Kids in Burnaby overall are doing almost as well emotionally and socially as their peers across the province, according to the Middle-Years Development Instrument, but there are pockets in the city where kids are struggling more with their general well-being.
The UBC Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) has been measuring the social and emotional well-being of students in grade 4 and 7. In June, they published the results of the Grade 7 cohort and how students reported on a variety of indicators of social and emotional well-being.
Overall Grade 7 students in Burnaby are on par with the peers across the province with 36 per cent classified as “thriving,” 29 per cent in the medium to high well-being, and 35 per cent in the low well-being category.
Other measures also closely paralleled provincial numbers, for example, 71 per cent reported good relationships with adults, and 84 per cent reported good peer relationships. In addition, 84 per cent took part in after-school activities, and 69 per cent felt their nutrition and sleep was good (this number was 67 per cent provincially).
But when looked at by neighbourhood, however, there are discrepancies in the well-being of children in Grade 7.
In a few pockets like Deer Lake and Burnaby Heights the percentage of children thriving was higher than the rest of the city, with 46 per cent in the former and 43 per cent in the latter.
South Burnaby’s numbers were lower, with only 28 per cent of southeast Burnaby Grade 7 students, 31 per cent of south Burnaby Grade 7 students, and 33 per cent in Metrotown, classified as thriving.
The sample of Grade 7 students was 1,425 with an 84 per cent participation rate.
For more information on the index, go to www.earlylearning.ubc.ca.
