Youth Voice Report
Breakdown of Results

Looking Forward

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IN THIS SECTION: Learn more about what young people are hoping for

Young people

In the last part of the consultation, we asked young people to think ahead about what they might like to try doing next and to give them a chance to tell us anything else that was on their mind.

Key findings

  • Of the young people who responded to the question ‘What creative or cultural activities would you like to try in the future?’, 10.3% of young people replied that they would not like to try any.

  • A further 15.9% weren’t sure what activities they would like to try, while the remaining gave a multitude of answers that show the rich variety of activities possible.

What creative or cultural activities would you like to try in the future? 

What does this tell us?

There is much more room for young people to try out new activities. Many might not be aware of the different options available for them, as indicated by the large number who were either unsure or did not want to try any cultural activities in the future.

  • "Painting on a big canvas."

  • "Going to a festival to experience the loud noise."

  • "Workshops, spaces to develop my skills and meet new people."

  • "Become a prefect in a history classroom to help others more on culture."

  • "More things like 'culture day' where you dress in clothes from your culture - helps students express themselves."

  • "Cultural club for children that does lots of different activities as a group."

  • "Writing club/s instead of only doing writing and poetry at home."

  • "Travel the world."

  • "I would love to help out at a carnival parade or festival."

  • "I wouldn't like to try any more so I can focus more on studying for exams."

  • "Possibly learning about the culture/history of things."

  • "I want to start reading more than I do and going to more galleries and museums."

  • "I am getting in coding so may be inspired to try digital art at some point in the near future."

  • "More music things that are nearby."

  • "Not very sure what activities are available but nothing appeals to me at the moment."

Adults

We gave the adult participants time to tell us if there was anything else they wanted to let us know as part of the consultation.

Key findings

  • Access for teenagers Adults are concerned about the lack of activities available for teenagers, with more attention tending to be paid to younger age groups.

  • Confidence in schools Confidence in school systems is particularly low, with calls to reform the education system.

  • Tackling society’s problems Delivery of cultural education is often intersecting with some of the biggest problems in society, with little funding and resources to aid with this.

What does this tell us?

Adults have a lot of worries about cultural activities for young people and often feel unsupported in their efforts.

  • "Massive lack of funding to provide quality arts based provision for young people exposed to domestic abuse and sexual violence."

  • "Keep promoting creative and cultural activities, I think the societies of tomorrow will be better off because of your influence."

  • "Embedding arts and culture into young people's experience can provide a vital antidote to an increasingly regimented and top-down educational system. "

  • "Anything that can be added to schools eg visits to galleries and museums is a must. Adding more creativity to lessons is important. Access to free/low cost creative events and activities is important for families if schools are not going to provide these opportunities. Access to libraries and activities."

  • "There is probably a lot more on offer in Calderdale than most people know about - it would be good if there was a central place to find this information - may be a Facebook page for child-appropriate cultural activities and events. As always, more funding for more events, clubs, and organisations."

  • "I believe there is a lot on offer for young children (2-10) in Calderdale. However I think this doesn’t not continue into teenage years."

  • "School system in really exhausting for kids, it's so out dated. Young people need new ways to show us what they are good at or interested in. They need time to figure out what suits them, they need people to help them try and fail at things and feel confident."

  • "It is hard to find what is available. Have to search online, there could be leaflets given at school or posted in area for quarterly things to do."

  • "We are trying hard to establish a regular dance class. But we could not."

  • "There needs to be a push for creative outlets, particularly in a society where poor mental health and societal pressures are rife."

  • "Having a learning disability has excluded my child (now young person) from taking part in some activities that they are capable of doing. Eg. no support in the past from Calderdale Music Service when they wanted to be involved in bands that required them to learn a musical instrument. But they have learnt with the support of a different organisation and have been involved and performed in a band regularly."

  • "All this is good but our society is a very repressed one. We struggle with domestic abuse and a system that insists on overlooking the problem. Both of us suffer from ongoing PTSD, anxiety, depression and whatever else. Arts and culture are like a cute tiny plaster on a gashing wound."

  • "Any support for arts in the community would be greatly appreciated in Todmorden as a whole."

  • "As someone who runs the library I feel meetings betwen other literacy leaders would be great. Meetings have folded and are not regular. I seem to be removed from any emails."

  • "I work with many young people who stay at home excessively (often staying up all night and sleeping most of the day). We need something that will encourage them to make friends outside of home and also ideally with people from other cultures different to their own. A good way to learn about culture is to mix."