I attended an interesting session at the NEEC 2010 in York last week….

Professor Jonathan Bradshaw’s session on ‘Understanding Child Poverty and Child well-being’ highlighted the international research which consistently put us at or towards the bottom of the international league table. The session attempted to identify why we are doing so poorly.

It’s important to drill down into these figures. In some areas we are performing well:

- accidental deaths;
- educational attainment;
- housing conditions; and
- peer relationships.

But in some areas we are performing badly:

- subjective well-being;
- income poverty;
- risky behaviour; and
- NEET

There is a strong relationship between well-being and child poverty and between well-being and inequality. Children are happier at school and their friendships have significantly improved. Spending on vulnerable families is high but improved outcomes have not been seen YET! Interestingly the research suggests that subjective well-being; how young people feel about their well-being is the essence of well-being. Between 1994 and 2007 there have been little variation in happiness, self-esteem and feeling troubled. Importantly most children report that they are happy. Research shows that poverty and parenting both matter and that the eradication of child poverty is a great cause which must remain a high priority.
Chris