Report from the Healthy Relationships Youth survey 2016/17

In 2016/17, Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin surveyed 4,776 young people in Year 7 – 13, to learn about their views and experiences of what healthy relationships mean to them.

The work was done as part of a wider engagement to seek young people’s views on the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme in the Telford and Wrekin area.

This survey identified some interesting trends in healthy relationship education (HRE) and some possible concerns with regards to gender minority among young people in Telford and Wrekin. This survey attempted to capture the breadth of issues related to healthy and abusive relationships, including sexual consent, as well as identifying levels of education and awareness in areas of concern such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It demonstrated an inconsistency in teaching, where older year groups reported lower levels of education, and a link between HRE and an improved confidence in recognising both healthy and abusive relationships. Parents and carers were identified as important sources of support, and respondents reported their relationships as healthy with them as well as their friends and partners. However, those who identified as transgender did not indicate particularly healthy relationships with any of these significant others, a concern when they designated friends as the most likely place for them to look for help if they thought they were in an unhealthy relationship.

The report recommends the following:

- To improve the delivery of Healthy Relationships Education to students who identify as gender minorities

- Parents should be provided with advice and information about healthy relationships

- To emphasise the direct impact on the understanding of issues such as sexual consent demonstrating its value within schools.