Local authorities
08/07/09: Croydon Council
Croydon has nearly 90,000 children and young people, being the largest population of children and young people of any London borough, and their proportion in the total population also make it a comparatively ‘young’ borough. Just over 54,000
children and young people are of school age 5-16.
The borough is very diverse ethnically, and also includes a significant number of refugees and asylum seekers. Thirty-nine percent of children and young people are from Black and Minority Ethnic groups - with this varying by age group from 35% at ages 16- 17 to 45% at ages 0-4.
Although Croydon is ranked 21 out of 33 London boroughs and better off than most in terms of deprivation (according to standard indicators), within the borough there are very varied deprivation levels. Some areas have low levels of disadvantage, whereas other wards are amongst the most deprived in England and Wales.
There are specific issues that influence priorities in Croydon. These include the rates for teenage pregnancy and school exclusions which are particularly high – although both are improving.