A new report has shone a light on the impact that the first national lockdown had on Wiltshire’s youth.

Lockdown#1: Impact on Wiltshire Youth has been produced by Devizes-based Wiltshire Youth For Christ (WYFC), a faith-based charitable organisation that provides pastoral care, mentoring and support to secondary school aged children across the county.

The charity has worked tirelessly during the pandemic to reach out to the region's young people and offer care and support.

Their new report summarises the findings of the charity’s conversations with nearly 300 11-18 year olds from Devizes, Trowbridge and the surrounding Wiltshire villages, asking for their views and concerns following the first UK lockdown.

The study, funded by Wiltshire Community Foundation, looked to understand both the immediate impact and longer-term consequences that the lockdown, and Covid social restrictions, have had on the county’s younger population.

The report found that while the negative impact of the first lockdown was handled well by many, almost a third (27%) of youth surveyed said they felt a degree of hopelessness, unable to do anything to change their situation.

The five greatest challenges, difficulties and fears faced by Wiltshire’s teenagers were identified as: issues around education, completing work, exams and returning to school (17%); mental health (16%); maintaining friendships (15%); loneliness (15%) and having no one to talk to (12%).

Respondents expressed concerns including “feeling stressed and anxious about going out”, wanting to be in school to “get the best education I can”, wanting “the world and my life to get back to normal” and now feeling “extremely awkward talking to people in real life”.

The report also positively highlights that the majority of the young people surveyed were hopeful about the future and were looking forward to getting back to school. 91% had friends or family members they trusted and can talk with, while those with good relationships at home (51%) and with friends (37%) coped well.

Steve Dewar, Team Leader at Wiltshire Youth for Christ, said: “Though many youth in Wiltshire coped well, It is clear that the first lockdown negatively impacted upon the wellbeing of many young people in Wiltshire, and as the pandemic continues to affect daily life, our concern is that as the pandemic drags on, the more entrenched these impacts will become. This is why we want to see, and be part of, communities, local agencies and local government collectively coming together and responding to mitigate the problems Wiltshire youth are experiencing.

"We need to act now, rather than wait until an elusive end to the pandemic and risk our youth become more deeply affected.”

Based on the findings of its latest report, The charity has recommended that the long-term negative impacts of the pandemic may be mitigated by placing greater emphasis on building and strengthening friendships, in schools and in the community, by parents having access to peer-to-peer support groups and training and coaching, and by young people having people to talk to, including 1-2-1 mentoring and coaching as interventions to prevent young people’s problems escalating.

Dan Webb, senior schools worker at Wiltshire Youth for Christ, added: “Our conversations with youth during the first lockdown revealed to us that there is an unsung, unnoticed key-worker: the friend of a young person. Whether you are a young person yourself, a parent, a relative, a carer, a teacher, a neighbour or a youth workers, If you have been a good friend to a young person during the pandemic, you will have made a difference.”

The charity is currently in the process of undertaking a follow-up survey via Wiltshire secondary school pupils with Wiltshire Council endorsement that will give an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of the pandemic.

Views in the survey were gathered directly from teenagers by WYFC’s youth workers and volunteers, with the permission of Wiltshire Police and following National Youthwork Agency guidelines.