An innovative programme designed to support young people make healthy life choices has launched a new website for parents and carers in Highland.
Planet Youth in Highland works in partnership with communities to support them in taking action to reduce risk taking behaviours in young people. Planet Youth’s focus is on working ‘upstream’ – stopping these problems from happening rather than trying to fix them after they’ve started.
Based on a proven model from Iceland, it focuses on improving the environments children grow up in, making sure they feel supported, connected and able to make positive choices.
The approach uses anonymous surveys to listen directly to young people, to better understand their lives and what they need. Local schools, councils, families and organisations then come together to act on what young people tell them - finding community-led solutions that really make a difference. This includes building stronger after-school opportunities, encouraging family time, reducing risk-taking and improving mental health support.
Planet Youth is already having a positive impact in areas across Highland and in 2025 is now expanding across Highland, helping more areas turn insight into action, and helping Highland become a place where every young person has the chance to grow up safe, healthy, happy and hopeful.
Vicki Clark, Health Improvement Specialist in the NHS Highland Health Improvement Team and the lead for Planet Youth in Highland explains why they decided to create The Parent Hub.
She said: “At the start of the year we asked parents and carers how they wanted us to communicate with them and how we could share the work that we are doing with them whilst also encouraging involvement and engagement. Parents and carers are the main influence in supporting the health and wellbeing of their child and we need to be able to listen to them to find out what they need to support them in this role.
“One of the options they came back with was an online portal where they could access information and learning opportunities, but also where they could share their thoughts and ideas while also allowing for increased opportunity for two way communication and learning.
“We really are keen to hear from parents and carers about their feedback on the site, what works, what doesn’t and what they would like to see added for us to improve it further.”
Jennifer Davies, NHS Highland’s Director of Public Health, said: “This is an exciting step which aims to support young people and their families across Highland. The new Parent Hub website has been developed with the intention of being a trusted resource for parents and carers to support children and young people to make informed, healthy life choices both now and in the future."
Ian Kyle, Chair of the Highlands Integrated Children’s Services Board, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to support children and families across Highland. It is vital we support our young people to grow up in safe, healthy and thriving communities and the new Parent Hub website is an excellent platform for providing support and guidance to parents, carers and young people.”
Maree Todd MSP for Caithness, Sutherland & Ross said: "I’m hugely encouraged by the positive impact Planet Youth Scotland is having across the Highlands, and I’m delighted that so many schools in my constituency are taking part. The programme takes a practical, evidence-based approach, focusing on early support to help young people avoid harm and make healthier choices as they grow up.
"A big part of this is the new Parent Hub, created in collaboration with NHS Highland. It’s an online space where parents and carers can find trusted information about health and wellbeing and connect with others for support and advice. It’s a fantastic tool that will help families and communities across Highland support young people to grow up happy, healthy, and safe."
The Parent Hub can be accessed here.
The Parent Hub can be accessed here.