The "Are You Listening?" Youth Survey Report 2026
The Jack Petchey Foundation has released the “Are You Listening?” Youth Survey Report 2026, which captured the views of over 4,300 young people across London and Essex on their confidence in expressing their opinions, the platforms they used to do so, and why they felt leaders needed to listen to and action their ideas.
Some highlights:
- The stereotype of young people being disengaged from society is not backed up by our survey findings: Young people are often using their voices to express their views in education and social settings with 45% of young people doing so every day.
- Social media is such a popular platform for expression: A high proportion of those aged 11-13, who shouldn’t be able to open Instagram and TikTok accounts, said they were using them, suggesting age-verification checks on these platforms are ineffective.
- Young people are proactive in learning how to express themselves: Young people said that self-learning was one of the biggest drivers in increasing their confidence in expressing their opinions (at 34%), as was social (45%).
- Confidence was low for discussing politics: Of all the topics we asked young people to tell us how confident they are discussing, politics and economics came out at the bottom, suggesting the subjects need to be added to the National Curriculum.
- Lowering the voting age to 16: A majority (56%) think lowering the voting age is a good idea, but they rate its likely impact on them being better heard at just 6.2 out of 10 overall signalling the need for broader trust‑building and citizenship education.
- Who should amplify youth voice and who actually does: Young people say politicians (65%) and the public (60%) should do the most to ensure youth voices are heard, yet they feel they are amongst the groups doing the least.
- Confidence gaps and misinformation: 31% rate themselves as 5 out of 10 or below for confidence in identifying, challenging and reporting misinformation, highlighting the need to educate young people in critical thinking skills.
Roundtable Discussion at the House of Commons
On Tuesday 13 January 2026 at the House of Commons, 36 young people aged 16-25 from across London and Essex sat alongside youth leaders and MPs to discuss the key findings from the report and explored what meaningful youth participation should look like in schools, communities and policymaking.
Roundtable Discussion at the House of Commons
MPs included: Jas Athwal MP for Ilford South; Wes Streeting MP for Ilford North; Natasha Irons MP for Croydon East; Sir Gavin Williamson MP for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge; and Bayo Alaba MP for Southend East and Rochford.
Youth leaders included: Gemma Juma, CEO at the Jack Petchey Foundation; Matt Rantell, Chair of Trustees at the Jack Petchey Foundation; Pauline Daniyan, CEO at London Youth; Kirby Swales, Deputy Director at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Deputy Director at Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Russel Findlay, CEO at Speakers Trust; Steve Philips, Chair at Talk The Talk; Sharon Long, Director at Partnership for Young London; Lib Peck, Director at London’s Violence Reduction (Greater London Authority); Lewis Dangerfield, UK Lead Volunteer for Programme at The Scouts; and Joanne Rich, Head of Youth Voice at The National Lottery Community Fund.
Participants discussed the need to:
- Create genuine, structured opportunities for young people to be involved in decisions, not just consulted.
- Provide safer online spaces and positive media representation of young people and their ideas.
- Strengthen citizenship education so young people feel more confident discussing politics and economics.
Read about our previous surveys below
Bright Futures: The Jack Petchey Survey of Young People’s Ambitions (2024)
The ‘Bright Futures: The Jack Petchey Survey of Young People’s Ambitions’ is about what hopes young people aged 11-25 from London and Essex have for their future. 3,000 young people responded and told us what ambitions they have for the future, the factors they think are most useful to them in helping them achieve their career goals, and how hopeful they are in regards to their career prospects.
On The Pulse: The Jack Petchey Environmental Youth Survey (2022)
Shortly after the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021, we ran a youth survey asking young people across London and Essex their thoughts about environmental issues, experiences of environmental education and ideas for building a sustainable future. Almost 4,000 young people responded and told us young people and schools can be empowered to make a positive change and how youth funders can invest in the environment.
School Catch Up Survey (2021)
In 2021, the Jack Petchey Foundation hosted a series of digital meetings between young people, MPs and London Assembly members to discuss young people’s experience of lockdown and their hopes for the future.
From one of the discussions in these sessions, the Foundation put together a brief survey about what young people feel they have missed out on educationally since schools closed in March 2020 and how they can be better supported in the future. We hope that the results of this survey will feed into the formation of the UK Government’s Catch Up Premium and that young people’s thoughts, opinions and experiences will be taken into consideration.
Shaping Our Future: The Jack Petchey COVID-19 Youth Survey (2020)
In 2020 The Shaping Our Future Survey asked young people from London and Essex about their experiences of the lockdown and what they want to see for young people in the future.
Over 6,000 young people responded, showing how keen they are to have their voices heard. Click the button below to read about their experiences and how they want to build their future.