Almost 20% of school aged girls feel unsafe in Barnsley town centre - survey
Year 10 girls were the most likely to feel unsafe, according to the council’s anonymised survey of more than 1,600 pupils.
Almost 20 per cent of school-age girls in Barnsley say they feel unsafe in the town centre, and more than one in ten children report being bullied often, according to a major new council survey.
The data shows that in 2022, 3.6 per cent of school-aged girls reported feeling unsafe in Barnsley town centre. By 2024, that figure had risen sharply to indicating a growing concern about safety in public spaces among young females.
Year 10 girls were the most likely to feel unsafe, according to the council’s anonymised cohort survey of more than 1,600 pupils.
The 2024 Let’s Hear Your Voice survey, which gathered anonymous responses from 1,691 pupils across 44 schools, highlights concerns around mental health, school experiences, safety, and preparation for the future.
Conducted by Barnsley Council’s public health team, the biennial survey found that 30 per cent of pupils often worry, with a further 54 per cent saying they sometimes do. Many cited schoolwork, exams and fears of being disliked as common sources of anxiety.
Bullying remains a concern, with 13 per cent of pupils saying they are bullied often, and more than a third experiencing it occasionally, most commonly in person at school.
The survey also raised questions around young people’s feelings of safety and readiness for future transitions. Girls in Year 10 were the most likely to say they felt unsafe in Barnsley town centre, while Year six pupils reported increased unease about their safety there compared to 2022.
Only 52 per cent of Year 6 children said they felt ready to move up to secondary school next year, and many of those in older year groups reported limited access to real-world work experience.
Despite growing awareness of active travel, most pupils still travel to school by car, with walking rates among younger pupils showing a slight decline since 2022. And while participation in sports and cultural activities remains strong, many pupils said they preferred other hobbies to physical activity.
The findings will be presented to Barnsley’s Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday July 17, as part of a wider discussion on improving outcomes for children and young people across the borough.