85% of Medway children now say they are happy with their lives, up from 64% in 2021, and 77% feel safe where they live. What 5,000 responses to the council's survey found, and what still bothers them.

Children and young people in Medway say they are happier, feel safer and like where they live more than they did five years ago. That is the headline from the council’s second Child-Friendly Medway survey, published on Thursday 24 September.

The council put the results out in a news release and a fuller executive summary. The survey ran from May to December 2025 and was followed by focus groups in January 2026. It was carried out for the council by the research company TONIC.

The three numbers that moved

Each of the three headline measures rose sharply against the first survey in 2021:

  • Happy with their lives: 85 per cent said they were very happy or happy, against 64 per cent in 2021
  • Feel safe where they live: 77 per cent said very safe or safe, against 59 per cent
  • Like their area: 81 per cent said they strongly liked or liked it, against 68 per cent

The council describes those as increases of 21, 18 and 13 per cent. Strictly they are percentage-point rises, since each compares one share of respondents with another. The direction is not in doubt either way.

Bar chart comparing Medway's 2021 and 2025 children's survey results: happy with their lives rose from 64 to 85 per cent, feeling safe where they live from 59 to 77 per cent, and liking their area from 68 to 81 per cent
Chart by Medway Live. Source: Medway Council, Children and Young People Survey 2025 executive summary.
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Who answered

The council counts 5,000 responses in total, made up of:

  • 4,372 completed survey responses
  • 4,315 responses from children and young people themselves
  • 30 parents or carers answering for children under six
  • 27 parents or carers answering for children with additional needs
  • 94 children and young people in focus groups

The 2021 survey had 3,000 responses, so this round reached considerably more children. The council has not published the age breakdown or the schools involved, and the executive summary does not say how respondents were recruited. That matters when reading the figures: a survey answered by whoever chose to take part is not the same as a representative sample, and the council does not claim it is one.

What children like, and what they do not

Asked what they valued about Medway, the answers grouped around four things: nature and green spaces, activities and clubs, family and friends, and having shops and amenities close by.

The dislikes were just as consistent:

  • litter and dirty streets
  • feeling unsafe, anti-social behaviour and crime
  • traffic and noise

Those three complaints sit alongside the improved safety figure rather than contradicting it. More children feel safe than in 2021, and safety is still the thing most of them want fixed.

On the council’s own programme, 71 per cent said Child-Friendly Medway was making the area a better place for children and families. A further 26 per cent were unsure and 4 per cent disagreed. More than 80 per cent agreed that all seven strands of the council’s action plan were still important. Those strands are aspiration, cleaner and greener, community, creativity and culture, engagement, health and wellbeing, and safety.

The survey also asked about ambitions. The council reports careers in public services, the arts, sport, education and animal care as the common answers, alongside at least one would-be tooth fairy and one dinosaur trainer.

What Child-Friendly Medway is

The programme launched in 2021. The council says it has since run 6,772 free events for children and families, including the Super Saturday events in Chatham and the City Halls sessions where the council leader and chief executive take questions from children.

Cllr Adam Price, the council’s portfolio holder for children’s services, said in the release: “These results are incredibly encouraging and show that children and young people are noticing the positive changes happening across Medway.” He added that the council would use the feedback “to ensure the voices of children and young people remain at the heart of our decision making”.

What it means for you

  • Parents and carers: the full executive summary is on the council website. The free events programme is listed under Child-Friendly Medway, and our own things to do in Medway page covers the wider what’s-on.
  • Schools and youth groups: the council says the action plan will be shaped by this feedback. The three complaints children raised, litter, anti-social behaviour and traffic, are the ones to hold it to.
  • Anyone comparing years: the 2021 and 2025 surveys were run at different scales (3,000 and 5,000 responses), so treat the comparison as a strong signal rather than a precise measurement.

Sources