Child survey reveals drug abuse
Almost half of youngsters between the age of ten and 15 said they had consumed alcohol, according to the survey
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Published by Gibson Square, out November 15th, 204 pages, £12. |  |
Friday, 16, Nov 2007 05:37
A government survey on the lifestyles and concerns of children between the age of ten and 15 has revealed drug and alcohol abuse problems.
The TellUs2 online survey for watchdog Ofsted interviewed 111,000 children and teenagers. It found that 14 per cent of children in the 12-15 age group said they had experimented with drugs such as cannabis.
On the question of alcohol use, 48 per cent of youngsters between the age of ten and 15 said they had consumed alcohol while 16 per cent of youngsters from 14-15 said they had gotten drunk at least thrice in the last four weeks.
Asked about their biggest concerns in life, the majority of children said exams followed by friendship problems and school work were their top three concerns in life.
A total of 51 per cent said assessment at school while 39 per cent pointed to problems with their peers as things that worried them. Health concerns and career worries came in fourth and fifth respectively as issues that troubled children and teenagers.
Ofsted's chief inspector of education Christine Gilbert called on the government to act on the survey's findings.
She said: "We urge policy makers, local authorities and schools to look hard at the findings and use them to influence their plans and actions.
"The survey presents much that is positive about life for children and young people today. However, it is also clear that more needs to be done to address children and young people's worries and concerns about how safe they feel; about exams and tests; and about what would help them learn better and where they need to go for help when they have a problem."
Commenting on the report's findings, schools secretary Ed Balls said the survey highlighted challenges that had to be faced.
Mr Balls said: "This is a time of unprecedented opportunity for children and young people but the survey also shows there are challenges and pressures that we need to address with decisive action."
"But that there are also some issues, like young people experimenting with alcohol or other risky behaviour, that collectively we need more action to address," he added.