|
Chapter 6: The Needs of Children and Young People
Karen Trew and Julie Harrison
Executive Summary
Key Findings and Recommendations
Chapter 1: Introduction and Background to the Study
Chapter 2: Population Statistics: Belfast and Donegall Pass, 1971-2001
Chapter 3: Internal Migration and Community Dynamics
Chapter 4: Housing and the Environment
Chapter 5: Health and Wellbeing
Chapter 7: Education in Context
Chapter 8: Education and Training Issues in Donegall Pass
Chapter 9: The Role of Community in Regeneration
Appendix 1 Donegall Pass Profile
Appendix 2 Focus Group Topics/Questions
Appendix 3 Recruitment Form
CHAPTER SIX - THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Key Points
- Traditionally, children and young people have had little or no input into the development of social policies.
- The role of children and young people in decision-making has begun to be formally acknowledged by government in Northern Ireland but, in practice, effective participation of young people remains inconsistent.
- Recent research (funded by the Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner) found that children and young people believe their limited influence on decisions that affect them is a major area of unfairness. Young participants from all areas of Northern Ireland also criticised the lack of age appropriate facilities in relation to play space, youth clubs, etc.
- Young people in Donegall Pass, in keeping with research elsewhere, noted the lack of age appropriate facilities and the poor condition of the existing play park.
- There was a clear perception amongst some of the group that they had been let down, with promised developments not delivered.
- There was also a clear view, expressed in particular by the young males, that limited opportunities existed for recreational activity which led to boredom and increased levels of behaviour that is perceived as anti-social by other residents.
- In some cases, paramilitary influence appears to be a limiting factor on the development of young people’s relationships outside the local community.
- Young people demonstrated an empathy for other members of the community in Donegall Pass and, in particular, children and older people.
- In future community planning and consultation in relation to neighbourhood renewal, structured opportunities should be provided for the participation of children and young people and ongoing review, e.g., youth juries.
- Particular consideration should be given to the redevelopment of the play area adjacent to the Community Centre and the programme of activities in place for young people of different ages.
Introduction
Children traditionally have had little or no input into national and local policies, so greater social participation in ways that meet their wishes and felt needs is crucially contingent on their enhanced participation in decision-making. Therefore multi-dimensional participation must be part of the process and part of the answer for social inclusion as a dynamic concept emphasising society’s barriers rather than individual failings. (Hill et al, 2004).
For a number of years, the language of Government has included the need to promote the inclusion of children and young people in shaping policies and programmes that have an impact on their lives. Recently, the benefits of taking account of the views of children and young people in planning change and regeneration of urban neighbourhoods have been noted. For example, Elsey (2004) reported the result of research on children’s and young people’s views and experience of a regeneration area in Edinburgh. She concluded that there are three particular areas that should be considered in order to ensure that children and young people have a greater stake in the public space of their communities;
- The involvement of children in urban regeneration strategies and structures;
- Increased prioritisation of public space in policy making, and;
- The responsiveness of public policy to children’s views and experiences.
In Northern Ireland, the role of children and young people in consultation processes has begun to be formally recognised. The recently published ten year strategy for children in Northern Ireland, (OFMDFM, 2006) noted that, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, one of the important themes that underpin the successful delivery of improved outcomes to children and young people is ‘developing a culture where the views of our children and young people are routinely sought in matters which impact on their lives’ (p 13).
Participation is also important and necessary for the development of children and young people. As well as providing empowerment, participation enables young people to become responsible, caring and contributing members of society. Participation and involvement in decision-making processes contributes towards young people learning to internalise the impact of their actions
Despite the breadth of policy and research, putting the rhetoric of participation into practice has proven not to be easy. A lack of skill and experience in responding to the views of young people at senior policy level, local political level and beyond the confines of the youth work sector generally has been identified as a cause for concern (Harrison & Field, 2004).
Participation may be defined as having a share of, and taking part in, the decision-making process. Research carried out for the Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner (NICCY) found that children and young people consider it unfair that they have limited influences on decisions that affect them (Kilkelly, et al 2005). The NICCY consultation exercise further indicated that children and young people of all ages and from all areas of Northern Ireland criticised the lack of age appropriate facilities in relation to play space, youth clubs and sports activities.
Background
This study was concerned to establish views of the pros and cons of living in Donegall Pass. Following the appropriate ethical guidelines, parents or guardians provided permission for the research team to contact their children. Two focus groups - one with four boys and the other with five girls - were recorded and transcribed. These young people ranged in age from 12 to 17 years. In addition, the children were asked to photograph problems in their area as well as any positive features of the neighbourhood. Some young people also provided drawings of their neighbourhood. These approaches were used to sample children’s views on the:
- Perceived adequacy of the facilities;
- Safety issues relating to living in the area, and;
- The positive and negative features of life in Donegall Pass.
This chapter aims to summarise the main themes emerging from the focus group discussions
Finding
Facilities
Boys and girls saw the neighbourhood as lacking in appropriate facilities for young people, as the following quotes indicate;
|
Everything's boring here - every time you do something you get told to go and play football and you can't play football or nothing….the pitches are wrecked (Boy)
There is nothing really in Donegall Pass to do, so you just walk about and play. (Girl)
There is nothing to do but get into trouble (Boy)
And they wonder why the wee kids get into so much trouble, cause there is nothing for them to do round here (Girl)
|
|
|
|
|
Photo 2: Graffiti on wall adjacent to play park – photo taken by a young person participating in the research
|
|
The girls were particularly annoyed by the lack of promised new facilities, including a football pitch, floodlights and swings. As they noted:
|
They knocked the best climbing frame down and put a car park in … and they took the swings away and . They’ve left us with.. one climbing frame which is wrecked (Girl)
|
|
As the following quotes indicate, the young people tended to look back on a ‘golden age’ for activities in Donegall Pass when there was a Youth Club, fishing trips, trips away, swimming, etc.
|
There was something on every night of the week to go to and on a Friday we went on a trip this was once a week every week (Boy)
We used to do Stars In Their Eyes, you know Christmas shows and all that there. I used to do that there, I love singing I really do but they don't even do that no more either so there is nothing really for us apart from sitting around in the park getting into trouble. (Girl)
There used to be all wee festival things on…(Boy)
|
|
|
|
|
Photo 3: Dilapidated play equipment in the playpark adjacent to Donegall Pass Community Centre – photo taken by a young person participating in the research
|
|
The young people were not only concerned about themselves and young children, as one girl noted:
|
It's not just the wee kids that need things to do it's the elderly too. You can't always think of yourselves cause the elderly have nothing either…., they sit in that old people's home watching T.V. all day and they get fed up, if people kick the football at the windows which do annoy them and I know it annoys them, throw stones at them. There was one, an elderly woman walking down this street the other week and someone threw a brick at her, that's how pathetic the kids are actually getting round here that's how bored they're getting with nothing to do.
|
|
Perceived Safety
When asked if they felt safe living in the area there was an interesting difference between the two groups; the girls saw Donegall Pass as a safe haven, as noted in the following quotes:
|
I would feel more safe anywhere, see here anywhere in this place I feel safe, but see once I walk out of the Pass, I don't, you know what I mean - I feel as if there is someone following me or something. (Girl)
If anything happened in the street someone would be straight out to see if we were all right (Girl)
|
|
The boys felt less safe in Donegall Pass, as one boy noted:
|
Not at night-time, do you see the Fire Station? See every time right we walk round we were walking the dogs or something there's always ones standing at the wall then they decide to start a riot and then the Paramilitaries come round and blame it on us and then we get grounded.
|
|
|
|
|
Photo 4: Seating area in poor condition – photo taken by young person participating in the research
|
|
The Boys were also aware that they were seen as threatening by older people, as shown in this exchange:
|
What do you think older people living here think of you guys, do they feel safe?
They think we're hoods.
And are you hoods?
No.
The people living here think that?
'Cause there's nothing to do and your head just goes away.
'Cause we walk about with hoodies they think we're hoods but we're not.
.....see when we were standing at the bottom of the street like and see when my granny's walking and she sees she turns on you and walks the other way.
And what can anybody do about that?
Nothing….Paramilitaries, Paramilitaries can just ground you,…..Aye they do, they ground you….Or else they throw paint over you.
|
|
These boys saw paramilitaries negatively and one noted that he would move out of the area ‘to get away from the Paramilitaries ‘.
The role of paramilitaries appeared to be less of an issue for the girls, but they commented on their behaviour in relation to cross–community contacts, which were not accepted, or the community background of their friends as one girl said. Her views were endorsed by comments from the boys.
|
You get slabbered at because we go there, we get slabbered at for it and then if we try and bring themuns down here they get it or else the paramilitaries would turn round and say ‘right you’re grounded.’ (Girl)
… ‘I got warned by the paramilitaries. I wasn’t allowed to run about with Catholics in the town.
(…) I got warned about it too’ (Boys)
|
|
Possible future activities
The young people were hoping for a local football team, better facilities in the play park, a decent surface for football, youth club activities and even courses for local young people, but they felt that their views were often misunderstood. As noted by one of the girls:
|
But when you turn round and say to someone, say you come in and said to the guy who, what worked in the community centre, you'd say something to themuns about a disco, they'd jump to conclusions and say, "you're not drinking". Like we don't wanna drink - we just want something for us to do like dance and have a laugh you know that way…. Or they say no there's not enough of yous, but if they actually opened their eyes and took a good look at our age group that walks about and sits in that park and gets drunk and smokes blow and walks about doing nothing, see if they actually opened their eyes they'd actually realised they actually had something. ….There's at least 15 to 20 of us so there is.
|
|
|
|
|
Photo 5: Existing field for football – photo taken by a young person participating in the research
|
|
Conclusions
The young people who participated in the focus groups were clearly very aware of the lack of facilities in Donegall Pass for their age group and the problems that this caused for them and the community. They looked back on a golden time when there was a range of community activities as well as an adequate playground provision for young children and playing field for adolescents. At the same time, the girls indicated that they felt safe in their area and did not venture out of it for recreational activities. There was some discussion about whether or not they wanted to leave the area, but the main thrust of their views suggested that they wanted to stay given adequate facilities for play, appropriate youth club activities and community activities that would involve all age groups.
A number of other topics were also discussed with these young people. These included: relationships within The Pass, perceptions of outsiders, the political processes involved in play provisions and issues associated with travelling to schools outside the neighbourhood.
The issues raised in some ways reflected those of the young people interviewed in Edinburgh by Susan Elsley as well as those found throughout Northern Ireland by Kilkelly, et al.(2005). When young people are consulted they voice the need for adequate, accessible facilities for all age groups. This study, therefore, reinforced the assertion that young people bring an important perspective to planning for neighbourhood regeneration. Those who took part had a clear sense of their place in the community and an understanding of the range of influences that are impacting on them and the people around them. They also expressed frustration at their inability to influence decisions, particularly in relation to the provision of recreational areas and programmes in Donegall Pass. Each group demonstrated a capacity to engage in dialogue about their neighbourhood and contribute to informed discussions about the future.
Effective participation of young people needs to involve them in all stages of the process; including organisation, consultation, active engagement and evaluation. Furthermore, feedback from young people must be taken seriously and responded to. Whilst it may not be practical or feasible to take on board all feedback or recommendations, their input must be recognised and responded to. If young people are to be pro-active in responding to issues within their community, democratic participation must allow them to have some share in discussion and decision-making.
It is generally accepted practice that young people who choose to participate within their communities are given training opportunities, which might include negotiation, facilitation and presentation skills along with personal development courses. Awareness raising and training is needed to address this issue; and guidelines for adult presenters involved in youth led events or events at which young people are active participants would also aid this issue.
Recommendations
- That in community planning and consultation in relation to neighbourhood renewal, structured opportunities are provided for the participation of children and young people and ongoing review, e.g., youth juries;
- That particular consideration is given to the redevelopment of the play area adjacent to the Community Centre and the programme of activities for young people through existing Youth Provision;
- That feedback is provided to the young people who took part in this study on progress as a result of this research.
References
Elsley, J. (2004). Children’s experience of public space. Children and Society, 18, 155-164
Harrison, J., & Field, J., (2004). Shadow Youth Councils – A Resource Pack. Research for Save the Children.
Hill, M Davis J Prout, A & Tisdall, K (2004). Moving the participation agenda forward, Children and Society, 18, 77-96.
Kilkelly, U., Kilpatrick, R., Lundy, L., Moore, L., Scraton, P., Davey, C., Dwyer, C. & McAlister, S. (2006) Children’s Rights in Northern Ireland, Belfast, NICCY
OFMDFM NI (2006) Our Children and Young People - Our Pledge: A ten-year strategy for children and young people in Northern Ireland 2006-2016. Belfast; OFMDFM NI
|
