1. Using Tellus data for National and Local Indicators John Doherty: Young People Analysis, DCSF DCSF Conference: The Use of Evidence in Policy Development and Delivery, 9 February 2010

2. Five National Indicators use Tellus data  NI50 – Emotional health of children  NI69 – Children who have experienced bullying  NI110 – Young People’s participation in positive activities  NI115 – substance misuse by Young People  NI199 – children and Young People’s satisfaction with parks and play areas

3. NI110 – Young People’s participation in positive activities Matters because:  Evidence suggests structured/supervised activities help develop social and emotional skills  And help prevent engagement in risky behaviours  10 Year Strategy (Aiming High) – substantial activity and expenditure (e.g. myplace centres)

4. Measure uses two questions  In last 4 weeks, have you taken part in any group activity led by an adult outside school lessons (e.g. sports, arts, youth group)?  Which of these things have you been to in your free time in the last 4 weeks? - local park or playground - sports club or class (not in school lessons and only count when you’ve done sport not just watched) - a youth centre or club to take part in organised activities run by adults - a youth centre or club with few or no organised activities - religious, faith or community group (not services) - art, craft, dance, drama, film/video making (not in school lessons) - music group or lesson (not in school lessons) - given your time to help a charity, a local voluntary group or done something else organised - something else

5. The positive activities calculation is simply: (x/y)*100 Where: x = number of young people (Tellus weighted data) in school year 10 answering “yes” to the first question and/or claiming they participated in the last 4 weeks in one or more of the following structured activities:  sports club or class  youth club or youth group with organised activities run by adults  art, craft, dance, drama, film/video making group or class  music group or lesson y = number of young people in year 10 responding to one or more of the relevant questions (weighted Tellus data).

6. NI115 – Substance misuse by young people  Matters because – strong evidence base of social and economic costs and personal damage from drug, alcohol and solvent misuse.  Range of (shared) YP-specific programmes and funding to help prevent and treat – Area Based Grant allocations to LAs, campaigns and help – e.g. FRANK

7. Measure uses a number of Tellus questions  Ever had a whole alcoholic drink?  If yes, how many times been drunk in last 4 weeks? (None, 1, 2, 3+)  Ever taken drugs (not medicine or alcohol)?  If yes, how often taken in last 4 weeks – cannabis or skunk; solvents, glue or gas; others (e.g. cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, heroin, crack, speed, magic mushrooms) (None,1, 2, 3+ times)

8. The substance misuse calculation is simply: (x/y)*100 Where: x = number of young people in years 6, 8 and 10 that the Tellus survey estimates have either used drugs/ volatile substances and/or been drunk at least twice in the last 4 weeks or have used drugs/volatile substances and been drunk once. y = Tellus estimate of the total number of young people in years 6, 8 and 10 responding to these questions in the local population, based on school census data.

9. Challenges of using Tellus for national indicators  Continuity disruptions – changes to the survey (often for good reasons) that undermine indicator comparisons over time - e.g. changes to questions, question order, timing  Sample and weighting changes – positive activities and, particularly, substance misuse findings are sensitive to the balance of response from years 6, 8 and 10 so weighting needs to compensate for this, but be consistent  Analysis changes – e.g. what population is included in the denominator (e.g. treatment of Not Answered and Prefer Not To Say responses)  Response – needs a decent response rate across all LAs to be disaggregated and it has taken time to build that up

10. Some findings from Tellus 3

12. Data tables and contact details: DCSF Research & Statistics Gateway – January 2009 for Tellus 3 indicators: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000828/TellusNIStatsR elease-FINAL090108.pdf John Doherty – 0114 259 3553 john.doherty@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk