Rural Youth Survey 2021

By amplifying rural youth voice, the Point of View outreach and consultation phase (September 2020-March 2021) laid the building blocks of the ongoing P.O.V. programme. At the heart of this first consultation was an online survey with young people in Herefordshire. Co-designed and tested with 14-25-year-olds who live or study in the county, the survey responses we received were amazingly rich, honest and authentic. More than 650 young people completed the survey in the first few months, sharing in their own words their experiences of living under Covid lockdowns, as well as feelings about where they live and their hopes for the future.

The key findings of the 2021 survey are outlined below and detailed in the downloadable report.

This data is available for all to use. You are welcome to share the information more widely, or get in touch to discuss access to the full datasets.

• 85% reported positively about living in Herefordshire, only 8% felt negatively about living in Herefordshire

• 46% of young people did not think they would always live in Herefordshire

• Only 11% rated their opportunities in Herefordshire as better than that of their peers living in bigger cities

• Overall responses indicated that although living in a rural county had benefits there were limitations around access, opportunity and prospects

• 36% wanted more age appropriate activities and events. The most frequently referenced challenge was lack of things to do and available places/spaces for young people

Since the survey results were released, several spin-off projects that explore themes revealed by the key findings have been developed in collaboration with P.O.V. participants. Those themes chosen by young people so far include: climate and environment; rural racial inequality; equality and social justice issues; employability; and the experiences of being in care.