This second edition of the survey will see 5,000 children from 58 schools and between the ages of 8 and 12 take part. During the first term of the school year this socially representative cross-section of children will answer questions on the family, school, friendships and neighbourhoods. This year’s survey is designed to go into further detail with the most important topics from the first edition: violence among equals at school, time uses and expectations about the future.

A section of specific questions has also been included to gauge children’s experience of the pandemic. These responses should show the ways in which Covid-19 has affected their lives and their well-being. Another new aspect is that city schools which have not been randomly selected can also take part voluntarily by writing to benestarinfancia@bcn.cat.

Beyond data collection

The EBSIB 2021 survey comes within the municipal children’s research and participation programme ‘Children speak: well-being among children in Barcelona’, which is designed to city children a voice and discover their goals as citizens with their own perspectives and interests which must be known and taken into account. Once the results of this second survey are published next summer, a participatory process will be held over the next two school years so that children can make proposals to help improve their well-being. These will be included in the Children’s Agenda, a basis for strategies and actions such as the Plan on Play in Public Space and the Plan on Mental Health.

These and other city strategies are set out in the Barcelona Plan on Childhood 2021-2030, which will be presented at the full council meeting for October 2021.