freya, added: “I think it is important to do a youth survey as we can learn so much from it. We can see that there has been a trend in declining mental health but also young people are feeling more isolated and lonely. Young people are asking for safe places to have fun with their friends and I think we should listen to them.”

Berkshire Youth’s Charity Ambassador, Reading FC Player Tom Holmes, stresses the importance of listening to young people: “To have over 750 young people participate in such a survey I think demonstrates that young people want to be heard. It is important that people listen and that’s what Berkshire Youth are doing. In the grand scheme of things with everything that is going on in the world right now, the sacrifices that the youth have had to make may not seem so major, however young people have made huge sacrifices for the greater cause of saving lives during the course of this pandemic. As we come out of this pandemic, I think it is important that we listen to young people and I encourage people to read this report to see the good work taking place to look after the young people of Berkshire.”

David Seward, Berkshire Youth CEO, concluded: “We are all very grateful to the young people who have shared their voice, to trust us with their voice is a privilege. After a decade of cuts to youth services plus dealing with the global pandemic, it is important not just for Berkshire Youth but also for our partners and supporters to make every effort to listen to the young people in our communities. This report is a collation of the results which offers an insight into the concerns and worries that affect our communities. Let’s use this survey to find more positive ways of creating a future for our young people.”

Please click here to read the full report.

1 76% of young people reported that mental health and wellbeing was an important issue facing young people at the moment

2 72% of young people said that school / education and exams are currently an important issue

 

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