Children,Young People
and Flooding:
Recovery and Resilience
Maggie Mort, Marion Walker, Alison Lloyd Williams,
Amanda Bingley and Virginia Howells

Acknowledgements

Contents

This work was
supported by the
Economic and Social
Research Council(Grant No ES/M007367/1).

Our special thanks must go to two remarkable schools –South Ferriby Primary School, Barton-upon-Humber and
The Magna Carta School, Staines-upon-Thames –and in particular to the children and young people who
took part, without whom this study could never havetaken place.

04 | Executive Summary

We would also like to thank Dr Hugh Deeming and
Dr Jacqui Cotton for their advice throughout the project:
Alexandra Mateer for her help with organising some of theearly data and Josephine Baxter and Margaret Jane forhelp with transcription.

10 | Methodology

Please reference as: Mort M, Walker M, Lloyd Williams A,
Bingley A & Howells V. (2016) Final project report for‘Children, Young People and Flooding: Recovery and
Resilience’, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Front cover image: pledges for action made by stakeholders
following the performance at The Magna Carta School

06 | Background and the 2013/14 Floods
08 | Project Aims

12 | Principal Research Findings
12 | Children’s reactions to warnings and the need for
greater flood awareness
14 | Children’s perspectives on loss
16 | Children’s experiences of recovery
18 | Children’s awareness of isolation
20 | Children as active contributors in flood response and recovery
21 | Children’s understandings of flood adaptation and new normalities
22 | Project Outcomes: Children as active participantsin flood risk management

22 | Children’s and Young People’s Flood Manifestos
23 | The ‘Flood Project’ film
24 | Ten tips for the insurance sector on how to better support
children and young people affected by flooding
25 | Development of Flood Suitcase ‘toolkit’ to support
flood-affected children
26 | Conclusions
27 | Children’s Recommendations
27 | Policy Implications
28 | Discussion: Looking forward
Further information and contact details:
floodrecovery@lancaster.ac.uk+44 (0)1524 510290@CUIDARProject
Copies of this report are available online at:www.lancaster.ac.uk/floodrecovery

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CYP Report 201630 | References
32 | Appendices32 | Appendix 1: Children’s Flood Manifesto
33 | Appendix 2: Young People’s Flood Manifesto
34 | Appendix 3: ‘Flood Pledges’ made by stakeholders to the children
36 | Appendix 4: ‘Flood Pledges’ made by stakeholders to the young people
38 | Appendix 5: Reflections on taking part - children and adults

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Executive Summary…people do kind offorget about what it
was like a year ago…
They forget it could
happen again.
Daniel, aged 14 years

Severe flooding is now an expected feature of life for communities inmany parts of the British Isles. Flooding is listed as the most serious‘natural’ hazard on the National Risk Register with more than fivemillion properties at risk in England alone. The acute storms andfloods in the UK during the winter of 2013/14, and subsequent winterstorms in 2015/16, have revealed a problem that is now understood
to be chronic (Jenkins et al 2016).
Children are known to be acutely
affected during and after floods,
losing their homes, friendshipnetworks and familiar surroundings.
They also see adults under greatstrain and witness the exceptional
and long-term tensions thatflooding brings about. Research also
shows that children play a majorrole in recovery work, yet disasterand emergency plans still largely
view children as victims and as ahomogenous ‘vulnerable’ group, thus
ignoring and disenfranchising them.
Recognising children’s perspectives
and capacities is a vital part of theprocess of building community
resilience. A better understanding of
how flooding, and other disasters,
affect children and thus how to build
their insights into recovery practices
can inform more effective policy,
enhance resilience and reduce theimpact of future emergencies.
We explored children’s and young
people’s experiences of the UK
winter 2013/14 floods and worked
with them to develop ways of
improving policy and practice toprovide better support and enhance
resilience.
Two groups of flood-affected children
and young people contributed tothis study: children (aged 6-12
years) in rural South Ferriby, North
Lincolnshire and young people (aged11-15 years) in urban Staines-uponThames, Surrey. Through a series ofcreative workshops they articulated
their experiences of the floods,
and put forward what they believe
policymakers and practitioners needto do for the future by producing

4

CYP Report 2016Children’s and Young People’s
Flood Manifestos. These Flood
Manifestos have been pivotal inputting their ideas for change in frontof stakeholders and government
agencies.
Whilst drawing on our previous
research with children in Hull
(Walker et al 2010; 2012), thisreport represents the first in-depth
exploration of children’s experiencesof flooding in the UK. Six core themes
emerged from our analysis:Children’s reactions towarnings and the need for
greater flood awarenessCurrently in England and Wales there
is no systematic or statutory flood
education programme in schools (orin the wider community). Learning inschool about flood warnings, how tomake a flood plan and flood risk was
identified by the children as a key
priority in helping to build resilience.

Children’s perspectives
on loss
Loss of possessions as a result offlooding has a tangible impact on allages, and the children demonstrated
a clear understanding of the effectof losing personal ‘precious’ items
that embody memories. Other losses
felt keenly by the children are thoseof friendship and social networks.
Schools and communities could
usefully acknowledge the range oflosses experienced by children andensure they receive appropriate socialand emotional support during thelengthy recovery from flooding.

PolicyImplications

Children’s experiencesof recovery
Recovering from flooding is known totake months and sometimes years.
For children this disruption has often
unseen impacts on their day-today lives as they endure a periodof living with uncertainty long after
the flood event. Being in temporary
accommodation is particularly
difficult, a situation worsened by lackof space, poor access to fresh foodand for some children the upheavalof having to relocate several times
before returning home. Insurancecompanies could improve theirpractices by developing more
effective assessment and consistent
approaches to repair, recovery andresilience which acknowledge theneeds of children.

Children’s awarenessof isolation
Feeling isolated, with no-one to sharethe long-term, ongoing effects of thefloods is an especially difficult issue
for children, as they feel that theirexperience is not acknowledged or
noticed. Children told us they felt apositive benefit in being able to get
together with others who were floodaffected, share experiences and thento present these to the wider world.

Children as active
contributors in flood
response and recovery
Children’s strengths andvulnerabilities have been poorly
understood by policymakers andpractitioners. Children should begiven more information before,
during and after flooding because
they have the right to know how to
prepare, what to expect and how
they can contribute. Children canplay an active part in helping theircommunities during and after a floodand derive benefit from this. Suchefforts need to be understood sothat children can be seen as active
citizens and not passive victims.

Children’s understandingof flood adaptation andnew normalities
Flood-affected children have theexperience to help them understandthe measures that should be taken
to prepare, protect and adapt toflooding. A clear message thatemerged from both study locations
was the recognition that allhouseholds need to make a floodplan. Crucially, flood-affectedchildren understand the need foradaptation and the need to promotea ‘new normal’.

The children recommended improvements in essentiallythree flood policy and practice domains - recovery, resilienceand education. In order to implement what are in effect urgent
demands by the children, a fundamental shift is required in theway policy is conceived.

1. The children’s and young
people’s recommendations forchange in this report highlightimportant gaps in the current
policy and practice aroundflood risk management.
2. Flood recovery and resiliencemust be seen as central togovernment in order to meetthe needs of children andyoung people: this means
involving education, health,housing, communities andlocal government in addition to
emergency planning and floodrisk management.
3. Flood policy and practice inEngland and Wales as currently
organised, is confusing andover complex, reducing ability
to address the recovery andresilience issues identified bychildren and young people inthis project.
4. Where flood-affected children
and young people are enabled
to contribute their experienceto flood risk management, thisenhances their own recovery
and resilience.
5. All children and young people
are citizens in their own rightand have a role in flood risk
management and a right tohelp build family andcommunity resilience.
6. Flood risk management will be
more robust and demonstrate
greater legitimacy by drawing
on the perspectives of children
and young people.

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Background and the 2013/14 floods
Children see and feelthings differently andwe feel that it isimportant that we areheard. Things need tochange because it will
happen again.
Jodi, aged 14 years

Coastal and inland flooding is listed in the top two major risks on the
UK National Risk Register with more than five million properties (onein six) at risk in England alone (Cabinet Office 2015). There is now
widespread consensus that we can expect more severe flooding
over the coming years. (IPCC 2014; Messling et al 2015)

Flooding is also the most common
type of disaster worldwide according
to the 2015 World Disasters Report(IFRC 2015); between 2005 and2014 there were 1,753 flood events
classed as disasters.
Over the last decade, more than
250 million people were affected bydisasters each year – more than half
were children (IFRC 2010). Disasters
such as flooding not only affect achild’s basic right to life, the rightto the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of health and theright to education, but they impact
their right to participate and for
decisions to be made in their bestinterests (OHCHR 1989).
As a large proportion of the affected
population in any emergency,
children should be at the heart ofemergency planning, response andrecovery programming and able tohold humanitarian actors to account.
Yet children and young people are
missing, virtually invisible to theemergency planning process in the
UK (Mellor et al 2014).
Where they are mentioned, children
are generally positioned, either
as vulnerable or, paradoxically, as
inherently resilient and likely tosimply ‘bounce back’. Both theseperspectives risk ignoring the ways
in which children and young people
act in and perceive emergency
situations. (Fothergill & Peek 2015)
This in turn can lead to children’s
insights being overlooked as to howcommunities can be supported
to recover from and prepare fordisasters.

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CYP Report 2016

Within the UK there remains a
general lack of acknowledgement
in emergency planning policies ofchildren’s capacities to contribute toand support their local communities(HM Government 2004; DCMS 2006;
EAC 2016).
There is evidence both from within
the UK and internationally thatchildren can be agents of change
within their communities andcapable of actively participating indecision-making and emergency
planning activities that help protect
themselves, their families andcommunities. The Duke of Cornwall
Community Safety Award set up
after the 2010 floods in the county
is open to ages 5-18 predominantly
within uniformed organisations andmore recently in schools and youth
organisations; more than 18,000
young people have completed this(Cornwall Council 2012). Taking aninternational example, in El Salvador,
severe flooding in 2008 led to thedeaths of 12 people. Following thosefloods, children became involved in
the disaster preparedness process,leading to a drastically improved
capacity to respond quickly andefficiently following similar flooding in2009 (Back et al 2009).

Despite evidence of the benefits ofchildren’s participation in disaster risk
reduction and emergency planning,
Rodriguez et al’s (2016) scoping
review of both practice and research
for the Horizon2020 CUIDAR project(Cultures of Disaster Resilience
Among Children and Young
People) shows that this remains
disappointingly rare in Europe.
As this report was going to press,
the UK Government’s National
Flood Resilience Review (2016)
was published and disappointingly
makes no mention of children andyoung people. It does encourage
further work around building floodawareness and we hope this will
include the skills and experienceof flood-affected children and theunrecognised capacities of allchildren.
It is encouraging to see somerecognition of the need to work withchildren in the ‘What if…?’ programme
developed by the Essex Resilience
Forum using a set of interactive
games designed to help children
think about what to do in emergency
situations (Essex Civil Protection &Emergency Management 2014). And
the recently published Cumbria Flood
Action Plan includes one action on
working with flood-affected children(Environment Agency & Cumbria
Partnership 2016).

Most research studies ofcontemporary flooding have notincluded the perspectives of a large
section of our population – children
and young people. The perspectivesof children and young people arealso missing from the vast majorityof flood research studies. A notable
exception is a landmark sevenyear study with children following
Hurricane Katrina that stands out inthe literature (Fothergill & Peek 2015).
Participatory research with adults
on the social consequences offlooding include Easthope’s studyof community participation in andtransformation of national recovery
and resilience guidance in Toll
Bar, South Yorkshire (Easthope &Mort 2014). The ‘recovery diaries’
produced by groups of adult citizens
in Hull following the 2007 severe
flooding demonstrated a ‘flood
recovery gap’ which showed thatfor many people the flood recovery
process is harder to deal with than
the actual flood itself (Medd et al2014).

Photo: flooded street in Staines-upon-Thames,taken by Ruth

This work led to the developmentof the Hull Children’s Flood Project(2009-11) which revealed some of
the complexities experienced bythose children directly and indirectly
affected by flooding. Walker’s project
pointed to the need for further
research into the effects of flooding
on children’s longer-term physicaland emotional health and wellbeing(Walker et al 2010; 2012).

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Project Aims
Children, Young People
and Flooding: Recovery
and Resilience
Funded by the Economic & Social
Research Council we researchedchildren and young people’s
experiences of the UK winter2013/14 floods. This project has
been an unique collaboration
between Lancaster University and
Save the Children.
We employed creative participatory
methods specifically to enable
children both to articulate theirexperiences and shape a moreproductive relationship with relevant
agencies and adults.
We worked with two groups offlood-affected children and young
people1 to:• Understand children’s experiencesof the flooding, the impact on theirlives, their resilience and the longerterm recovery process• Discover how children can best be
supported in a flood and how toenhance their resilience to future
emergencies
• Influence emergency policy andpractice to better meet the needs
and build the resilience of children
The children who took part in thisstudy live in two contrasting partsof the UK and experienced very
different types of flooding:South Ferriby

StainsAt approximately 7pm on 5th
December 2013 a tidal surge
breached the banks of the River
Humber, damaging homes,
businesses and farmland. The tidal
surge travelled three kilometresinland and was the highest everrecorded in the Humber (Thorne2014). More than 100 families in thecommunity were flooded and a thirdof the children attending the local
primary school were affected.

Staines-upon-Thames
On the evening of 9th February
2014 seven severe flood warnings
were put in place for the River
Thames in north Surrey. Residents
were evacuated and roads andschools were closed. Within days
the Government declared a state of
emergency with the army drafted in
to assist the emergency services. It
is important to point out that Surrey
experienced ‘coincident’ flooding
i.e. clusters of events involving
tidal, rainfall, river and groundwater
sources, a hallmark of the winter2013/14 floods (Thorne 2014).
Between these two different
locations we worked with a total of
30 children and 11 adults (parents,
teaching staff and community
members): 15 children aged 6-12 inSouth Ferriby (and 4 adults) and 15
young people aged 11-15 in Stainesupon-Thames (and 7 adults).

© Crown copyright and database rights 2016 Ordnance Survey (Digimap Licence). FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

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1. In this report we use the term ‘children’ to refer toall those we worked with (6-15 years). However,in instances where the text applies to only 11-15
year olds, we use the term ‘young people’.

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© Crown copyright and database rights 2016 Ordnance Survey (Digimap Licence). FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

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Methodology
Our research design is influenced by the work of disaster sociologist
Kai Erikson who showed how those who have experienced disasterdevelop a particular world view, where that world is less safe andsecure. His work attends to issues of trust in authority and collective
identity and is particularly concerned with the way disaster both
disturbs and yet creates a sense of community. In particular, Erikson
argues that people who experience disaster deserve to be listened tovery carefully (Erikson 1978; 1994; 2008).

2. The children’s ages are from when they started
the project. All participants are referred to by
their pseudonym.
3. Approval was gained from the Lancaster
University Research Ethics Committee on
16.09.14 no 51389
4. As the workshops progressed, some children
said they wanted to give us an interview, so wehave a small number of these, but this was not
the primary research approach.
5. By stakeholders here we mean local, regional andnational policymakers and practitioners.
Of course, children are also flood stakeholders.

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CYP Report 2016

As noted above, in-depth researchwith children who have experienced
a disaster is rare. Our methodology
was designed to allow the children tovoice their experiences and thoughts
in a safe environment. There are
significant ethical issues involved
when working with children who haveexperienced major disruption.

These workshops built incrementally
towards a public sharing of theresearch at the end of the fieldwork.

In particular concerns about
re-traumatisation and ongoingproblems with limited resources forsupport in school and within thecommunity. The need for a stringent
ethical process may help to explain
the lack of studies seeking tounderstand children’s perspectives.
We also argue that more traditional
research methods (such as
interviews and questionnaires), whichmight be used with adults, are notappropriate when researching withchildren because such methods
cannot create a familiar, comfortable
and conducive environment formeaningful inquiry.

Workshop 2 (Spring Term)

Following well-known, sensory-based
approaches, in particular practised byBingley (Bingley & Milligan 2007), we
designed a creative and interactive
workshop programme for working
with flood-affected children. It was
important to start with the individual
story, then move towards the group/
community story, from which waysof recovering and building resilience
could then be developed. Three
all-day workshops held over thecourse of the school year in a familiar
space near but outside of the school
environment, were key to enabling
this process.

Workshop 1 (Autumn Term)
Focused on the children’s individual
experiences of the flood events.

Encouraged the sharing of groupperspectives on the flood andexplored community recovery andresilience.
Workshop 3 (early Summer Term)
Children reflected on what waslearned from Workshops 1 & 2, anddeveloped actions for better floodrisk management (see Children’s andYoung People’s Flood Manifestos in
Outcomes and Appendices 1 & 2).
Stakeholder Events (Summer Term)
The children presented their Flood
Manifestos at theatre events foraudiences of invited key decision
makers from local, regional andnational levels.

The workshops were framed withdrama and theatre games andexercises. These were designed toestablish a sense of trust among
the group, as not all the children
previously knew each other. This also
helped to ‘warm up’ particular skills
needed for the workshops and toopen up a creative, imaginative spacein which to share stories.
The theatre methods also aimed
to build the children’s sense ofthemselves as flood ‘actors’ anddevelop their confidence to be able
later to share their experiences andideas with a wider audience at the
stakeholder events.
After the warm-up, the children
began by walking with us aroundthe local landscape that had been
affected by the flood. Each child wasgiven a digital camera with which they
took pictures, recording traces of theflood.
Back at the workshop, group‘phototalk’ sessions allowed thechildren to talk about theirphotographs and then to explain
the significance of their chosen
images to their group.

The children were then invited touse arts-based techniques including
sandplay, 3D modelling with art
and natural materials and group
discussion to share their experiencesof the flood.
These creative, participatory
methods were designed to support
the children to share individual andgroup stories and create a recordof their memories of the flood. As
we moved through the workshops,
the methods helped the children
to consider what actions they took
at the time of the flood and what
they would like to happen in the
future, within their families and theircommunities, to help recovery fromand develop resilience towards
flooding.
In this way, data collected during
workshops and the stakeholder
events included: photographs; video
and audio recordings of walking,discussions and phototalk sessions;group discussions during sandplay,
3D modelling and theatre activities
and interview transcripts. Audio
recordings were transcribed. This
multi-media material was coded andcategorised thematically in researchteam meetings and organised
using Atlas.ti software. Key themes
were taken back to the children
for discussion and to support thedevelopment of their stakeholder
presentations and Flood Manifestos.

Fig 1: Warm-up gameFig 2: Walking and photographing
the local landscapeFig 3: Phototalk session

Fig 4: Model making

CYP Report 201611

Principal research findings
We was in the bathwhen it started…
and I had to quickly
get dried, slip
some pyjamas on…
and we went out
the door.

Six major themes emerged from our analysis: children’s reactions
to flood warnings and the need for greater flood awareness;children’s perspectives on loss; children’s experiences of recovery;
children’s awareness of isolation; children as active contributors inflood response and recovery, and children’s understanding of flood
adaptation and new normalities.

Children’s reactions towarnings and the need for
greater flood awareness
Both groups of children indicatedwidespread confusion about flood
warning systems. It appeared theirfamilies did not receive warnings
about the flood or, if they did, then
did not take action. As a result, when
the flood happened people were
unprepared. Families in South Ferriby
were taken by surprise by the speedof the tidal surge and had to flee inthe dark, which exacerbated distressfor the children. Many describedhaving to cut short routine evening
activities abruptly, such as getting
ready for bed. Amber, aged six years,
said:
We was in the bath when it started…
and I had to quickly get dried, slip
some pyjamas on… and we went out
the door.
Amber also talked about driving outof the flood and about her younger
sister:
She wasn’t really scared because she
couldn’t see… but I could, because
I’m older and I could see. I could see
over mummy’s chair when she wasdriving. It was really scary.
Amber’s flood story illustrates
how lack of preparation and herfamily’s hurried evacuation in thedark increased her feelings ofpowerlessness and fear.

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CYP Report 2016

In Staines-upon-Thames distressresulted from people’s fear of notknowing when the water would stop
rising and whether their homes
would flood. Lewis, aged 14 years,
explained:

However, a conversation between
two children aged nine and 10 years
shows that the younger children
in South Ferriby were aware that awarning had been issued and thatthey understood key features of it:

At first me and my brother thought it
was quite fun… but then it kept on
going up higher and higher and it
started scaring us because we didn’tknow what would happen next.

Louisa: It was only a yellow warning,wasn’t it? That means that it
might not flood.

Confusion about types of warnings
was exacerbated by apparently
conflicting information from theauthorities about where flood-waters
were expected. Daniel, aged 14
years, said:
Well… they didn’t give us a bad
warning. They just said, ‘You needa flood plan in place. You shouldn’t
flood, you’re not in the flood area’.
So we thought we’ll just be prepared
if anything does happen. We didn’t
think it was gonna come in… We
were just prepared that the roads
would be closed.
This confusion led to uncertainty
about what action to take or indeed
whether to evacuate and then insome cases to a state of alarm, as
described by 12 year old Callum:
We stayed for a little bit, then it went
up more, and then it went to the top
step and Dad said, ‘We need to go
now. When I say now, I mean now’.

John: Green means that it’sabsolutely fine, nowt’s going tohappen. Yellow means it might
happen… and red means that it could
be really bad…
Louisa: But it was only a yellow
warning.
Therefore, it was not just a lack ofunderstanding of warnings that can
result in inaction. The disconnect
between what appeared to be lower
level warnings and the severity of theactual flood event also meant thatfamilies were less prepared and more
vulnerable.
It is worth pointing out that following
a series of public dialogues, theEnvironment Agency (EA) has
reshaped how flood warnings arecommunicated (EA 2015). Floodsymbols have altered, so that ayellow symbol now means ‘beprepared’ from two hours to two daysin advance of flooding.

The flooding also exacerbatedexisting social vulnerabilities. Sally,
aged 11 years, lives in Staines-uponThames with her parents; her dad
is a wheelchair user. Sally saw theweather forecasts on television and
was aware that severe flooding waspredicted for her local area, so she
packed a suitcase ‘just in case’ she
had to leave home.
However, Sally’s impression of being
evacuated was also bound up withimages of people being relocated tohotels as if they were going away on
holiday, so she packed ‘some special
dresses’ that she thought would benice to wear at the hotel.
Unfortunately, Sally’s family wasevacuated to a small hotel room thatwas unsuitable for disabled guests,
which Sally said was really hard forher dad. Not only had she forgotten
to pack her school uniform but she
didn’t get to wear her special dresses
because it was ‘too expensive’ todine in the hotel restaurant.

Summary
Currently, in England andWales there is no systematicor statutory flood education
provision in schools (or in thewider community).
Learning in school about flood
warnings and how to make a floodplan, as well as learning moregenerally about flooding andflood risk in the local environment
and existing vulnerabilites within
the community, were identified
by the children as key priorities
in developing resilience to future
flooding.

Sally’s experience demonstrates
two issues: first, the need for better
education on what action to takein case of flooding; and second, aclear awareness that flood planningand preparedness should be more
inclusive in taking account of all
potential needs.

The problem for families living in aflood risk zone during a period of
frequent ‘be prepared’ alerts meansthat they must live in a state of
preparation which on a day-to-day
basis is difficult to sustain.
CYP Report 201613

…like our table that
we had before.
It just had us learning
how to write on it…
pen on it…
It just had memories,
sort of, on it.

In both locations the issue of loss emerged strongly in relation to theexperience of the flood and the long recovery process. Children’s
articulation of loss included tangible artefacts and posessions suchas family photographs or the kitchen table, but also less tangible
losses such as time, familiar space and social networks.

It shows all people’s
memories and all their,like, precious things
that got ruined.

Children’s perspectives
on loss
Louisa, aged nine, talked with her
cousin, Jane, aged 10, about thethings that her family managed to
save:Louisa: We got all the pictures first…
You can’t re-take them really, canyou?
Jane: Because there could be ones,
like, of my granny, and my granny’s
dead now…

Fig 5: The skip, one of many photos taken in
Staines-upon-Thames by the young people during
a walk around the local flood-affected areaFig 6: Group model of ‘the skip of memories’

However, many personal
possessions were destroyed andchildren expressed this as deep
personal loss and erasure of valued
memories.
As Louisa explained:

Aside from personal objects, there
were other senses of loss connectedto the displacement experienced by
the floods, including a feeling of lost
time. Many children and their families
had to live in hotels, or were housedin other temporary accommodation,
not only immediately following theflood but for long periods afterwards
while their homes were being
repaired.

This highlights how the flood
impacted on Ben’s social networkand friendship groups over an
extended period of time, and otherchildren in both locations echoed his
experience.

…like our table that we had before.
It just had us learning how to writeon it… pen on it… It just had
memories, sort of, on it.
Roadside skips were a recurringfeature, particularly in Staines-uponThames, and emerged as a powerfultalking point connected to loss,
waste and value. They symbolised
for many how treasured possessions
became soiled and dumped, alongwith the memories that went withthem. Jodi, aged 14, talked about
how the skip of memories that hergroup modelled (Fig. 6):… shows the destruction the floods
left…. It shows all people’s memories
and all their, like, precious things that
got ruined.

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CYP Report 2016

In Staines-upon-Thames, Callum
aged 12, described how his street,currently occupied only by builders,
resembled a ghost town that hefound empty and scary, reflecting
loss of familiar space. Ben, also aged
12, explained:
When we moved I couldn’t go to thepark or anything with my friends
because they were all so far away…
They kept on asking me but I couldn’t
get back, because my mum wouldn’t
let me cycle in the dark.

Andrew, aged 15, described the lossof independence he felt when living inan hotel:
It wasn’t great… It was just weird
because you don’t make your own
cereal or anything; they just give it
to you. It’s like, you want to do those
everyday things.

Summary
Loss of possessions as a resultof flooding has a tangible
impact for all ages, and thechildren demonstrated a clear
understanding of the impact oflosing personal ‘precious’ items
that embody memories.
Other forms of loss felt very
keenly by the children are thoseof familiar space, friendship andsocial networks and loss of time.
Schools and communities
could usefully acknowledge therange of losses experienced bychildren, and ensure they receive
appropriate social and emotional
support during the lengthy
recovery from flooding.

Flood-affected children: factors impacting on well-being• Loss of valued personal and family possessions, friendship networks, familiar spaces,
general education• Experience of fear, anxiety, poverty, isolation, unfairness, destruction, stress, uncertainty,
being ignored/misunderstood• Lack of sleep and recreation• Deterioration in diet, space and housing conditions• Lack of flood education provision in schools for children and all staff

CYP Report 201615

I could barely move in Many of the children talked about how long it can take torecover from a flood and the impact this has had on their lives,
my room. I couldn’t sort their families and the community.
of get to sleep…
I was so scared like(of it) falling down
on me… all my stuff,
Mum’s stuff, everything
Fortunately for Daniel, hisChildren’s experiencesin the kitchen, of recovery
grandparents’ home was spacious
enough to accommodate the two
all the stuff (from) For some children, as Richardfamilies, whereas Callum talked about
all the rooms. indicated (Fig.7) there was a desire to how difficult it was trying to sleep at
get back to normal. Evacuating theirhomes, moving in and out with otherfamilies, or into hotels and rented
accommodation, sometimes seemed
an endless process.

his grandparents’ home in a tiny
room amongst all of the packing
cases and plastic bags that werestacked up to the ceiling full of his
family’s belongings:

Ben, aged 12, had to move into
rented accommodation but thetenancy ended before the building
refurbishment was complete on
his home, so he had to move intoanother rental before eventually
moving back home over a year later.

I could barely move in my room. I
couldn’t sort of get to sleep… I was
so scared like (of it) falling down
on me… all my stuff, Mum’s stuff,
everything in the kitchen, all the stuff(from) all the rooms.

It was Daniel, aged 14, who told us:
It felt like you’d lost a year of yourlife, as he was away from his homefor 12 months. However, he also
talked about how unexpectedly living
temporarily with his grandparents hadbrought the family closer together.

He endured this situation for ninemonths before his family was able toreturn to their flat. Children who had
no relatives living locally were forced
to move into often distant rented
acoomodation – for example during
the Staines-upon-Thames floods
children and their families wererelocated to such unfamiliar spaces
as an army barracks and airport
hotels.
Others (indirectly flooded)
experienced ‘doubling up’, meaning
sharing your bedroom and family
home with evacuated friends andfamily. This became a feature ofdisplacement: it was just like one
big sleepover – yes but for a very
long time.
Many of the children came tounderstand the processes
around insurance and the generalbureaucracy associated with postflood recovery. Louisa, aged nine,from South Ferriby described how:
We got our drying certificate on
Valentine’s Day…You had to get
one… That means your house iscompletely dry and now you’re
allowed to start working in it…
Some people didn’t get theirhouses dry... They started putting
their stuff in, then it got wet again, so
they had to start all over again.

However, there was dismay
expressed particularly by the young
people in Staines-upon-Thames
about what they saw as the treatmentof children and families by insurancecompanies and loss adjustors. They
noticed that different companies
took different approaches, and as
Jodi, aged 14, pointed out, thisvarying treatment seemed arbitrary:
If your insurance were nice enoughto give you a skip, then you were so
grateful, you were so lucky.
Having a skip (or not having one) isan example of how contradictions
between the wider insurance industry
and its supply chains may cause
added stress to families.
Problems include disposal versus
restoration, and ‘like-for-like’
replacement versus resiliencebuilding. Insurers can address this by
working for a high level policy shift tosupport flood resilience measures,as detailed in the ‘Ten tips for the
insurance sector on how to bettersupport children and young people
affected by flooding’ (see Outcomes).

Summary
Recovering from flooding is
known to take months andsometimes years, as thesechildren confirm.
For children this disruption
has many unrecognised impacts
on their day-to-day lives, as they
endure a lengthy period of livingwith uncertainty after the flood
event.
Being in temporary
accommodation is particularly
difficult, a situation worsenedby lack of space, and for somechildren the upheaval caused byhaving to relocate several times
before they return home.
Insurance companies could
improve their practices bydeveloping more effective
assessment and consistent
approaches to repair,recovery and resilience, which
acknowledge the needs ofchildren.

Fig 7: Models showing life before and after flooding: I made the people, so the happy ones are for before theflood, where everything’s working normally, then it’s sad people for after as they have to repair everything and it
takes a long time to get everything working and back to normal. Richard, aged 14, Staines-upon-Thames

16

CYP Report 2016

CYP Report 201617

My experience left mewith the feeling of beingon our own and it felt
like no one cared. It felt
like we weren’t helped
until it was too late

Young people, predominently in the Staines group, explained
how in the months following the flood they began to feel very
isolated. In a large school community it was possible not ever tohear about others, especially in different year groups, who had
been flooded at home.

Children’s awarenessof isolation
The young people felt that the
majority of the school staff were
unaware which pupils were floodaffected and this seemed to haveincreased their sense of isolation. If
it is the school that is flooded (rather
than homes) the focus is on theschool community and is thus sharedby the group, which provides children
with a shared connection.
This feeling of being ‘in it together’is shown by schoolchildren from
Cumbria and Lancashire talking to
the media about their experiencesof the devastation wreaked upon
their homes and schools by Storms
Desmond, Eva and Frank (BBC News
2016) . However, in a large school
which itself is not flooded, a senseof being alone and struggling tomanage schoolwork can build up.
This was described by Andrew aged
15, who told us about the frustrationof being unable to submit his GCSE
options form because of the lack ofaccess to computing facilities andinternet in the hotel where his family
were housed:…I couldn’t even fill out the form
because it was online. I couldn’t
print it out.

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CYP Report 2016

Establishing who is affected, andthe extent of the problems, is more
complex than traditionally collectedflood statistics suggest. The
complexities of being directly and indirectly flood-affected are apparent
from the children’s experiences
outlined in our findings.
It is perhaps unsurprising that theyreport a sense of isolation, with
no-one to talk to who seems tounderstand their situation; they haveto manage the long-term effects ofliving in temporary accommodation,
losing friendships if they have to relocate to a different school becauseof home displacement, and copingwith family tensions exacerbated byflood-related financial worries. Suchfeelings echo what children told us
after the 2007 Hull floods, about
feeling they had no-one to turn to(Walker et al 2010).
In these ways, children can find thewhole flood experience, from theday of the flood through the long
recovery period, not only isolating but
quite alienating - a feeling made moremarked when they find that friends,
schools and local authorities fail tonotice what they are going through,and consequently are unable toprovide support.
A recurring theme among theyoung people in the Staines-uponThames workshops was the senseof abandonment during the crisisby those they felt ought to besupporting them, as Ruth’s model(Fig.8) ‘SOS’ demonstrates. Ruth,
aged 14, talked about how many
local people were left to fend forthemselves by the authorities andshe later described how:
My experience left me with the feelingof being on our own and it felt likeno one cared. It felt like we weren’t
helped until it was too late.
Ruth’s model demonstrated what she
saw as a strong injustice – that somepeople were given sandbags whileothers were not - leaving her witha sense of connection with others
who had not been helped during
the flooding. As the workshops
progressed, children in both
locations remarked that one of theimportant benefits of taking part in
the project was being able to talk andshare with others who had also been
affected by the flooding. Daniel, aged
14, commented:
Everyone in here like understands
what you went through, so you cantalk to them and you know thatthey’re okay with listening, whereas
outside they haven’t been through it.
Because you sometimes feel like, if
you’re talking it, you’re droning a bit
and it’s boring them… whereas inhere we kind of connect a bit more.
This is reflected in the Flood
Manifesto call for ‘get happier’ groups
for flood-affected children. John,
aged 10, from South Ferriby also told
us that the best thing about taking
part in the project was:…that we were able to talk to otherpeople about what happened andthat’s helped us to feel better.

However, children need both thechance to talk to their ‘flood peers’
and to articulate their concerns to thewider world. After their stakeholder
perfomance event, the young peopleat Staines-upon-Thames talked
enthusiastically about being able tocommunicate their experiences andideas to others:
Ruth: It feels good. It feels like we
finally have a voice.
Sara: Yeah, like we can be heard now;
like, they know how we feel.
However, it is not enough to listen
to children if nothing then changes.
Pledges for action were made byaudience members to the children
following their presentations inSouth Ferriby and Staines-uponThames, and later in Telford to the
Flood & Coast 2016 delegates at
the Environment Agency convened
conference (see Outcomes andAppendices 3 & 4). In order for thechildren who took part in the project
to realise their right to participate,stakeholders should include and act
on the children’s views and ideas
in future emergency planning anddisaster risk reduction activities.6

Summary
Feeling isolated, with no-one
around to share the long-term,
ongoing impact of the floods
is an especially difficult issue
for children, as they feel theirexperience is not acknowledged
or noticed.
There was a strong sense that thechildren saw a positive benefit inbeing able to get together withothers who were flood-affected
and share experiences and then topresent these to the wider world.

Fig 8: Ruth’s model signals ‘SOS’

6. A separate piece of work is now being
undertaken to follow up on the pledges
made by those stakeholders who haveinteracted with this project.

CYP Report 201619

No way would Children as activein flood
we have let our contributors
response and recovery
friend have to do Given the general lack of
it all herself… acknowledgement in UK emergency
planning policies of children’scapacities to contribute to andsupport their local communities,
we were interested to hear from thechildren about what they actually did
during the floods.

SummaryChildren’s strengths andvulnerabilities have been poorly
understood by policymakers
and practitioners.
Children should be given more
information before, during andafter flooding because they havethe right to know how to prepare,what to expect and how they
can contribute.
As these findings emphasise,children can often play an active
part in helping their communities
during and after a flood and derive
benefit from this.
Such efforts need to beunderstood so that children canbe seen as active citizens and not
passive victims.

7.A former student at the school in
Staines-upon-Thames who we contacted
as an additional informant.

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CYP Report 2016

We learned that many had been
actively engaged both in theimmediate response during the flood
events, and in the recovery process.
They supported their families, friends
and local communities in a range ofways. For example, we heard manyaccounts of how children checkedin on neighbours, helped to movetheir own and other people’s furniture
upstairs and joined in with the cleanup. They said this was generally
a positive experience and theyexpressed satisfaction about thetimes they had been able to support
others in difficulty.
For example, Sara, aged 14, served
tea and coffee to evacuated families
and rescue teams at her local village
hall:

the flooding. The youngest memberof the team, he went out delivering
sandbags and food parcels in what hedescribed as hazardous conditions.
He noted a sense of pride in being
able to help others from his local
community.
In the course of the workshops, it also
became apparent that children knew
and understood more about what was
happening than adults sometimes
realised. Children described instancesof seeing the pressure and strain in
the adults around them, even when
parents and teachers believed they
were shielding the children from what
was happening.
Many of the children talked about
the impact of the experience on theirfamilies and friends and demonstrated
empathy and understanding for thereactions of others during the floodand the recovery process.
For example, Helena, aged 10, said ofher friends, when describing the work
they had to do to get their house backin order after the flood:
It was really hard for them….

I felt quite good at myself then. I could
have been home just watching TV
and I was actually constructive andhelping people.

As with the findings about thealienating effects of the floods,
children are sometimes further
excluded by the very fact of being
children. But as Helena told theaudience at the stakeholder event inher school:

Avril, aged nine, and Helena, aged
10, in South Ferriby gave up a riding
lesson to help clean up their friend’s
house and described how:

Adults need to know that children
become more scared and worried
when they do not know what ishappening…

No way would we have let our friend
have to do it all herself… because wewould be guilty. We didn’t even haveto make a choice.

She then went on to remind theadults that:One young man, who at the timeof the floods was aged 19 and auniversity student, described his rolewith a local community volunteer
group that formed in response tochildren have the right to know.

I’m just kind of Children’s understandings
flood adaptation andlike worried of
new normalities
it’s going to happen In both locations children talked
again this year… about the likelihood of repeated
To some extent thisI suppose I’m going flooding.
concern seemed to be related to
to worry every a raised level of anxiety about theof future flooding. As Jodi,
year though. prospect
aged 14, explained:
Even if it doesn’t I’m just kind of like worried it’s going
happen, we’re still to happen again this year… I suppose
going to worry every year though.
going to worry. I’m
Even if it doesn’t happen, we’re stillgoing to worry.

Summary
Flood-affected children havethe experience to help themselvesand help others understand themeasures that should be taken to
prepare, protect and adapt
to flooding.
A clear message that emerged
from both locations was therecognition that all households
need to make a flood plan.
Crucially, flood-affectedchildren understand the needfor adaptation and the need topromote a NEW NORMAL.

Similar concerns were shared bymany of the other children who
demonstrated a high level of what
could be called ‘flood awareness’.
This means that drawing on theirexperience, they bring valuableknowledge and understandingof flooding which is helpful indeveloping community preparedness
and resilience.
For example, during walks around the
local flood-affected area, the children
identified clues in the landscape as
to flood risks and flood management.
In the workshops they discussed
measures that would need to be
put in place to help communities bebetter prepared for ‘next time’.
Critically, while there was a desire fora return to ‘normal’ after the floods,
many children and young people
demonstrated an understandingof the need for families andcommunities to adapt to a ‘newnormal’ that ensured they wereprepared. As Richard explains (seeFig.9):
It’s a little raft and there’s a person
sitting on it. They’re all prepared…
They didn’t realise that it would haveever flooded but now they realise that
it will more than likely flood again, sothey’ve bought themselves a little raftthat I made…

Because it’s happened before, it canhappen again. They’re adapting…
In South Ferriby, a number of children
talked about how, since the floods,
their families had put together a floodplan and several talked about themeasures their parents had taken
to better prepare their homes for
future flooding. Britney, aged eight,
described her family’s plans:We’ve sorted out next time. We’ve got
a flood toilet… The floodwater can’t
go inside it... And then we’re gonna
turn all the lights off… and we’regonna go upstairs. And then we’regonna take our neighbours upstairs
to my mum and dad’s room and thenwe’re gonna put some candles on…
And we’re gonna get loads of food.
However, in contrast, some of thechildren were aware that many
people in their community had nottaken measures to prepare for nexttime and just wanted to get back tonormal. As Daniel, aged 14 points
out:…people do kind of forget about what
it was like a year ago… They forget it
could happen again
Children expressed an understandingthat what counts as normal has infact changed. They recognise that
there is a ‘new normal’ which includes
flooding and taking measures toprepare for and adapt to flood events.

Fig 9: Richard’s model of a raft

CYP Report 201621

Project OutcomesChildren as active participants in flood risk management
1. Children’s and Young People’s
Flood Manifestos and stakeholder events

2. The ‘Flood Project’ film

At the third workshop, we invited thechildren to reflect on what they had
created and learned and to develop
actions that they, their families,
communities and government shouldtake to be prepared and better
manage future floods. This resulted inthe ‘Children’s and Young People’s
Flood Manifestos’ (see Appendices
1 & 2), which highlight:

A six-minute film was produced using material drawn from the workshops,
including interviews with children and audience reaction to the stakeholder
events. Once it had been approved by the children, it was featured at two
major conferences: the British Damage Management Association 2015 andthe Environment Agency sponsored Flood & Coast 2016 Conference. The film
captures the key points from the project in a direct and accessible format andhelps the research reach a wider audience. The film has since been included inevents such as education welfare training and emergency planning workshops
and is available to view on the Homepage of the project website:www.lancaster.ac.uk/floodrecovery• The need for families andcommunities to prepare and makeflood plans• The need for clearer flood warning
systems•T he need for education inschool about flooding and otheremergencies, as well as training
for teachers on flooding and how it
affects children and families•T he need for support groups forflood-affected children•T he need for insurance companies
to listen more to children andfamilies•T he need for more effective flood
defences

At the end of the fieldwork, thechildren presented their ideas forchange at performance-based
stakeholder events to audiencesof, parish and district councillors,
the insurance sector, emergency
services, health and social care
professionals, representatives
from the Environment Agency,
Defra and the Cabinet Office-Civil
Contingencies Secretariat, teachersand parents.
The interactive presentations werebased around a game of ‘snakes
and ladders’ (Fig 10) and drew upona range of material produced orprovided by the children over thecourse of the project.
The audience was taken through a‘flood story’ from the perspective ofa child and saw how experiencing
and recovering from floods is often
arbitrary and never a linear process.
At the end of the performance,
audience members were given
the Flood Manifestos and invited
to respond by writing a pledge
about what action they would takebased on what they had seen (seeAppendices 3 & 4).

Fig 10: The ‘flood snakes andladders’ stakeholder event

22

CYP Report 2016

CYP Report 201623

3. Ten Tips for the insurance sector on how to bettersupport children and young people affected by flooding
personal items, not being able
to meet up and play with friends,
and distress at being in a strange
environment. Remember thatchildren and young people arelikely to endure a lengthy periodof living with uncertainty longafter the flood event.

Drawing on the Children’s and Young
People’s Flood Manifestos, we invited
the wider insurance industry and its
supply chains to take account of theneeds of flood-affected children andto respond to concerns they haveraised through this project.
Following the children’s presentation
to the British Damage Management
Association 2015 Biennial
Conference (26.11.2015) in
Stratford-upon-Avon, the project
team (the children and researchers)
were invited to present at a special
session on flooding of the All
Party Parliamentary Group for the
Insurance and Financial Sector(15.03.2016) at the House ofCommons, London.
We were then invited to develop Ten
Tips for the Insurance Sector:
1.	When you visit a house, pay
attention to what children andyoung people are saying about
what the flood means for them.
Insurers currently attend tofamily and community needs but
children are missing from youroverall strategies.
2. 	Be aware of the adverse effects
that the long-term recovery
process has on all flood- affectedchildren and young people,
both those living in insured anduninsured homes. Flooding
causes significant disruption tochildren’s lives at home, at school
and in their community. Take
into account the extra financial
costs for families of e.g. transport
to school or eating expensive
unhealthy fast food due to lack ofaccess to cooking facilities.
3.

24

Think about the social andemotional ‘costs’ for children,
such as the loss of toys andCYP Report 2016

4.

Provide more child-friendly
information about what people
can expect from insurancecompanies, and how they canhold insurers to account. For
example, provide families withmore guidance about the drying
process so that people don’t
return to their homes too soon.
People living in bungalows,
ground floor and rented
accommodation are particularly
vulnerable and would benefit
from specific, targeted advice.

5. 	People with disabilities may
require additional support if they
have to relocate as a result offlooding. This includes identifying
accessible hotel and temporary
accommodation. It may also
involve help with travel to regular
health service appointments, or
supporting those with learning
difficulties to maintain regularroutines.
6. 	Recognise that your frontline
workers need support. They
work long hours on the groundwith people who are angry, upset,
confused and displaced andthe emotional labour of this roleis extremely draining. Children
notice and are affected when
adults (e.g. parents, insurers, loss
adjusters, damage management
technicians) around them areunder intense pressure.

7.

Flood-affected children
also understand the needfor adaptation. Rather thanpromoting ‘back to normal’,please support them when theysay ‘we need a NEW NORMAL’.
Young people can be powerfulallies with the insurance sector
and help raise public awarenessof flooding, preparation andadaptation.

4. Development of Flood Suitcase ‘toolkit’to support flood-affected children
In response to the more recent 2015/16 Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank
we have worked with a group of children affected in Cumbria. Drawing on
our creative methods, we devised techniques within the concept of a flood
suitcase that can be used to support flood-affected children. We trialled theuse of the Flood Suitcase during the summer of 2016 and trained local staff
in the use of the techniques for use in future projects. For more information
about the Flood Suitcase see our website.

8. 	Where tenants are not ina position to install flood
resilience measures, the senseof insecurity for children isincreased. Insurance companies
could better support thedevelopment of regulations torequire private landlords, utility
services, the building sector andlocal authorities to implement
flood resilience measures.
9. 	Children and young people
affected by flooding comprehend
the high future risk and havesaid that building developments
such as housing and schools
need to be flood resilient. Thisaffects children’s futures and theinsurance sector can support
them by lobbying for this change.

Summary
Working with children makes
things visible in new ways.
The learning from the Flood
Manifestos, the stakeholder
events, the project film and theTen Tips for Insurers demonstrates
a key problem: that flood policy iscurrently too fragmented acrossgovernment departments andagencies because of complex(sometimes historical) divisons ofresponsibility.
This fragmentation tends toact as a block to the adoptionof ‘bottom-up’ innovative andcreative proposals shown here,
for raising flood awareness,addressing flood risk and assistingwith flood recovery.
The children’s actions forchange, presented in this report,
evidence key gaps in flood policy
and practice and highlight theneed to ‘join up the dots’ acrossgovernment departments andagencies.

Fig 11: Flood suitcase designed by artist Shane Johnstone www.shanejohnstone.com

10. Be aware that contradictions
between insurer practices
cause added stress to families.
Problems include disposal
versus restoration, and ‘like-forlike’ versus resilience building.
Insurers can address this by
working for high level policy
shift to support flood resiliencemeasures.

CYP Report 201625

Conclusions
Children are acutely affectedduring and after floods. Flood
events and the inevitably long andprotracted recovery period can havea significant impact on children’s
physical and emotional wellbeing.

This key finding is echoed by the
US seven-year, large-scale study
following Hurricane Katrina thatshowed how children’s participation
enhances recovery and sense ofcontrol (Fothergill & Peek 2014).

Floods affect children’s day-to-day
lives, often resulting in displacement.
This can take many forms suchas children having to leave theirhomes, staying in unsuitable ordamp housing, or being unable toattend their usual school. If they aredisplaced, they may lose friendshipnetworks, school connections, andfamiliar surroundings.

Current emergency planning policy
either ignores children or positions
them in a group marked ‘vulnerable’,along with disabled people, older
people and pets (Public Health
England 2014).

At the same time, they see adults
under great strain and they candevelop anxiety about future
flooding. We also know from Butler
et al’s 2016 study of (adult) public
and stakeholder perceptions of the
UK’s 2013/4 floods that those whoare evacuated from their homes
report significantly poorer health andwellbeing.
Our research shows children play
an important role in recovery,
helping their families, neighbours
and the wider community. Children
accept the notion of future flooding
often more readily than adults,
which prompts them to think about
adaptation and the need for a ‘newnormal’.
This accords with the feelingsof people affected by the 2009
Australian bushfires and their need toadopt a ‘new normal’ in the aftermathof a disaster (Mamone 2016; seealso Harms 2015). The flood-affectedchildren in our study express interestin having a role in developing flood
prevention and preparedness in theircommunities and families and our
research highlights that having anactive role in flood risk management
helps with recovery.

26

CYP Report 2016

This has the effect of patronising anddisenfranchising children. Yet our
research shows that understanding
children’s perspectives andcapacities would clearly make policy
more effective, enhance resilienceand reduce the impact of future
emergencies.
Not to consult with children about
resilience building is to fail to takeadvantage of their experience andparticular perspectives. To recall justone example, when Andrew told us
about not being able to access his
GCSE options form online becauseof being displaced by the flood,
we are reminded of the complex
vulnerabilities of a society now soheavily dependent on the internet
and on sources of electricity which
can fail in a flood (Kemp 2015).
Furthermore, as set out in the UN
Convention on the Rights of theChild, which the UK ratified as long
ago as 1991, children have the rightto be heard and actively participate
in decision-making that affects theirlives, and this includes flood risk
management.
Children also told us that they are
more afraid when they do not knowwhat is happening.
This could be addressed by actively
involving children in disaster risk
reduction activities and ensuring thatchildren have access to information
on flooding.

The children who took part in thisproject are flood experts from theirown understanding and experienceof what it means to be flood-affected.
Their Flood Manifestos demonstratethat the negative impact of floods
on children is exacerbated byinadequate flood risk management
and that the organisational
complexity surrounding flood policy
undermines the ability to address
this.
The Flood Manifestos highlighta key problem: that UK flood
policy (preparation, response,
recovery, resilience) is currently too
fragmented to enable children’sconcerns to be fully addressed, as
the multiple effects of flooding are
the domains of different government
departments or agencies.
For example, the children asked tolearn more about flooding in schoolwith regard to safety and flood risk
to their communites, but it is unclear
which department has the mandate
to address this need – whether itis the Department for Education,
the Department for Communities
and Local Government or the
Department for Environment,
Food & Rural Affairs.
We already know that someeducational resources about
flooding have been developed
for children (Defra 2016) but it is
not clear how these will or can be
adopted. Opportunities to respondto children’s needs get lost in
bureaucracy.
The 2016 Cumbria Flood Action
Plan represents, we believe, a step
towards integration of flood policy
and practice but has yet to be
implemented and developed more
widely.
The children’s actions for change
can also be seen as a call to ‘join
up the dots’ between government
departments and agencies.

Children’s Recommendations
In their Flood Manifestos, the children recommended improvements in essentially three flood policy and practice
domains - recovery, resilience and education (we have retained most of their words here):
Recovery, health and wellbeing

Resilience and flood preparedness

Flood education• Recognise that floods cause
poverty. Displaced families needhelp with the extra cost of food,washing clothes and transport• There should be more grants to
help make homes more resilient andhelp with bureaucratic red tape• Flood education should be given
in all schools, from Reception level
onwards. There should be lessons
on emergencies and flooding: how
to prepare, understanding priorities
when it floods, where to go, survival
and first aid. Include ‘flood tests’,
and flood simulation events(similar to fire drills). Develop flood
preparation games• Set up groups in schools forchildren who have been affectedby floods, so they can talk and get
support• Recognise that floods can lead topoor health, such as bad diets if
people can’t afford healthy food or
don’t have the means to prepare it• Disabled people need more
specialised help before, during andafter a flood• Support the development ofcommunity flood fund initiatives –to help people who are flooded, or
may be in the future• All families and communities shouldhave a flood plan• Flood warnings need to be clearer,so people understand them, andknow what to do and when to act• Teachers need training about
floods, and how they affect children
and their education• Awareness should be raisedusing different forms of media;
information should be put up in thecommunity, as it is for fire safety

Policy Implications
So we argue that in order to implement what are in effect urgent demands by the children,a fundamental shift is required in the way policy is conceived.
1. The children’s and young people’s
recommendations for change
in this report highlight important
gaps in the current policy andpractice around flood risk
management.
2. Flood recovery and resiliencemust be seen as central togovernment in order to meetthe needs of children andyoung people: this means
involving education, health,housing, communities andlocal government in addition to
emergency planning and floodrisk management.

3. Flood policy and practice inEngland and Wales as currently
organised, is confusing andover complex, reducing ability
to address the recovery andresilience issues identified bychildren and young people in thisproject.
4. Where flood-affected children
and young people are enabled
to contribute their experienceto flood risk management, thisenhances their own recovery andresilience.

5. All children and young people
are citizens in their own rightand have a role in flood risk
management and a right to help
build family and community
resilience.
6. Flood risk management will be
more robust and demonstrate
greater legitimacy by drawing on
the perspectives of children andyoung people.

CYP Report 201627

Discussion: Looking forward
A reading of theChildren’s andYoung People’s
Flood Manifestos
points to creativeand imaginative
ways to ‘join thedots’ in flood risk
management

This report adds to a growing
body of work which attends tothe multiple (social, technical andpolitical) dimensions of flooding(Twigger-Ross et al 2015; Butler
et al 2016). Such work recognisesthat floods are complex and havemultiple effects; that they can beheavily localised, yet relate to distal,
global phenomena. Floods are about
rainfall, catchment, urbanisation,
infrastructure, investment, climagechange, but they are also about
people - from issues of humaninduced environmental change totrust in flood warnings; from Property
Level Protection measures to social
solidarity and cohesion. So to ignore
a significant section of the affected
population - children - is to missa major opportunity to build andsustain community resilience.
Flood events in the UK bring all theabove issues to the surface, andwhile there have been examples of
supportive, tireless and innovative
practice on the ground, we believethat the policy response to thisincreasing complexity over the last
three major disasters (2007 - 2015/6)
has been inadequate. We argue that
this stems from the organisational
fragmentation described above.
Butler et al’s research on public
perceptions of the 2013/4 floods(2016) reports a ‘lack of clarity about
institutional responsibilities’ (p3)and also that flood-affected people
expect their government to protect
them against flooding, to mitigate it
and coordinate the response to it,
while acknowledging they (the public)
also have, and do, play a role (p23).
But protection, mitigation, response(and the often neglected area ofrecovery) are all located in different
organisational domains, between
different agencies and government
departments.

28

CYP Report 2016

This fragmentation is no more anaturally occurring phenomenon
than is contemporary flooding, but isthe outcome of a series of politicaldecisions in favour of ‘localising’
responsibilities under successive
governments and which have beenstrongly criticised (Begg et al 2015).
In the process, accountability has
become diffused and, as can beseen during and after flood events,
this can lead to public confusion andmistrust in authority. But now that
it is recognised that flooding is amajor and chronic national hazard, it
is time to address this fragmentation
by finding a way to reach acrossorganisational boundaries andredirect resources to bring together
flood response, recovery andresilience.

Jumping for Joy: young people fromThe Magna Carta School

It seems there is now fairly wide
agreement for a more joined up
approach to flood policy; the National
Flood Resilience Review Group was
drawn from across government; theEnvironmental Audit Committee
has carried out an inquiry termed‘Cooperation Across Government’(2016). But the remits of both these
inquiries were still heavily shaped
around issues of infrastructure.
A reading of the Children’s andYoung People’s Flood Manifestos
points to creative and imaginative
ways to ‘join the dots’ in flood risk
management linking three key policy
domains: recovery, health and wellbeing; resilience and preparedness,and flood education. The children’ssustained work for this project was
based on their hard won experience.
We hope that their efforts will be
repaid by your response to thisreport.

Taking a break: children fromSouth Ferriby Primary School

CYP Report 201629

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Begg C, Walker G & Kuhlicke C. (2015)
Localism and flood risk managementin England: the creation of new
inequalities?, Environment andPlanning C: Government and Policy,
33, 685-702
Bingley A & Milligan C. (2007)
Sandplay, clay and sticks: multisensory research methods to explore
the long-term influence of childhood
play experience on mental well-being,Children’s Geographies, 5, (3) 283296
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N, Evans L. & O’Neil S. (2016) Socialand political dynamics of flood risk,
recovery and response, Exeter: The
University of Exeter
Cabinet Office (2015) National
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London: Cabinet Office
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Defra (2016) Defra Flood Resilience
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2013-15, National Flood Forum:
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National Flood Resilience Review,
Policy Paper, London: Defra
Duke of Cornwall Community
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Easthope L & Mort M. (2014)
Technologies of recovery: practices
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Sociological Review 62(1) 135-158
Environment Agency & Cumbria
Floods Partnership (2016) Reducing
Flood Risk from Source to Sea:First steps toward an integrated
catchment plan for Cumbria, Bristol:
Environment Agency
EA (2015) Public dialogues on floodrisk communication, Final Report –SC120010/R1, Bristol: Environment
AgencyEAC (2016) Flooding: Cooperation
across Government, Second Reportof Session 2016-17, London: Houseof Commons Environmental Audit
Committee
Erikson K (1978) Everything in Its
Path: Destruction of Community inthe Buffalo Creek Flood, New York:
Simon & Shuster
Erikson K (1994) A New Species of
Trouble: the human experience ofmodern disasters, New York: WW
NortonErikson K (2008) Preface to (Convery
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Essex Civil Protection & Emergency
Management (2014) What if…?
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Fothergill A & Peek L. (2015) Childrenof Katrina, Austin: University of Texas
Harms L (2015) Understanding
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HM Government (2004) Civil
Contingencies Act, Her Majesty’s
Government, London: Cabinet Office
IFRC (2010) World Disasters Report- Urban Risks Geneva, Switzerland:International Federation of Red Cross
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IFRC (2015) World Disasters Report2015 –Focus on local actors; thekey to humanitarian effectiveness
Geneva, Switzerland: International
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T.E. Bilir, M.Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O.
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P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White(eds.)]. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, United Kingdom and New
York, NY, USA, pp. 1-32

F. (2016) Assessing surface water
flood risk and management strategies
under future climate change: anagent-based model approach,
Grantham Research Institute on
Climate Change and the Environment
Working Paper No. 223, London:
London School of Economics ansd
Political Science
Kemp R (2016), Living Without
Electricity: one city’s experience of
coping with loss of power, London:
Royal Academy of Engineering
Mamone L (2016) Dousing theflames: the new normal Australia:
University of Melbourne
Messling, L, Corner, A, Clarke, J,
Pidgeon, NF, Demski, C & Capstick, S.
(2015) Communicating flood risks ina changing climate, Oxford: Climate
OutreachMedd W, Deeming H, Walker G,
Whittle R, Mort M, Twigger-Ross C,
Walker M, Watson N. & Kashefi E.
(2014) The flood recovery gap: a realtime study of local recovery following
the floods of June 2007 in Hull, North
East England, Journal of Flood Risk
Management 8(4) 315-328
Mellor, D Leigh M, Dumbarton, D,
Smith S & Howells, G (2014) Neither
seen nor heard: planning for theunique needs of children in an
emergency, Save the Children, UK and
Cabinet Office Emergency PlanningCollegePublic Health England (2014)
Flooding: health guidance and advice
Rodriguez-Giralt I, Lopez D & Arenas
M. (2016) Scoping and Review Reporton evidence of chdirlen, Youngpeople, disasters and participation,
CUIDAR: Lancaster Unviersity

Whittle R, Medd W, Deeming H,
Kashefi E, Mort M, Twigger Ross C,
Walker G, Watson N. (2010)
After the Rain – learning the lessons
from flood recovery in Hull, Lancaster,
UK: Lancaster University

Thorne C (2014) Geographies of UK
flooding in 2013/4, The Geographical
Journal 180(4) 297-309
Twigger-Ross C, Orr P, Brooks, K,
Sadauskis, R, Deeming H, Fielding
J, Harries T, Johnston R, Kashefi
E, McCarthy S, Rees Y. & Tapsell S.
(2015) Flood Resilience Community
Pathfinder Scheme Evaluation,
London, UK: Department forEnvironment, Food & Rural Affairs
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the Rights of the Child Geneva,
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Walker M, Whittle R, Medd W,
Burningham K, Moran-Ellis J & Tapsell
S. (2010) Hull Children’s Flood
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Jenkins K, Surminski S, Hall J & CrickCYP Report 201631

Appendix 1

Appendix 2Children’s Flood Manifesto
We want better flood warnings!
• We should have more warnings,
when we need them• Flood warnings should be on theradio and included in weather
reports• Children should be given more
information because they have theright to know what is happening• There should be buses that cantake people somewhere safe• People should be told when it mightflood and then they should get outof their houses so they don’t gethurt• Everyone should know about thewarnings, e.g. there could be a postthat beeps when it’s going to flood

Flood lessons should be inschools• They should start in Reception andkeep going• Include flood tests at the end of theyear, flood simulation events likea fire drill and a flood preparation
game on the internet• Children should go on walks (oncea month) so they get to know theirlocal area• Children could write to the parish
council, Prime Minister, Environment
Agency or their MP to make flood
defences better and help create
plans
Schools should support children
during and after floods

Young People’s Flood Manifesto
This Manifesto was developedby children from South
Ferriby Primary School inNorth Lincolnshire as part ofthe ‘Children, Young People
and Flooding’ project with
Lancaster University and Save
the Children 2014-2015.

Help your family, friends andneighbours• Look out for people who need more
help e.g. people in bungalows andchildren• W
 arnings shouldn’t come when thefloodwater is up to your waist - thenit’s too late!

• Help people get to the village hall.

Flood defences and protectionneed to be better• Let friends stay at your house if theirhomes have been flooded

Families need to make sure they
are prepared• Schools could organise donationsof supplies• Make sure you have a radio,
batteries, candles, torches,
sandbags and food• Children should have time offschool to help clean up

Insurance companies need tolisten to what we need• There should be a group to help
children get happier after a flood• People living in bungalows needspecial help

We want better flood defences!

• Children need special help• More barriers or walls on the
Humber, but not too big so we canstill see the view• Houses need to be dried properly
so they don’t get wet again• When it floods get your things andyourself upstairs• Put photos on a high shelf, bed or
attic, because you can’t retake them• Make sure pets are safe• A
 wareness could be raised via TV,
newspaper, radio, social media like
Facebook, and through music.
• I nformation should be put up in thecommunity, like it is for fire safety,
for example up on notice boards inStarbucks or in telephone boxes.

• Help your friends after the floods
so they don’t have to do it allthemselves e.g. helping clean out
rental houses• Have someone who checks andunderstands the warnings

Flood warnings need to be clearer,so people understand them andknow what to do• D rains should be cleared out
properly.
• M ore sand bags should be available- before it starts to flood.
• B uild more flood defences andbarriers.
• T here should be more grants forflood gates and things to help makeyour house more resistant – andhelp with the red tape.
We should help each other more,
especially those more vulnerable
than you• F
 amilies and communities shouldhave a flood plan.

• More sandbags from the council• Schools should not be built on flood
plains• E
 very household and school shouldhave a ‘flood box’ with supplies,
including food and water.

• Schools should have flood
defences or be built on stilts• F
 amilies with pets should be
prepared to protect them, e.g.
having a dog raft.

• Make sure the Humber Bridge stays
open when it floods• C ommunity patrols should look out
for people still in their houses - andmake sure there aren’t any forgotten
roads.

Reference as: Children’s Flood Manifesto 2015,
Children, Young People and Flooding: Recovery
and Resilience, Lancaster University and
Save the Children
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cyp-floodrecovery/outputs

32

CYP Report 2016

• L
 ook out for people who need more
help, like young children, older anddisabled people.
• C
 reate local community flood
points – like fire evacuation points.

• D evelop a Community Flood Fund
– to raise money in case it floods
again, to help people who areflooded to provide safety, comfort,
and blankets/supplies.
Schools should support children
during and after flooding• D uring floods schools could provide
areas for evacuation and food, open
their grounds for parking, and offer
sandbags.
• S
 chools should communicate morewith flooded families; they could use
text messaging as people may nothave internet access.
• O pen IT suite after school forstudents to do homework.
• S et up a group for children who’vebeen flooded so they can talk andlisten to each other.
• P eople who were flooded will still beaffected for a long time afterwards:
those who weren’t will forget.
Flood education should be
included in schools• There should be lessons on
emergencies and floods, including
how to prepare, understanding
priorities when it floods, where togo, survival and first aid.

This Manifesto was developedby young people fromThe Magna Carta School in
Staines-upon-Thames as partof the ‘Children, Young People
and Flooding’ project with
Lancaster University and
Save the Children 2014-2015.

Flood insurance should be fairer• More independent information
should be available on what
insurance companies can offer.
• Insurance should be cheaper.
• Insurance companies should makesure houses are dried out properly.
There should be more recognitionand help for people affected byflooding• There should be more help fromthe Government for people withdisabilities.
• Financial support should ensure
the floods don’t cause poverty, this
could help with the extra cost offood and washing clothes.
• There should be recognition thatfloods can lead to poor health,like bad diets if people can’t afford
healthy food.

• This has to be done from primaryschool onwards.
• I t should be done without scaring
children and include how they canhelp the community.
• I t could be done in different partsof the curriculum e.g. in Personal,
Social and Health Education.
• U
 se assemblies to inform students
about flooding.
• Teachers should have training about
flooding.
• P arents should be educatedabout how to help children e.g. at aparents’ evening.

Reference as: Young People’s Flood Manifesto 2015,
Children, Young People and Flooding:
Recovery and Resilience, Lancaster University
and Save the Children
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cyp-floodrecovery/outputs

CYP Report 201633

Appendix 3Children’s Stakeholder Pledges
Local and national stakeholders
came to South Ferriby Primary
School in North Lincolnshire to listen
to the views and ideas of children
who had been affected by flooding.
In response to the event and to
the Flood Manifesto created by thechildren, the following pledges were
made:Emergency Planners• Find a way for children and young
people to have a voice at ourControl Teams during response andrecovery• Push harder in getting our “SafeHavens” project into the national
school curriculum. Work harderwith community groups to work
alongside the local authority
to support the restoration andrecovery phases of emergencies
Review my recovery plan to ensure
the manifesto is covered• Think about how we can develop
messages aimed at children during
an emergency• Try and work with schools to ensure
they have flood evacuation plans
Environment Agency• Help children understand what
flood warnings mean when they areissued so they know what to do

Fire and Rescue Service

Local Business

Parents and Grandparents

Other children who attended• Educate children about what to doin the event of flooding and generalwater safety• Provide support in any means
possible before, during or after
so to minimise the impact upon
the community and to aid its
reinstatement• Help as much as possible during
and after any incidents• Help anyone who is in need of help
and who has been flooded and who
hasn’t got a home

• Inform others of what I have heard
today and how it has made you all
feel. Help in any way possible• Respond when you call, help you
recover when you ask• Work with local schools andcommunities to help them become
better prepared to prevent, respondand protect themselves in the future
Schools & Education Service• Even though I may not be affected, I
will help those who need assistance,
supplies etc and rally others to do
the same• Make sure the messages are shared
about flooding to as many children
and adults as possible• Make sure children can get back toschool as soon as possible after
flooding• Teach children how to be more
prepared for a flood, both practicallyand emotionally
Local and Parish Council• Continue to work hard with mycolleagues and our MP, Andrew
Percy, to improve the flood
defences and flood resilience forSouth Ferriby village• Work hard as a parish councillor tosecure improved flood defences• Support the community as much as
possible in improving safety
National Organisations –Researchers, Insurance Industry,
Charities• Think about the Children’s Flood
Manifesto. Think how it might beturned into some form of national
guidance - which we currently lack
• Tell as many people I can, in thewider insurance industry, about
this evening (how marvellous thechildren were), the project andwhere we can learn• Always be honest with children
about what’s happening• Learn more about what I can do tosupport children and young people
should a flood occur• Listen to the children’s comments
about this project and tell friends
and family about tonight’s
presentation and its content• Make a flood plan with my family toensure we are more prepared for if it
happens again• Take the risk of flooding a little more
seriously• Offer support, whether it belistening to a child, or providing help
via providing hot food• Try to understand the feelings ofadults and children affected. Do myutmost to be there for them• Be more honest with the children- they need to know what ishappening• Be more aware of flood warnings• Keep my children better informed offlood planning. Hopefully the need
will never arise• Support our children and help ourcommunity• Help others by cleaning up theirhouses• I promise to keep everyone’s
houses safe
• Ring the people who help us, ring
999, get the fire engine

These pledges are part ofthe ‘Children, Young People
and Flooding’ research with
Lancaster University and Save
the Children UK, funded by the
Economic and Social ResearchCouncil. For more information
please email:floodrecovery@lancaster.ac.uk
or see our website atwww.lancaster.ac.uk/
floodrecovery• Try and help all flooded people andgive clothes to the flooded people• I could help myself by spending mymoney wisely after the flood• Keep people safe
• Help friends and family if they were
flooded• Always tell mummy to get the stuff
that matters to me upstairs• Give more warnings out to everyone• Help our dads and mums
• Protect and help people when
it floods or when it’s any natural
disaster• Tell more people about the dangers
of flooding• Ask questions and be aware of themental effect on children whether
directly or indirectly involved• Be better prepared and have flood
proof toilet• Always be truthful with my children,
let them know what is happening.
Be strong for one another if it
happens again• I promise to go and help when it
floods again• I promise to watch the news

• Push for “flood protection” to begiven the highest priority for South
Ferriby and all vulnerable people
and animals living on the side of theriver Humber, Trent & Ouse

Reference as: Children and Flooding Project:
Stakeholder Pledges, Children, Young People andFlooding: Recovery and Resilience, Lancaster
University and Save the Children
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cyp-floodrecovery/outputs

34

CYP Report 2016

CYP Report 201635

Appendix 4Young People’s Stakeholder Pledges
Local and national stakeholders
came to The Magna Carta School in
Staines- upon-Thames to listen to
the views and ideas of young people
who had been affected by flooding.
In response to the event and to
the Flood Manifesto created by theyoung people, the following pledges
were madeEmergency Planners
• Ensure that in my role as an
emergency planner we always listen
to the needs of those that we seek
to support and to better empower
communities to prepare themselves• Do more to understand- and raiseawareness of- the specific needs ofchildren in an emergency (especiallyflooding)• Make the community plan
accessible and easier tounderstand, carry on working to get
funding from central government forflood defence• Continue to work hard to ensure
everyone is as well prepared as
possible to respond to flooding
Environment Agency• Work to ensure that my colleagues
at the EA hear of your incredible
message; work harder to make sure
our alert and warning messages
are clearer and arrive in better timeand finally to spread the word of
your fantastic work and message
to my other colleagues in otheremergency planning services• Encourage engagement about what
to do before, during and after aflood with schools and children. To
also increase understanding about
proposed flood defence schemesin the area and the access to ensure
they will make a difference and go
ahead

36

CYP Report 2016

Local Council• Keep flood prevention andpreparation in the minds of local
politicians and partner agencies,
even when people begin to forget…
• Ensure that flood defences will bebuilt. I will ensure that a local floodplan is put in place by the local
councilSchools• Support our school by providing
on site cover for IT facilities when
the school is closed but for local
students to still access work• Develop a scheme of work to bedelivered in PSHE and Geography
about flooding- preparing for andrecovery from• Continue to support the community
by keeping the school open as an
emergency centre for all victims offloods• To develop lessons on preparing for
emergencies and coping with theaftermath• Add more to our school’s
geography lessons about personal
preparation for floods and thepersonal effects of flooding I will use
the ideas from your presentation to
help me do this• Continue to support our children.
To allow them to know there is
support I am so proud of them• Talk to the chairs of governors of
the 13 local schools about theresources and plans for flood
recoveryNational Organisations flood
forums, research institutes andcharities• Continue recovery support wellafter a flood event to ensure peaceof mind for residents in flood proneareas• Reach out to more communities
in areas of high level of flooding.
Thank you• Talk to my organisation- the National
Flood Forum to see how we can
support you the affected children
during recovery and help to develop
emergency plans for preparation in
the future• Include children’s voices (likeyours) in our reports and researchon flooding, climate change andresilience (And make a dog raft!)• Ensure that I include children’s
voices in future research projects
on flooding and help to raiseawareness• Support children and young
people’s flood manifesto. Advocatefor UK Emergencies to support
children and young people
Fire and Rescue Service• Continue to work on a water safety
strategy for Berkshire and as partof a national CFOA forum Also
introduce water safety education
into schools in Berks and listen to
the young people’s perspective andthe input they would like• Go back to Berkshire and identify
schools in risk areas for floods Thenwe will visit them and educate on
flood preparation planning• Have a fire officer specificallyposted to help communities to help
themselves. This may take the formof Education, advice and maybe
training

Families Parents,
Grandparents, Siblings• Help children and the elderly andany volunteer work needed• Volunteer Flood Warden• 1) Be more aware of ourenvironment, 2) make contingency
plans for next time and most of all 3)
have empathy for “our children”- thedevastation of losing “things” isn’t
half as bad as the memories thatstay with us forever and worry ourchildren for the future• Mend the boat so I can get friends
and family out if need be!
• Look at my insurance documents
a bit closer each year. Support andtalk to children about the way they
were affected• Continue to raise awareness by
sharing our experiences• Support the community andhelp if the flooding happens
again. Support those that flood
again Support any flood defence
programmes• Have an emergency plan for myhouse, family and neighbours• Educate my children and help out inthe community if the worst should
happen again• Keep paying my contents insurance• Continue to support local initiatives
to prevent or at least minimise
impact of flooding such as. Mead
Lake-Thorpe park blockages• Keep paying my insurance to insurethat I can keep my family safe forany impact in the future. To always
support my child through these
hard times, which I did at the time• Support the most vulnerable inthe community and to ensure theemotional wellbeing of affectedchildren• 1) Look after my neighbours
and 2) keep chasing the EA andlocal councils to carry out flood
preventative maintenance• Help the elderly if ever needed due
to flooding or those who don’t havesupport eg family, friends• Keep my things up high so if it does
flood again then they won’t get
ruined• Get my mum to buy me somewaders• Regularly check on my elderly
neighbours to make sure they aresafe• Inform others of what I have learnt
this evening so they can be better
prepared
Local Community• Continue to raise awareness of thesituation in regard to risk of flooding
and maintain contact and help
with those who have experienced
flooding in the past and still needongoing support

These pledges are part ofthe ‘Children, Young People
and Flooding’ research with
Lancaster University and Save
the Children UK, funded by the
Economic and Social ResearchCouncil. For more information
please email:floodrecovery@lancaster.ac.uk
or see our website atwww.lancaster.ac.uk/
floodrecovery• To help the community be more
safe by offering to help the stranded
and needy and fix our boat thatis in our garden to help give foodand water etc, sand bag fillingand spread the help factor in thecommunity• Collate all the names, addresses
and telephone numbers of theneighbours in my street In the eventof evacuation a central telephone
contact should be available
enabling neighbours to keep intouch• Continue to offer pastoral support
to those affected. Continue toadminister the flood fund createdby voluntary donations andprioritise it. Engage where possible
in the organising flood protection
initiatives. Work with other agencies
and groups to make a city flood planpossible• Continue to lobby for the River
Thames Flood alleviation scheme
To lobby for Wi-Fi at hotels andother location (churches) to bemade available for children. To lobby
for flood resilient housing• Educate my children and show
understanding and support tokids affected by floods in future(personally affected by flooding
2014)

Reference as: Young People and Flooding Project:
Stakeholder Pledges, Children, Young People andFlooding: Recovery and Resilience, Lancaster
University and Save the Children
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/cyp-floodrecovery/outputs

CYP Report 201637

Appendix 5
Reflections on taking part
From the children

From the adults

Nine months after the last project workshop, we asked
the children who had contributed to the research for theirreflections about the project. Here is a sample.

Do you think the project has made a difference
to how adults see what needs to be done about
flooding? If so, in what way?

What did you like best about taking part in thisproject?

Yes, because we have showed people that children do andcan be affected as much if not worse than adults and that
we didn’t just back down and actually showed how we felt
and put across sensible options.

I liked the presentation because it let all my feelings out
and made people listen.
I enjoyed that children’s voices are being heard.

How are you, your family, your community, your school
now more aware of the risks and the effects of flooding
than before the project?
We are now more active when we see a warning.
Many people we knew didn’t believe that it affected usthat bad and that it wasn’t still affecting us but by doing
this we have showed that it did hit us hard and it’s
still affecting us and that we need to put planning andemergency responses in place.
I am more aware of the things that people go through.
We are all in this together as a community and we need tohelp each other. Next time, I am going to help people thatneed it most. I am going to volunteer to make teas andcoffees and help with whatever I can. Before the project
I felt isolated like I was on my own but now I know thateverybody goes through it.

Tell us anything else you’d like to say or anythingthat stands out for you?

Here are some responses from the teaching staff who
took part and parents whose children took part…

I’m hoping we do more and that what we have done will
not be forgotten.

Do you think the project has made a difference inany way (this could be how adults see children’s rolein preparing/coping with flooding, or how decision
makers responded, or any other aspect of flood
management/policy…)

Yes because when we went to Stratford [to present to the
British Damage Management Association Conference]
every single person I saw in the room was paying
attention. Now they know what the people flooded werefeeling.

Very effective in highlighting how perceptive and maturechildren’s responses are to difficult situations – I think
many adults were surprised by this.

Yes, I think that the people that attended the presentation
held at school realise that children are a part of this andmay need a ‘flood plan’. Also the MP’s that we saw atparliament understand more clearly how children areaffected and what needs to be done.

Definitely how adults see children - they are a lot wiser
and stronger than they are given credit for.

It made us as a family think about prevention.

The project has given the children such power – they cansee how the developing project has made others moreaware and also helped them gain something positive froma devastating situation.
Tell us anything else you’d like to say or anythingthat stands out for you?

What more can we do to make sure children andyoung people have a voice in preparing, responding
and adapting to flooding?

Thank you, it had a big impact on both my children in apositive way - they are no longer as worried if this was tohappen again.

Tell the truth to your children so they can get their
special stuff.

Keep on campaigning and making more people aware
Participation in the Flood Project has been a very healing
experience for the children. They feel their opinions andcomments are valued in the adult world.

Integrate it more into schools and communities andpossibly create notice boards with information and places
to go and what to do if it floods again.
Yes, because now the adults know about the flood from achilds perspective

Photo: workshop with young people in
Staines-upon-Thames

38

CYP Report 2016

CYP Report 201639