Blackpool Council Annual Health Report 2019 Blackpool Council Annual Health Report PAGES | Page 39

THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE OF BLACKPOOL 2018 HEALTHY BEGINNINGS FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE One in five of 16 and 17 year olds experience five or more factors in their lives that may contribute to vulnerability. This equates to approximately 24,000 16 and 17 year olds in England 27 . Applying this statistic to Blackpool, over 600 out of approximately 3,000 16 and 17 year olds would fall into this category and likely more due to the levels of deprivation and numbers of children in care in the town. Issues that lead to older teenagers being referred to children’s services include domestic violence, mental ill health, drug or alcohol abuse and a risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and often these issues present in combination. For the 16- and 17- year olds experiencing a high number of risks and vulnerabilities, these issues are likely to remain, or intensify, as young people become young adults. Young people who are registered as ‘children in need’ are more likely to have poor educational attainments at the age of 17, more likely to be NEET (not in education, employment or training), claim benefits and experience homelessness than young people not in contact with social services. The transition from childhood to adulthood is a challenging time for teenagers. Taking on adult responsibilities such as housing, budgeting and employment can be challenging for any teenager, but those with additional difficulties and vulnerabilities can need extra support. In Blackpool in 2018, 18% of all 17-16 year olds were NEET (compared to the England rate of 6%), rising to 28.1% (England rate 9.6%) when looking at 17-16 year olds with Special Educational Needs (SEND). This puts Blackpool in the position of having the fourth highest rate of NEET in the country (third highest for SEND adolescents). 27. https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/seriously-awkward-full-report.pdf 39