In depth research was undertaken to investigate the benefits and barriers to young people engaging with positive out of school activities. There are several key messages to take away including:
- three quarters of young people engage in some form of activity but for lower income and rural young people this dips to less than half.
- barriers to engagement include poor access to information and parental attitudes.
- proven benefits include better relationships with adults and particularly teachers and parents which can be transferred to in-school activities.
- effective strategies for engagement include communicating specific benefits rather than the generic benefit of participation being a ‘good thing’.
You can find the pdf of the research document here:
