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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS
Overall
6.1 The research carried out by IpsosMORI shows that young people participate in a wide range of activities both inside and outside of school and highlights important differences in terms of levels of interest, participation in activities and attendance at events between the sexes, different age groups and areas lived in.
Improving participation in cultural activities
6.2 Tackling the barriers which prevent young people from taking part in cultural activities and events will be key to encouraging usage of services and increasing participation.
6.3 Among those not taking part in cultural/artistic activities outside of school, a general lack of interest and preferring to do other things in their spare time are primary factors in non-participation. Whilst it can be accepted that not all young people will be interested in using services and taking part in activities in their own time, increasing their awareness of the opportunities available to them and addressing some of the perceived barriers to participation, such as cost, lack of information and concerns about feeling out of place, may go some way to improving activity levels.
6.4 Girls tend to participate in a greater range and number of artistic activities during school time than boys and are also more likely to have been to events as part of a school trip. While many of the motivations young people have for participating in such activities will be personal and emotional, and will vary according to age, analysis also shows that the area where the young person lives and the socio-economic status of their household may have some bearing. Those living in the least deprived areas of the country are 1.5 times more likely to have done a number of the activities listed in the survey during school time than those living in the most deprived areas. And young people living in a household where at least one parent works are significantly more likely to have been to a number of events than those with no parent working. It will, therefore, be essential to ensure that young people from more deprived backgrounds do not miss out on the opportunities available to them and that efforts are made to encourage these youngsters to participate wherever possible.
Improving participation in sports activities
6.5 One of the positive findings from this survey is that older children appear to spend just as much time, if not more, in PE classes as their younger peers, and it will be important to continue to encourage the participation of all young people in PE classes for their duration at school. Our research did, however, find a drop off in participation as young people progress through their teenage years, for both extra curricular, school based activities and physical recreation outside of school time.
6.6 While it may be argued that older children are less likely to want to engage with physical activity outside of school time, there are a number of perceived barriers to participation which could be addressed. For instance, increasing the amount of information available to young people about community-based physical activity would go some way towards tackling concerns about perceived cost, standard of changing facilities and not having anyone to participate with.
6.7 In line with other research, we found significant differences between the participation of girls and boys, both during PE class time and in optional school-based activities. There are a number of initiatives related to increasing the opportunities for girls to engage in schools-based sports (for example, the Scottish Government's 'Fit for Girls' scheme which is to be rolled out across all of Scotland's secondary schools). It will be important to retain a focus on encouraging girls to participate in sporting activities at school, particularly among those aged 14+, perhaps by investing in opportunities such as dance which, as this research has illustrated, is attractive to girls.
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