* Listening to children is the key to developing effective services in the countryside, according to the Forum for Rural Children and Young People. The Forum, which is funded by the Countryside Agency, was launched in London last week. Forum co-ordinator Andrew Brown said its aims are to ensure the voices of children and young people are heard, and to influence policy and practice by those planning services for them in rural areas.
* Listening to children is the key to developing effective services in the countryside, according to the Forum for Rural Children and Young People.
The Forum, which is funded by the Countryside Agency, was launched in London last week. Forum co-ordinator Andrew Brown said its aims are to ensure the voices of children and young people are heard, and to influence policy and practice by those planning services for them in rural areas.
He added that although almost three-quarters of adults believed the countryside is a better place to bring up children, facilities there are often limited, and about 900,000 children and young people in rural areas either live in or on the margins of poverty - around a quarter of all children living in poverty in England.
The Forum can be contacted at 8 Wakley Street, London EC1V 7QE (020 7843 6327).
