Oldham getting better all the time

YOUNG people in Oldham think their town is changing for the better.

A survey conducted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families showed that in 2009, youngsters were less likely to use illegal drugs or alcohol and experienced less bullying than in 2008.

As a result of programmes such as Passport to Summer, Oldham has moved from being ranked 114th among all local authorities to fifth — the greatest improvement among all Greater Manchester authorities.

The TellUs4 survey questions pupils in Years 6, 8 and 10 in all types of mainstream schools and is carried out annually.

Oldham has shown a massive improvement in increasing the number of young people who reported participating in positive activities over the past year.

The 2008 survey highlighted bullying as an issue and a number of steps were taken to put this right.

Oldham Children’s Trust took targeted action through a range of services to support schools, children and their families helping the borough to move from having the fifth highest total of reported experiences of bullying to second lowest.

Similarly, high levels of reported substance and alcohol use in 2008 were a concern for the council. But as a result of improvements in personal, social and health education, targeting young people at risk and effective treatment services this improved in 2009.

Oldham moved from being in the worst third of all local authorities to being in the top third.

In a bid to improve support and emotional health, an on-line service for youngsters aged 11-25 has also been launched at www.kooth.com  to help young people get in touch with professional counsellors.

Councillor Kay Knox, cabinet member for children young people and families, said: “A young person’s school days should be the most enjoyable years of their lives.

“This survey shows that life in the borough’s schools is getting better all the time, we have seen a huge improvement and we intend to build on this.”