Children and Young People's Quality of Life Survey

A key recommendation of the 2018 Children's Integrated Needs Assessment was to better understand the experiences of children and young people growing up in Herefordshire.  With the help of 40 schools and colleges across the county, almost 5,000 children and young people aged 8 to 18 participated in the 2021 Quality of Life Survey to help fill this gap – the first time in over ten years that such extensive countywide research had been undertaken.

 Results can be downloaded from the resource box on the right hand side.  The survey is due to be repeated in the 2024 summer term.

 The 2021 survey provided a robust, post-pandemic baseline covering a wide range of topics, including:

• Characteristics and family circumstances
• Healthy lifestyles: food, dental health, physical activity
• Community & participation
• Tobacco, alcohol & drugs
• Relationships & sexual health (Y10 & up)
• Emotional health & wellbeing, including resilience         
• Safety and bullying – physical and online           
• School & the future

 The work was commissioned by Herefordshire Council on behalf of the Children and Young People's Partnership, and was carried out anonymously in schools by the Schools and Students Health Education Unit (SHEU). The outputs gave us a set of countywide figures at key points in children’s and young people’s development: years 4, 6, 8 and 10. The results have been used to inform service redesigns, plans and strategies – including the new Healthy Child Programme and the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023-33, and are a key part of the evidence base for the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

 Note: We are aware that the survey reports are not fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need the information in a different format, please contact us.