Salford Community Leisure (SCL) and Salford PCT has re-commissioned Knight Kavanagh & Page (KKP) to conduct strata surveys with around 1,400 secondary school pupils in Year 7 to determine the participation trends of young people in sport and physical activity as well as gathering data relating to health and lifestyle.

Questionnaires will be completed by pupils during school registration periods and will assess progress made in the context of the City's key performance indicators. Part of the rationale for conducting the survey with Year 7 pupils is that it provides an out-turn staged measurement at the point in their lives when they transfer from primary to secondary school. In addition, Salford in also currently partaking in the countywide year 9 survey, commissioned by Greater Sport. The data from both year groups will offer insight into the apparent decline in participation, particularly amongst girls.

The previous survey was piloted in November 2005 with half of the secondary schools in Salford. Following the success of this, the survey is now to be rolled out to all schools. Commenting on the survey, Dean Gilmore, PDM of Salford North School Sport Partnership said, "The year 7 survey is a vital tool in informing future plans for the partnership, and the data provided is essential in evaluating the success of the work in schools and the community. It also crucially identifies areas for improvement or focus, and fits well with other monitoring and evaluating systems."

The KKP strata survey is one of the most comprehensive datasets in the country, with the added benefit of incorporating the direct responses of over 150,000 young people, not simply the views of teachers or other adults responsible for their well being. In recent years KKP has delivered surveys for over 100 local authorities and LEAs, providing significant benchmarking for individual local authorities (LAs), local education authorities (LEAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs).

Since 2001, KKP has, working closely with its clients, continuously developed its systems, refined questions, invested in the latest software and hardware (the survey can be completed on paper or online) and the depth and ‘interpretability' of its GIS mapping. This has enhanced and improved survey processes and outcomes and the Company's facility to offer clients a wide range of option to stratify, compare change over time, to track specific cohorts of young people or to extend its reach.

For further details, please contact:

Peter Millward

Principal Consultant

Tel: 0161 764 7040