Nearly 400 children, between the ages of 8 and 15 years took part in this survey, over 300 of them Burnham residents. In the case of the primary school children, the detailed questionnaires were filled in by a parent, expressing the views of both parent and child. The secondary school children filled in their equally, though slightly different, questionnaires for themselves. As previously stated in this survey, these were completed to a very high overall standard.

What was remarkable, taking into consideration the variations in emphasis between the two age groups, was that the results were almost exactly the same in nearly every respect. The same views on security, the same anxieties and needs and the same aspirations for the future.

One theme runs through the whole survey, however, the need for more security. Burnham, from this point of view, one assumes, is neither better nor worse than many other semi-rural areas, certainly not as bad as many inner city areas, but it could be improved.

The Stomping Ground is viewed by all ages as, by far, the safest recreational area in Burnham. It is, in addition, except for the area of tarmac in Minniecroft Road , by far the smallest recreational area, even as it is now. It is also the recreational area most visited by primary school children in Burnham.

Burnham Park is felt to be the least safe of all the recreational areas particularly after 7 p.m. and virtually all the things suggested in this survey, by the children, and the parents of primary school children, that might make it a more popular place to visit, relate to security and the environment. Most children of primary school age will not go there alone during the day, which is a great pity. This certainly reflects, in part, a national anxiety for the safety of young children but that, in itself, would not appear to be the only reason

Burnham Park is also seen by some members of the public as simply the place to bring their dogs to defaecate with no attempt made to clear up afterwards. Nothing more. Allowing a dog to mess and not clearing up afterwards is as antisocial as any other form of vandalism and the school children in this survey regarded it as such.

The fact that Burnham Park is not used by children as much as it could be is very sad because it is a beautiful area. Children were asked what facilities they thought might make them use the park more. The answers were eminently sensible. A toilet (how the elderly would wish for this and how it would encourage them to use the park for walking more, a current government initiative after all), a drinking fountain, more seats, a shelter, more rubbish bins, some goal posts, police patrols, perhaps a couple of tennis courts that people could use who do not wish to belong to a club or association, more lighting at night, a play area, an obstacle/exercise course… yes, there is one at the George Pitcher, but sufficiently out of the way for any, but a few, to use it.

It could be argued that, apart from the cost, these facilities will be vandalised, things will be broken, that you cannot stop people letting their dogs dirty where they will, that the toilets will become a focal point for undesirable activities. All these things may be true. For this reason a park warden might seem a very good idea as indicated by many children in this survey. And regular police patrols as they also asked for.

At this point it is worth mentioning that Burnham Park is the most popular recreational area for a large number of children living in those areas of Slough bordering on Burnham. Sixty of these secondary school children were surveyed and the vast majority expressed identical views to the Burnham resident children regarding security including the desirability of a warden for Burnham Park. A copy of this survey will be passed on to Slough Borough Council.

The days of a frequently visible police presence have pretty well gone, not just in Burnham but all over the country. Certainly policemen on foot aren't seen much by the pupils in this survey, in recreational areas in particular, and it is the stated wish by a vast majority of Burnham children, that a lot more should be seen of them. The powers-that-be, from Lands End to John of Groats usually answer such comments by saying that, nowadays, there are more cost-effective ways of dealing with crime.

As has been said previously in this survey, however, a feeling of security is what every child should have and policing is not just about dealing with law-breakers but enhancing people's quality of life by enabling them to feel more secure. 96% of primary school children and 81% of secondary school children said they would feel more secure with a greater police presence. One would think this was an ideal situation for special constables.

The Gore is only used by secondary school children as a recreational area. St Peters Close play area is not as popular, nor considered as safe as its much smaller cousin, the Stomping Ground. It is also the most likely recreational area in which to see alcohol being consumed.

Most primary school parents would not wish for their children to go down Burnham High Street alone in the day. Once again, this may just reflect a national anxiety for the safety of young children. Fortunately, by day, secondary school children do not find Burnham High Street particularly daunting, certainly not to the same degree as Burnham Park. Burnham High Street in the evening and at night is avoided by many.

In spite of anecdotal evidence to the contrary, however, there is no evidence in this survey that supports the view that Burnham High Street is any less safe than it was prior to the recent High Street changes, or more safe, if it comes to that.

The generalised wish for more policing in this survey, primary school children and secondary school children alike, is a strong indication that the vast majority of children in Burnham are law-abiding. There is, in most communities similar to Burnham, a small, hard core of young people bent on mayhem and destruction, for whom the provision of any amounts of facilities, or the provision of endless support and counselling, will make no difference at all. There is no doubt that the vast majority of adults and pupils alike would like to see them dealt with appropriately.

Comments abound in the answers to these questionnaires that suggest one of the main fears that Burnham children do have is from these small gangs. Certainly, in the Primary School survey, parents expressed much more concern about danger from older children than from traffic. But do the police have the resources to address such problems? Does threatening behaviour at a child's level, constitute anything on which the police could take any action, hide bound as they are by paper-work and legal strictures? Once again, special constables might make all the difference.

It would appear, fortunately, that the children in these surveys do not seem to perceive misuse of drugs and discarded needles as a particularly common phenomenon in Burnham

The facility most requested by children in the survey, by far, primary and secondary schools alike, was a swimming pool or, at least, access to a swimming pool. It would, of course, be extremely difficult to mobilise the very large amount of money that might make this possible in Burnham itself. Many children, however, might wish to go swimming at Maidenhead or Slough but have no way of getting there nor have, for one reason or another, anybody to take them.

One suggestion, in the survey, was for cheaper bus transport. Perhaps some kind of assisted, or subsidised travel, could be provided to get such children to the swimming baths. This is important in that many children of secondary school age, girls in particular, are shown in the survey to get insufficient exercise. The widely reported national epidemic of childhood obesity highlights the need for such exercise facilities. Generally, there are all kinds of amenities within five miles of Burnham, but getting to them, is the problem for many.

The George Pitcher Memorial Ground is used at weekends…in the football season, that is… hardly at all the rest of the time. A beautiful, potentially multifunction facility, with manicured pitches, it has to be said that there is the impression that, outside of these organised football team's games, children are not particularly encouraged to go there. It is out of the way and not particularly accessible to the main concentrations of housing. The pitches have to be rested, of course, so that they are in good condition for the organisations who do use them but, surely, many sports organisations could make more use of these facilities. As it is the large majority of Burnham children never go to the George Pitcher Memorial Ground. The BHPT is anticipating the production of a local sports directory - in print and on the BHPT web site -to give school children information on all the sports facilities available locally.

The request for football facilities is only second to that for access to a swimming pool. As the children are not encouraged to use the lawn-like pitches at the George Pitcher Memorial Ground for kickabouts and it is not easy to get to, where else can they play? There is a small five-a-side pitch in the St Peters Close play area but the natural place would seem to be some peripheral part of Burnham Park. The grass is cut in one area for football training but is this area easily used by local children, without harassment, for a light-hearted game?

The condition of the Minniecroft/tarmac area and the area around the Youth Centre is often a disgrace and an eyesore, and, unusually for most of Burnham, a magnet for rubbish. It has been suggested that much of this rubbish has been dumped by irresponsible adults. If this is true, it is most unfortunate, for while the Youth Centre and the young people are seeking to project a positive image, the local residents think they are entirely to blame for the mess. One would hope that the organisations and authorities responsible for these areas might co-operate in the difficult job of keeping them reasonably clean. 40% of secondary age children in Burnham do go to the Youth Centre at some time. A majority are aware of when the opening times are.

Contrary to what one might have thought, the majority of secondary school pupils do not have a particular wish for a youth advice service or for a safe, social meeting place, though, both, of course, could have some use.

21 out of the 316 Burnham children, which includes 159 boys, expressed a wish, either singly or as part of a multiple selection, for a skateboard area (cf. 93 for a swimming pool). Of the 21 children wishing for a skateboard area, all but 8 were 14 year-olds.

The biggest wish of primary school children, apart from a swimming pool, is some publicly available tennis courts

A large majority of secondary school pupils would like a teenage part-time job register and the BHPT is hoping to fix this up on its web site in the fairly near future

A majority, not a large majority, of children, do seem to get reasonable exercise. Many could do with more, particularly the girls, half of whom have 4 or less hours exercise a week. Perhaps more sporting facilities should be made available for girls and they should be actively encouraged to take part in such activities. Football for girls, net ball, tennis, gymnastics and, of course, swimming were all mentioned in the wish list of activities.

Many Burnham residents think that their village is a nice place in which to live, with a good social mix and with many pleasant, friendly people. It has some potentially good recreational amenities. The question that arises, is whether the best use is being made of them?

The one to which the most care appears to be given, and with the most amenities, the George Pitcher Memorial Ground, is relatively inaccessible and is, for all practical purposes only used for organised team games. There is nothing wrong with that and Burnham, and the surrounding areas that also benefit, are lucky to have such a facility.

Unfortunately, the large, accessible, central area of Burnham Park is not as popular as it should be, nor used as much as it should be, because, mainly, of a perceived lack of security, an excess of dog fouling and a lack of amenities.

Everybody is aware that most improvements cost money but perhaps those who manage the finances might be able to take into consideration the views expressed by these children.

The present generation of children seems, as a vast majority, to have ideals, wishes and attitudes that do them credit. The care that was taken over answering the questionnaires was most impressive and the results should not just be of interest to those authorities who run Burnham but also to a wider public who want to know how young people think and act.

The authors were, for example, most interested in the answering patterns of the 14 year-olds and how they were at variance with the years on either side of them, and of how the secondary school children, answering for themselves, had almost exactly the same priorities as the parents answering on behalf of the primary school children.

One thing is clear, however. Children of the ages of those in this survey may not have the vote but they can, quite as well as their elders, express an informed view on what they see as needed in their society.

Once again, the authors would like to express their thanks to the pupils and staff of The Lent Rise Combined and St Peters C of E primary schools, and the Burnham Upper school for all their help with this survey. They are also grateful for the help given by the Chairman and Clerk of Burnham Parish Council, and by Richard Shirecore of the Thames Valley Partnership.

The authors realise that all local government has to work on perceived priorities within limited resources. They do hope, however, that these findings will be useful to the Burnham community and, perhaps, to other communities who may wish to follow the same idea.

Bev Daily