Watch the Children facing Adversity video
Children in the UK face adversity in many forms, with 1.6 million living in severe poverty and hundreds of thousands living with disability, ill health or trauma.
Will you help children overcome adversity?
The issue
Children will lead and transform future society. What will become of the urrent generation as they face economic uncertainty and social upheaval?
Spending cuts, concerns over children’s welfare and the growing costs of children’s services will present new challenges over the next decade.
Children are particularly at risk during times of economic austerity. The economic cost to society of supporting them is unknown; the economic and social costs of doing nothing could be greater. Children will lead and transform future society.
We need to help children and their families overcome adversity, build their resilience, strengthen their connection to society and improve their life chances.
Our solution
The University’s Interdisciplinary Children and Childhood Network (founded in 2009) brings together knowledge and experience from some of the world’s leading academics, researchers and experts in children, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.
The network’s pioneering 10-year research programme will map the changing landscape of childhood in the UK. It will investigate the experiences of children and their families in times of economic austerity, as well as those vulnerable through trauma, illness or social conditions.
This integrated approach will improve support for vulnerable children and families from educators, social workers, health care professionals, psychologists and many others.
The East Midlands has 1 million children living within its 4.2 million-strong population. It will be the geographical focus of this research. This is due to its diverse social, economic and cultural heritage, as well as its population demographics (social class, ethnicity, religion, age) and residential and industrial landscape (rural/urban, in work/out of work, professional/unskilled).
Children Facing Adversity: General Statistics
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Nottingham
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East Midlands
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England
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Special Educational Needs – primary school children (2011)
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25.3%
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19.3%
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19.9%
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Children living in severe poverty (2011)
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23%
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14%
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13
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Teenage pregnancy – per 1,000 women aged 15-17 (2009)
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61.5
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37.7
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38.3
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Life expectancy at birth for males (2006-2008)
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75.1 (bottom 5%
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rank 406/432)
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77.93
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Life expectancy at birth for females (2006-2008)
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80.1 (bottom 10%
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rank 390/432)
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82.02
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Unauthorised absentees in secondary school children (Spring 2010)
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2.18%
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1.55%
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1.49%
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Our impact
We aim to influence local, national and global policies and support services for children and their families. Children need support at key times in their lives, from school, to finding work or aspiring to higher education.
By deepening the skills, knowledge and understanding of those working with children, we can develop better and more sensitive approaches to helping vulnerable children and their families.
This will have a genuine impact on the health and wellbeing for children facing different forms of adversity, and increase their educational, employment and life opportunities.
Our findings will develop models and approaches for working directly with children and families, making a real difference to the lives of children and young people across all parts of society in the UK and internationally.
What will your impact be?
Your support for Children in Adversity will have a genuine impact on the lives of children across the world.
Quotes
Childen are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future
John F Kennedy
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