1. A Good Childhood
What does this mean for our churches, schools and communities?

2. The Good Childhood Report
Annual report about how children in the UK feel about their lives.
Over last 12 years we have asked more than 60,000 children how they
think their lives are going.
Children want to be listened to and are keen to be asked for their views
on topics that matter to them.
Subjective well-being
The Good Childhood Index
Understanding Childhoods Study
The Good Childhood Report 2017 is our sixth in-depth study into children’s well-being.
Over the last 12 years we have asked more than 60,000 children how they think their lives are going
We produce the report in partnership with the University of York as part of ground-breaking research, it summarises the latest data on children’s subjective well-being and presents new insights from the most extensive national programme of research on this topic in the world.
Research with children in different contexts and countries around the world confirms that children want to be listened to and are keen to be asked for their views on topics that matter to them.
In this report we listen to children’s collective voices – gathered through large-scale surveys that ask them how they feel about their lives – as well as to their individual voices, which we heard during in-depth interviews that allowed them to present their distinctive views and experiences to us.

3. There is a decline in young people’s sense of happiness, girls in particular are showing signs of unhappiness at a greater level than boys and especially as they move through adolescence
In the 2017 study we found that fear of crime is a key concern that children and young people contend with
But, our focus for support has centred more and more on the proportion of children and young people who are grappling with multiple issues in their lives, often interconnected and complex
Our studies show that for those young people, contending with a series of challenges significantly impacts on their well being

4. Latest figures from The Good Childhood Index
For the last ten years we have measured key areas of life for young people and how happy they are
In 2017 we can see the overall levels of happiness for a variety of domains, and the levels of well being for each domain
As in previous years, young people are happiest with their families where there is also the lowest level of well being

5. Latest figures from The Good Childhood Index
Although appearance and school life are low in terms of happiness, they indicate the highest proportion of young people with low well being in those areas of their life. The level of happiness is lower for girls and proportion with low well being is also higher

6. What young people have told us
Everyday sexism
Constant observations and comments
Uniform, the sacred cow
From the thousands of young people we have listened to in recent years they describe school as the environment where they experience things that make them unhappy
For girls it is a place where they experience sexist comments and observations about their bodies on a daily basis. It is from boys that they experience this the most and it is not always addressed by staff
In primary school it is more about the status of girls and boys not feeling girls are good enough, in secondary school it takes on a more sexual theme and more about physical appearance
School uniform policy and behaviour plans do not help girls and it can add another burden
The stricter and more elaborate the uniform the easier it is to spot small differences and inability to fit in. Girls have told us that navigating the school day means finding ways of conforming to the “look” adopted by girls in the school while conforming to demands from the school
Girls can find themselves the subject of personal comments from male staff about their appearance in ways that outside of school would be regarded as unacceptable
Everyday scrutiny of appearance
02 December 2018

7. Difference in uniformity
Uniformity highlights small variations and differences. For poorer pupils it makes it more exposing as they might have the wrong shoes, cheaper uniform items, not the full branded items and be in trouble all the time
It makes what they wear and how they wear it the focus of attention

8. Difference in diversity
More diversity in schools limits the one look that young people need to conform to
It reduces the emphasis on appearance and the constant focus on appearance
Being different in a context where there is a broad range of appearance is less obvious and stigmatising
Not all schools start with a diverse range of pupils, so should give less emphasis to appearance