Our Life in Numbers

Background

We have brought together all the publicly available statistics on our island's children and young people into this one place.

Why? Because data collected on children and young people is, by its nature, usually held and published in different places. So, for example, the source for data on housing is not the same as the source for data on health issues, or education or criminal justice, and so on.

And while this is not a comprehensive collation of public data on Jersey's children and young people, it is a start. 

For the first time, we can look in one place and see facts and figures related to children and young people on more than a dozen different areas of life. 

We believe this is an important way of mapping vulnerability, and of identifying areas in which key services may be falling short.

It is crucial that we understand the vulnerabilities of our children and young people at this particular time, when the Covid-19 pandemic is laying bare the seriousness of existing challenges, and creating fresh ones. 

How we compiled the statistics

Introduction

The work carried out in Jersey to provide estimates of the numbers of children and young
people who find themselves in situations of vulnerability has been inspired by the work
carried out for the Children’s Commissioner for England.

There are key similarities in the process and structure, whilst taking in to account the unique context of Jersey – the differences in laws, data collection and reporting, population, demographics, and education.

Our methodology paper explores these differences and shows how the resulting vulnerability groupings were arrived at. It goes on to detail the quality and regularity of reporting of data that is currently available, and to highlight where data is not available.

It is of importance, not least because of the backdrop of historical issues that vulnerable young people, and particularly those in care, have faced in Jersey, but also a means of being transparent, open, and questioning when it comes to the lives of children and young people on the island.

Aim

Having reliable estimates of the number of children and young people who are living in situations of vulnerability and assessing this over time can enable effective and meaningful advice for practice and policy.

It can help to understand the scale of difficulties that young people are faced with today, and it can support decision-making to better support children. This work lays the groundworks, working with what is available. It does not account for any co-occurrences (double counting), and as such it does not seek to create a total sum figure of children living in situations of vulnerability.

Its purpose is to assess what data is available, what the trends in these data show and what can be done in the future to create a better and clearer picture.

You can read our full methodology paper and summary table below.

 

 

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