The State We’re In Interactive

As individuals, we can all make choices about how to live happily and healthily. But is it really as simple as that? The paths we take through life are complex, sometimes determined by decisions we make, sometimes by situations and events beyond our control. Play the game to explore how your life is influenced not only by the choices you make, but also by factors you may never have even considered.

The State We're In: The Board Game!

Enter

Instructions to Play

Ok, let's play!

Choose your piece, click on the dice to roll, and click on the square you land on to learn about the topic (alternatively, you can click on any square you'd like to know more about!).

Instructions to Play

Ok, let's play!

Choose your piece, click on the dice to roll, and click on the square you land on to learn about the topic (alternatively, you can click on any square you'd like to know more about!).

Legal Aid

Mental Health & Justice

Primary School

Starting Education

Higher Education

Legal Aid

Maternity

Housing

GCSEs

Early Years

Neurodiversity & Justice

Teenage Years

Environment

Old Age

Take a Chance Card

PRISON

Being in Care

Community Health

Start

Pay isn’t the only benefit of going to university, though! Studies show that highly educated populations tend to have better health outcomes and may have less crime.

If you have a degree, you are likely to earn more during your working life, but how much more depends on where you go to university, if you are male or female, or what subject you study.

Those from wealthier households are more likely to go to a high-ranking university with increased employment prospects (IFS, 2020). So, degrees may not always be the social leveller universities often hope.

In 1965, only 5% of school leavers went to university; nowadays, more than 40% of young people start undergraduate degrees – but it comes at a cost, with tuition fees alone typically ranging upwards of £27,000, with few able to clear the full debt within 30 years (House of Commons, 2012).

Did you know?

Higher Education

Long Term Health Conditions

Groups supporting those living with disabilities and long-term health conditions are increasingly campaigning to improve the health and wellbeing of society. What would be your message to your local MP?

What do you think?

The number of people living with long-term health conditions has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now over 2.5 million people economically inactive because of long-term sickness, an increase of over 400,000 since the start of the pandemic. Many of those affected have multiple, interlinked, and complex health issues affecting not only their ability to work but also their capacity to care for family members and contribute to society in other ways.

• Census (2021) Rising ill-health and economic inactivity because of long-term sickness, UK: 2019 to 2023. Office for National Statistics. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk [Accessed 12 January 2024].
• Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (2021) Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/cjji/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/Neurodiversity-evidence-review-web-2021.pdf [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• Donovan, N.J. & Blazer, D. (2020) 'Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults', American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(12), pp. 1233–1244.
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons (2022) Annual Report 2021–22. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62cc11a1d3bf7f2ff9806b1c/hmip-annual-report-2021-22.pdf [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons (2023) Children in custody 2021–22. London: HM Stationery Office.
• Hunter, K., Francis, B., & Fitzpatrick, C., (2023) Care experience, ethnicity and youth justice involvement: key trends and policy implications. Administrative Data Research UK report. Available at: https://www.adruk.org/fileadmin/uploads/adruk/Documents/Policy_Briefings/Policy-briefing-Katie-Hunter.pdf [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• LawWorks (2023) LawWorks Clinics Network Report 2022. Available at: https://www.lawworks.org.uk/solicitors-and-volunteers/resources/lawworks-clinics-network-report-2022 [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• MBRRACE UK (2022) Missing Voices Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care: Lay Summary.
• Ministry of Justice (2023) Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2023. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2023/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2023 [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• Newman, E. et al. (2015)
• Prison Reform Trust (2023) Prison: the facts. Available at: https://prisonreformtrust.org.uk/publication/prison-the-facts-summer-2023/ [Accessed: 29 January 2024].
• Roadwise (2015) The chance of a pedestrian surviving. Available at: https://roadwise.co.uk
• Sturge, G. (2023) UK Prison Population Statistics. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04334/SN04334.pdf [Accessed 9 January 2024].
• The King's Fund, (2023) What are health inequalities? Available at: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk [Accessed 12 January 2024].
• Unicef, (2023) Trends, Promising Practices and Gaps in Remote Learning for Pre-Primary Education. Innocenti Research Briefs. 2020-36(1), p. 1. [Online]. Available at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1167-covid-19-trends-promising-practices-and-gaps-in-remote- [Accessed 9 January 2024].
• Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K. (2010) The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone. London: Penguin.

References

Providing effective treatment for mental illness can reduce the likelihood that someone will reoffend after being released, yet only around 10% of prisoners are receiving the treatment they need (Prison Reform Trust, 2023).

Recent reports state that 51% of men and 76% of women experience mental health difficulties in prison, yet only a third found it easy to see a mental health worker (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2022). Other studies have shown that 42% of prisoners have been diagnosed with a mental illness before entering prison, most commonly personality, anxiety and psychotic disorders.

In 1900, there were 86 prisoners per 100,000 people in the general population, and in 2022, there were 159, with the total prison population at 83,100 (Sturge, 2023). Many factors explain this increase, such as more effective policing techniques; nevertheless, increasing custodial sentences puts pressure on available support resources (Sturge, 2023).

Did you know?

Mental Health & Justice

If this is disrupted, it can cause emotional and psychological effects, which can last throughout life (Bowlby, 1997). Neuroscience studies also show how the bond affects early physical brain development, where parts of the brain may develop differently. This can make it hard to manage emotions, control certain behaviours or establish relationships with others (Newman et al. 2015).

Understanding attachment theory can help us to support people who may be experiencing difficulties arising from insecure attachment or trauma. For example, it’s a positive approach for teachers, carers and other people who support care-experienced or adopted children (Newman et al. 2015).

A positive early years experience lays the foundation for a person’s future. Infants and young children need a close bond with their caregiver(s). When care meets their needs (like responding to crying or playing together), it helps build positive emotional bonds known as secure attachment.

Did you know?

Early Years

experiences with the police, courts and prisons more difficult than someone without neurodivergence. An influential 2021 criminal justice report found ‘patchy and inconsistent’ help for neurodivergent people. It recommended that justice, health and education departments develop a joint strategy to improve outcomes for those people. The strategy should include processes to identify an individual’s needs early in their engagement with the criminal justice system, further training for police, prison and probation staff, and improved rehabilitation programmes (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection, 2021).

‘Neurodiversity’ is a broad term covering a range of conditions, including autism, learning difficulties and disabilities, and the effects of brain injury. Like the general population, only a small minority of neurodivergent people enter the criminal justice system. Still, they might find

Did you know?

About 15-20% of the population have some form of neurodivergent condition, compared to about 50% of people entering prison (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection, 2021).

Neurodiversity & Justice

vulnerable neighbours, and schools provided safe spaces for the children of key workers. It is particularly important to think about national infrastructure at times of national crisis and its role in supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone, young or old, rich or poor.

National Crisis!

Leisure centres aren’t only spaces to keep local communities fit and healthy. They are a vital staple of UK emergency plans as they are the spaces where people are taken for safety in a crisis. But since 2010, government cuts to council funding have led to the closure of such essential spaces up and down the country.

Did you know..?

When catastrophic events happen – such as floods, pandemics, or terror attacks, everyone will be impacted somehow. This is where individual choices are about more than what is right or wrong ‘for me’. Communities come together to support the wellbeing of others, as demonstrated by the growth of neighbourhood networks and schemes such as ‘Cabs for Jabs’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. People checked in on their

How much should prison be about punishment, and how much should it be about rehabilitation?

What do you think?

Did you know?

There are notable differences between prisons in the UK and Norway, with Norway putting greater focus on rehabilitating prisoners. While reoffending rates may be lower in Norway, the UK spends about £45,000 per prison place per year, whereas Norway spends almost three times that, at around £120,000 per prisoner (Sturge, 2023). While the UK is cheaper, the expenditure does not factor in the cost to society of a prisoner reoffending following release.

Prison

vulnerable neighbours, and schools provided safe spaces for the children of key workers. It is particularly important to think about national infrastructure at times of national crisis and its role in supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone, young or old, rich or poor.

National Crisis!

Leisure centres aren’t only spaces to keep local communities fit and healthy. They are a vital staple of UK emergency plans as they are the spaces where people are taken for safety in a crisis. But since 2010, government cuts to council funding have led to the closure of such essential spaces up and down the country.

Did you know..?

When catastrophic events happen – such as floods, pandemics, or terror attacks, everyone will be impacted somehow. This is where individual choices are about more than what is right or wrong ‘for me’. Communities come together to support the wellbeing of others, as demonstrated by the growth of neighbourhood networks and schemes such as ‘Cabs for Jabs’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. People checked in on their

Still, free legal support is available from organisations like Support Through Court, law centres and university law clinics. Demand for support continues to rise; in 2022 over 11,000 volunteers in around 300 law clinics helped over 51,000 clients in England and Wales alone (LawWorks, 2023).

no access to legal aid lawyers. If you were involved in a legal matter, perhaps concerning the arrangements for the care of children or an employment issue, would you feel confident representing yourself in court? In the family courts in England and Wales, both parties represent themselves in about 40% of cases, up from 14% in 2013 (Ministry of Justice, 2023).

Legal aid – government funding to pay legal fees – was removed or restricted across many areas of law in 2013, resulting in millions across the UK living in legal aid deserts with little or

Did you know?

The Open University Law School opened the UK’s first fully online law clinic in 2016.

Legal Aid

It can also affect decision-making, with teens more prone to taking high risks or acting quickly without thinking much!

Your brain goes through a second major growth development in your teen years. Alongside puberty, which can affect your mood and change your body, the teen brain is being re-wired – pruning unused neural pathways and forging new links as you learn. Your brain doesn’t fully develop until you are around 25 years old. This means that until then, a teen’s brain is learning faster, which can feel overwhelming.

Did you know?

What do you think?

How does this knowledge affect the way you consider some of these milestones in a pre-teen and teen’s life?  1) Criminal age of responsibility at ten years of age  2) Choosing your future career  3) Studying for important exams

Teenage Years

Long Term Health Conditions

Groups supporting those living with disabilities and long-term health conditions are increasingly campaigning to improve the health and wellbeing of society. What would be your message to your local MP?

What do you think?

The number of people living with long-term health conditions has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now over 2.5 million people economically inactive because of long-term sickness, an increase of over 400,000 since the start of the pandemic. Many of those affected have multiple, interlinked, and complex health issues affecting not only their ability to work but also their capacity to care for family members and contribute to society in other ways.

While many children thrive in care after being removed from harmful family situations, earlier and more effective intervention in families, including in the areas of health and education, could result in fewer children entering the care system.

The data showed that about 2% of all children experience the care system, and 4% receive a caution or conviction, yet 33% of care-experienced children born between 1996 and 1999 received a caution or conviction between the ages of 10 and 17. (Hunter, Francis and Fitzpatrick, 2023).

A recent study reports that care-experienced children (i.e. those who have spent time in local authority care) in England are much more likely to have been involved in the youth justice system than other children.

Did you know?

Children with experience of the care system are significantly over-represented in securetraining centres (46%) and young offender institutions (62%) (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2023).

Being in Care

Long Term Health Conditions

Groups supporting those living with disabilities and long-term health conditions are increasingly campaigning to improve the health and wellbeing of society. What would be your message to your local MP?

What do you think?

The number of people living with long-term health conditions has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now over 2.5 million people economically inactive because of long-term sickness, an increase of over 400,000 since the start of the pandemic. Many of those affected have multiple, interlinked, and complex health issues affecting not only their ability to work but also their capacity to care for family members and contribute to society in other ways.

educational outcomes is the skill and quality of the teacher. Managing workload conditions, good parent-and-pupil relationships, effective school leadership, and opportunities for higher-level learning are all factors that can support teachers in improving their practice.

Children from the poorest households are less likely than their wealthier peers to achieve higher GCSE grades, with white working-class boys often cited as the lowest-attaining group. Schemes such as free school meals and uniform swap shops aim to reduce poverty’s effects on attainment. Yet, studies show that one highly influential factor in improving

In Wales, The Open University is the first to offer flexible part-time and employment-based teaching routes so aspiring teachers from all walks of life can study for the PGCE around existing commitments. This helps attract and retain teachers who bring new skills and different experiences to schools.

Did you know?

GCSEs

Long Term Health Conditions

Groups supporting those living with disabilities and long-term health conditions are increasingly campaigning to improve the health and wellbeing of society. What would be your message to your local MP?

What do you think?

The number of people living with long-term health conditions has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now over 2.5 million people economically inactive because of long-term sickness, an increase of over 400,000 since the start of the pandemic. Many of those affected have multiple, interlinked, and complex health issues affecting not only their ability to work but also their capacity to care for family members and contribute to society in other ways.

Add to this the fact that those areas in highest need are often food deserts when it comes to fresh, affordable items, and it’s clear that ‘individual choice’ can be more complex than it appears.

Let’s take diet as an example: The poorest 10% of UK households would need to spend 74% of their income (after housing costs) on food to follow the government’s official guidance on a ‘healthy diet’, compared to only 6% of income for the richest 10% of households ​(King's Fund, 2023)​.

People are often blamed for making ‘poor choices’ that negatively impact their health, but many choices are beyond our control.

Did you know?

The climate crisis is the biggest environmental threat to life on earth, and even this is linked to societal inequalities. The richest 1% of people worldwide account for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%.

Environment

Mothers living in the most deprived areas of the UK are more than twice as likely to die during or up to six weeks after the end of pregnancy, compared to mothers living in the wealthiest areas.

Even before birth, your and your mother’s life chances are already influenced by where you live.

Did you know?

Maternal mortality for Black women is 3.7 times higher and for Asian women 1.8 times higher than for White women. This is due to structural inequalities as well as embedded institutional racism.

Maternity

People in the bottom 40% of the income distribution are almost twice as likely to report poor health than those in the top 20%, and poverty is strongly associated with worse health outcomes.

There’s extensive evidence that connected and equal communities are healthy communities (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2010, Et al.). Unfortunately, the UK is one of the most unequal European nations and is getting worse. Austerity measures led to the closure of vital health-enhancing services such as leisure centres, transport infrastructure, school fields and swimming pools, disproportionately affecting those who are worse off already.

Did you know?

What do you think?

In the UK, there is a lot of emphasis on enhancing ‘individual choice’, but given the inequity in society, how meaningful or fair do you think those choices really are?

Community Health

Road traffic in housing areas is a major contributing factor to respiratory disease. Children in the most deprived areas of the UK are also more likely to be victims of road traffic accidents. For example, twice as many people are killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents in the most deprived areas of London compared to the least deprived areas.

The quality of your environment has a huge impact on your health and wellbeing. Poor-quality and overcrowded housing conditions are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as higher levels of depression and anxiety.

Did you know?

If a pedestrian is hit at 40 mph, there is a 90% chance they will be killed. At 30 mph, it's 20%. At 20 mph, the chance of being killed drops to just 2.5%.

Housing

Loneliness is described as a ‘modern epidemic’. While it can affect people of any age, there are particular concerns about loneliness for older people. Exploration of intergenerational approaches to care, such as pairing nurseries and schools with care homes, can be beneficial for tackling loneliness in the older generation whilst also supporting children’s social and emotional skills and enhancing their learning.

Did you know?

Social isolation and reduced mobility in an ageing population are associated with poor mental health, increased stress levels, and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (e034967.full.pdf (bmj.com)).

Old Age

In one survey of a thousand primary teachers, 90% of teachers said they had at least one child in their class who was not toilet trained, and 91% said they had several children who could not demonstrate basic communication skills (for example, being able to tell their name).

Parental involvement in early childhood education significantly impacts children's academic achievement and social-emotional skills, enhancing their overall wellbeing (Unicef, 2023).

Did you know?

Teachers report that up to half of all children are not ready to start school and that this has worsened since the pandemic. This may be a consequence of early years support not being as readily available.

Starting Education

In some areas, intervention programmes may enable children from the poorest households to start early education at two years old. High-quality early learning has been shown to help children achieve well at school later on and improve their chances of success. Yet, in countries like Finland or Sweden, often considered to have better educational outcomes than the UK, children do not start school until seven years old.

In the UK, children start school aged five.

What do you think?

When do you think is the best time for children to start school, and why?

Primary School

vulnerable neighbours, and schools provided safe spaces for the children of key workers. It is particularly important to think about national infrastructure at times of national crisis and its role in supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone, young or old, rich or poor.

National Crisis!

Leisure centres aren’t only spaces to keep local communities fit and healthy. They are a vital staple of UK emergency plans as they are the spaces where people are taken for safety in a crisis. But since 2010, government cuts to council funding have led to the closure of such essential spaces up and down the country.

Did you know..?

When catastrophic events happen – such as floods, pandemics, or terror attacks, everyone will be impacted somehow. This is where individual choices are about more than what is right or wrong ‘for me’. Communities come together to support the wellbeing of others, as demonstrated by the growth of neighbourhood networks and schemes such as ‘Cabs for Jabs’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. People checked in on their

vulnerable neighbours, and schools provided safe spaces for the children of key workers. It is particularly important to think about national infrastructure at times of national crisis and its role in supporting the health and wellbeing of everyone, young or old, rich or poor.

National Crisis!

Leisure centres aren’t only spaces to keep local communities fit and healthy. They are a vital staple of UK emergency plans as they are the spaces where people are taken for safety in a crisis. But since 2010, government cuts to council funding have led to the closure of such essential spaces up and down the country.

Did you know..?

When catastrophic events happen – such as floods, pandemics, or terror attacks, everyone will be impacted somehow. This is where individual choices are about more than what is right or wrong ‘for me’. Communities come together to support the wellbeing of others, as demonstrated by the growth of neighbourhood networks and schemes such as ‘Cabs for Jabs’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. People checked in on their