LOCAL groups and organisations are pulling together and making the effort to ensure Westbury is a great place for children and young people to grow up in.
A 2011 report painted a gloomy picture of life for children and young people in the area, but a wealth of local organisations and services are working together to ensure the next generation has the best start in life.
Initiatives currently operating in Westbury include a campaign to improve dental health in young children, action to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies, and community arts projects at Matravers School. Schools and other agencies are now working together to a greater extent, and there are new initiatives for healthy eating.
The initiatives were presented at a special meeting of the Westbury Area Board in December, which focused on children, people, and young families. Sally Hendry, Westbury Community Area manager said, “The area board is working with the community to try and address the issues that have been raised. The meeting was a really good example of how much is going on, and how we are all in touch with each other and working together.”
Richard Hatt, headteacher at Westbury Junior School, also serves on the Westbury Area Forum (which seeks to improve communication and interaction between schools and services for children and young people). He said, “I think there’s lots of people all pulling together for the community of Westbury, I’ve never known the work to be so cohesive. I’ve been head here for just over 10 years, and I’ve never known a climate like it.”
Positive approach
Mike Cuthbert-Murray, chair of the Westbury Area Board, said he believes Westbury is a good place to grow up, and is pleased to see so many groups addressing the needs of children and young people. “As an area board, we do try our best to reach out to the community as a whole,” he said. “This shows we are definitely taking a strong positive approach to problems in Westbury, and getting positive results.
“I think we need to find more things for young people to do, and make them aware of what is already available. Young people don’t always know there are groups around to help them, so it’s getting that message across and helping them when they need it.
“Westbury is a wonderful place, it’s got its ups and downs, but the positives outweigh the minuses.”
Priorities
The Westbury Community Area Plan, which sets out priorities for 2012-2017, wants to “focus on low-achieving children and young people, to encourage a ‘can do’ achievement in life.”
It also suggests focusing on intensive work with pre-school children, particularly with regards to issues such as encouraging healthy lifestyles. The plan also suggests more work with families to develop family learning opportunities, and improved information for parents and carers.
Figures from the 2011 Joint Strategic Assessment (JSA) reported that the Westbury Community area has an above average percentage of children living in poverty relative to the Wiltshire average, ranking as the sixth worst in Wiltshire. Although education results at the end of key stage 2 (taken from tests taken by 11-year-olds) in English and maths are above the Wiltshire average, results at GCSE are significantly below the Wiltshire and national averages.
The assessment also reported that obesity in children (measured in reception year) is above the Wiltshire average, and the area has the third highest rate of teenage pregnancies across all Wiltshire communities.
Westbury Area Board hears from local organisations
FROM a campaign to improve dental health in young children to action taken to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies, the December meeting of Westbury Area Board explored how local organisations are improving life for young people in Westbury.
An evening at the Laverton last month provided local groups with the opportunity to showcase what they are doing to help young people growing up in the community, while representatives of local groups addressed the meeting to explain their aims. Speakers included:
• Health Leach of Matravers, who emphasised the school’s commitment to the community, and in particular through its arts activities. Last year, Matravers opened its new sixth form block, which is open for use by community groups, while the rest of the school has seen extensive refurbishment work. The school also saw its best ever GCSE and A-level results in August, while it has also improved its links with feeder schools to help children make the transition to secondary school.
The school runs a number of workshops and events throughout the year, offers A-level art classes, and helps deliver the Westbury Music and Arts Festival. Heather Leach said, “The desire to work with the community as an arts college is very, very strong.”
• Young people presented some of their views on living in Westbury. Lottie Waghorn, of CAYPIG (Community Area Young People’s Issues Group), presented some of the opinions that had been gathered from young people at Westbury Youth Centre. She explained that, while young people are disappointed by a limited range of shops and would like to see more high street shops, they liked the affordability of charity shops. She also highlighted the problems young people face from anti-social behaviour. “Vandalism and anti-social behaviour is a very big issue,” she said. “I hope we’ve got across it’s not just young people doing it, and young people feel victimised as well.”
• The Westbury Area Forum was formed in September 2010 to improve co-ordination between the various agencies dealing with vulnerable children and young people. Richard Hatt of the forum explained about the days before the forum. “It was a very confused picture, parents were trying very hard to make sense of it all,” he said. “We weren’t getting in the same room and planning together.” Now, the Westbury Area Forum meets once a month and involves all the schools in the area, various health services, the police, educational services and welfare officers, to ensure communication and co-operation between services.
• With a grant from the Westbury Area Board, White Horse Children’s Centre is raising awareness of the importance of good dental health care for children. Ruth Brooks-Martin from the centre, said, “We are taking the message out to all the groups that the children’s centre runs. The message that we take out is looking at brushing teeth, and the foods and drinks people are choosing.”
• The Westbury community area has the third highest rate of teenage pregnancies across all Wiltshire communities. Katie Currie, from the public health department at Wiltshire Council, explained what is being done to help young people in Westbury. This includes pastoral support at Matravers School, and the ‘No Worries’ services provided from Medicx, John Preddy, and Lloyds pharmacies. The service provides sexual health and contraception advice.
