The happiness, health and life chances of children in Newcastle are increasingly at risk because of growing inequality, according to a new report. It also highlights the impact from street violence, and the emergence of “unhealthy” views on relationships held by some young people in the city.
The report, “It Takes a City to Raise a Child”, presents a stark picture of poverty, inequality, violence, misogyny and ill-health. It details the life-changing impact this is having on children and young people.
The findings are based on surveys and interviews held in schools and deprived communities and have been presented to city leaders and other groups by Alice Wiseman, the new joint Director of Public Health for Newcastle and Gateshead.
An action plan has been put in place with eight policy objectives based on the Marmot Review by Professor Sir Michael Marmot and the Institute for Health Equity. The aim is to reduce preventable health inequalities. Newcastle will strive to become a “Marmot City.”
Findings of the report
Alice Wiseman spoke about the report at a session organised by Hexham Debates. “The more adversity a child experiences the more likely they are to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, poor academic achievement and misuse of substances, in later life,” she said.
“When children feel safe, loved, and have the chance to play and explore, they grow up with confidence, resilience, and curiosity. It’s during these early years that children learn how to handle emotions, make friends, and develop the skills they’ll use throughout their lives.”
The report, which includes a health-related behaviour questionnaire, found that Newcastle is worse than the England averages for poverty (38% V 31%), low birth weights, breastfeeding, school readiness, poorly educated parents and smoking in pregnancy.
Inequality within the city means that life expectancy for two babies born just streets apart can differ by as much as twelve years, determined, according to the report, entirely by the circumstances into which they are born.
Even more concerning, children from the most disadvantaged areas of Newcastle can expect to live eighteen years of their already shorter lives in ill-health.
Relationships
The Behaviour Survey, which is carried out every two years, found that the number of children feeling “listened to” at school has decreased. Also down was the number of children who say they are “happy or quite happy.”
And when asked what was “always wrong” in a relationship, 18% of boys and 8% of girls thought hitting a partner was ok under certain circumstances.
At the Hexham Debate Alice Wiseman talked about the recent Netflix drama, “Adolescence.” “The issue of misogyny, raised by this programme, came out in our survey,” she said. “And this is a significant change from previous years.
“Around a third of young people who were surveyed said they had received a phone message which “scared or upset them.” Also, a proportion thought it was ok for someone to check their phone, or for someone to know exactly where they were all the time.”
“We need national action to protect children who are on social media and online. We need more work on relationships and what is healthy and unhealthy.”
The disparity between resources allocated to treating health conditions versus prevention was also raised in the debate session. “The NHS is going to fall over in the next decade or so, maybe a lot sooner, if we don’t get this right,” said Wiseman.
“We can prevent much of the illness, which is going into hospital, heart disease, diabetes, problems caused by alcohol, smoking, diet, lack of exercise, but it does need action. We only spend 3% of our health budgets on public health prevention work.”
Violence
Safety is another massive concern. “Many children are very familiar with the language and imagery depicting serious violence involving knives and gangs. This impacts on their lives in play opportunities in parks and play areas.”
Schemes to tackle inequality
The “It Takes a City to Raise a Child” report details a number of schemes which are already underway to try to tackle the issues of inequality in Newcastle. They include:
- The introduction of Welfare Advisors – because £1.33bn of benefits is unclaimed each year in our region. Advisors in Newcastle now help people make claims and with any appeals.
- Greater support is being provided for communities, helping youth projects, safety initiatives, employment opportunities and an initiative for “Dad’s Champions,” to support Dad’s with child care issues or problems.
- Mental health training has also been introduced in the city’s schools.
- A Partnership has been established with businesses and academic, sporting and cultural institutions, to ensure every baby, child and young person can feel “happy and healthy, safe and ready for next steps.”
- Holiday activity and food schemes have been established.
- Action is being taken against brands which promote unhealthy eating for greater profits.
Another issue being looked at is the attitude to nature amongst some young people who live in deprived areas of Newcastle. The report says it was a struggle for many to think what nature meant for them. Some didn’t think it was for them at all. When asked to draw what they thought was nature, there was “one example of a large supermarket and another of a fast-food restaurant.”
You can read the full report – “It Takes a City to Raise a Child” here
