Reducing Risky Behaviour

Risky’ behaviours include those that put individuals at risk of physical or emotional harm and/or poorer outcomes. They include (not exclusively) domestic violence and substance misuse by parents/carers and substance misuse, offending, bullying, antisocial behaviour, truancy and unprotected sexual activity by young people.

Background from the 2008 CYP Needs Assessment:

• there is some evidence that risky behaviours can by symptomatic of underlying vulnerability factors including poor parenting and conflict at home, poverty, living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, poor education and health;
• the number of children in care and with a Child Protection Plan due to parental neglect (primarily parental alcohol / drugs misuse) and/or serious incidents of domestic abuse is increasing;
• a higher proportion of South Gloucestershire’s pupils admitted to drinking alcohol than nationally. Whilst a higher proportion also thought that they needed better advice on alcohol, smoking, drugs and relationships, more recent data shows this has improved;
• teenage pregnancy rates are dropping in South Gloucestershire but there are still pockets where rates are higher and these are in priority neighbourhoods and the rate of decline falls below target;
• South Gloucestershire has a higher proportion of pupils who are worried about being bullied than the UK in general;
• we have a proportionately high number of secure settings for young people in custody.

 From expert group sessions and consultation:

• young people who engage in ‘risky behaviour’ are much more likely to have poor outcomes in terms of a successful personal and economic transition to adulthood;
• risk factors associated with pre-16 pregnancy include: living in non-privately owned housing; lack of expectation of being in education at age 20; expectation of being a parent at age 20; belief that over half of their peers are sexually active; intentions to skip school; and being drunk monthly or more;
• a gap in services providing support for children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse in the home has been identified as a specific issue through the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) process;
• risk factors associated with youth offending include: troubled home life; poor attainment, truancy and school exclusion, substance misuse and mental illness, deprivation (ie, poor housing or homelessness), and peer group pressure;
• there is a strong link between youth drinking and youth crime;
• young offenders are at a high risk of suffering mental health difficulties; nationally 40% have a diagnosable disorder. Locally, there is an increase in young offenders presenting with emotional / mental health problems;
• children and young people who live in homes where their parents/carers are engaged in risky behaviour (e.g. domestic violence, substance misuse) are also more vulnerable to poorer outcomes;
• there are a range of early indicators of vulnerability, tools to identify these and intervene early in universal settings are important for prevention;
• viewpoint and other partnerships tell us that young people are too frequently perceived to engage in anti-social behaviour. 

What young people say: 

• Bullying remains a significant issue for young people;
• Young people do not always feel safe on their streets;
• Young people say they do not always know where to go for help and support;
• Young people say they don’t get enough input on developing social skills and sex and relationship education;
• Young people value 1:1 support and mentoring from trusted adults and peers. 

What we need to do:

• Improve access to Information, Advice and Guidance on all issues both within and outside school settings;
• Strengthen the interface between adult and children’s services to ensure parent/carers are able to parent effectively, particularly where parent/carers and /or children require support relating to domestic violence, mental health, disability, substance misuse;
• Develop ways to identify vulnerability early and link with support in universal setting;
• Improve access to life skills / self esteem programs (e.g. SEAL);
• Improve access for parents to support, information and parenting skills programs;
• Universal and targeted support for children and young people at points of transition;
• Access to 1:1 mentoring support to children and young people identified as needing more help;
• Targeted programs for identified children and young people to build strengths, confidence and aspiration;
• Ensure young people with complex needs have access to specialist services;
• Develop a workforce with the skills and knowledge to support young people to make positive choices;
• Better support provision for achieving wellbeing within our secure estate and preventions of re-offenders.

What this would mean for the each outcome:

Outcome	Impact
Be Healthy	Better access to information and advice. Better access to services to promote emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Stay Safe	Improved access to support within the secure estate. Improved interface between adults and children’s social care services. Reduced risky behaviour, less risk to individuals and families. Threshold guidance used effectively to identify risk.
Enjoy & Achieve	Raised aspirations and achievement. Improved access for both young people and partners to programmes which target these areas. Improved capacity in universal services to recognise the early signs of likely risky behaviour. Improve young people’s awareness of the impact of the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
Positive Contribution	Increased involvement in positive activities rather than risky behaviours, improved outcomes for those most at risk. Reduction in youth offending. Reduction in perception of anti-social behaviour.
Economic Wellbeing	Reducing risky behaviours and addressing some of the underlying vulnerability factors will lead to improved outcomes for young people as they move to adulthood. More young people engaged in education, employment and training post 16.

Key Changes we will see as a result: Access to information and support for both parent/cares and children and young people will be clearer and more effective; Early interventions to prevent problems later will improve as early identification and link to early support is developed; Improved provision will enable children and young people to access the support they need; Risky’ behaviours include those that put individuals at risk of physical or emotional harm and/or poorer outcomes. They include (not exclusively) domestic violence and substance misuse by parents/carers and young people, substance misuse, offending, bullying, antisocial behaviour, truancy and unprotected sexual activity by young people.