State of Child Health report 2017 Presentation for the Early Childhood Forum 12 March 2019

What is it? A single document drawing together a range of child health data from a wide variety of sources A series of tightly defined indicators Snapshot of how children and young people’s health is fairing across the UK Designed to reach a wide variety of audiences

Why? Pioneering and innovative – this data has never been drawn together into one place before Create a platform to change policy, based on evidence 3. Increase awareness of child health 4. Increase profile for the College as a centre for child health excellence and as a champion for child health across the four nations

How did we do it? Life course approach identified key areas of focus for the report: Conception, pregnancy and infancy Early years School age and adolescence Mortality Family and social environment Health conditions of childhood

Which indicators did we choose and why? Indicator is relevant to a large number of infants, children and young people Robust published data sources were available including contemporary data and trend data from the recent past Data were available for at least two of the four nations of the UK

Why are some key indicators missing? A number of key indicators could not be included due to a lack of reliable data in any UK nation

Decisions, decisions, decisions…. Which data source are best? Which data are comparable? Copyright issues Audit trail for additional calculations

Involvement of children and young people Consultations in 11 settings across the UK working with over 300 children and young people + online surveys Targeting views on key indicators Diverse ages, locations, backgrounds and views! Approach – Roadshows, Takeover Challenges Use participatory consultation methods such as pasta voting, visual sorting, discussions and 60 second soapboxes Key indicators included topics such as poverty, mental health, smoking, health eating, physical activity, pregnancy, sexual health, and others. Top 4 topics from CYPF – Communication, PSHE, Mental Health, Poverty. Key messages from cyp = Children and young people want to hear from an inspirational person who is experienced, credible, influential and relatable – teachers are not always best placed to be this person Messages should be consistent and repeated using different forums and methods. Reliance on collapsed curriculum days once a year / one off PSHE sessions are not enough Across the board, it was felt that messaging should start as early as possible, with primary school being the optimum ages in Key Stage 2 (age 7 – 11) Children and young people need support networks that include adults they feel comfortable talking to who are non-judgmental and informed on where to seek further help Families need to be supported to become informed on a range of topics of their local area family services directory so they know where to access support A holistic approach is needed in sharing messages – children and young people reflected the interrelation between different topics (HEADSS) Be interactive and visual, children and young people were clear on the need to move away from lectures, leaflets and written information. The use of school projects, workshops, drama, pictures, videos, social media and apps were all highlighted as good practice PSHE and using school as a conduit for health literacy was highlighted through responses as being critical to early intervention and prevention Clear language that is age and ability appropriate is a must. For children and young people to be empowered around positive choices, they need to understand the language Look at a youth worker / support worker role in clinics to share information about other health topics Increase local knowledge of what is available, what the referral pathway is and identify where there are gaps or changes quickly Improve signposting arrangements – relevant, accessible and timely

Key messages – progress is being made

Key messages - others are (much) better - why aren’t we?

Key messages - massive health inequalities according to social circumstances

Key messages - there IS a pathway to improvement

Recommendations – part 1 Big tickets 1. Implement a coordinated strategy to improve child health across the UK 2. Develop integrated health and care statistics 3. Develop research capacity to drive improvements in children's health 4. Reduce child poverty and inequality

Recommendations – part 2 Public health and prevention 5. Maximise women’s health before, during and after pregnancy 6. Tackle childhood obesity effectively 7. Maximise mental health and wellbeing throughout childhood 8. Strengthen tobacco and alcohol control 9. Provide statutory comprehensive personal, social and health education and sex and relationships education in all schools

Recommendations – part 3 Meeting the needs of children 10. Tailor the health system to meet the needs of children and young people, their parents and carers 11. Implement guidance and standards

Scorecards