DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release (2008/0080) issued by The Government News Network on 4
August 2008
From September
this year, parents of children who have been weighed and measured
at school could automatically receive their child's results
in a bid to get parents to be more aware about healthy lifestyles,
and help their children achieve a healthy weight, Health Minister
Ivan Lewis announced today.
The National Child Measurement Programme weighs and measures the
height of all primary school children in reception class and Year
6 (aged 4-5 and 10-11). This year, the Government is urging
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to send parents the results so that
parents don't have to ask for them.
At this stage, about 40 percent of local primary health care
trusts have said they intend to automatically contact parents in
the next school year, and a further 40 percent will decide when
they see the new guidance issued today.
Today's guidance will help PCTs implement this new approach
and includes example letters for parents.
Eighty per cent of schoolchildren - an increase of 32 per cent
compared to the previous year - in Reception Year and Year 6 were
weighed and measured in 2006/7.
Ivan Lewis said:
"It's clear from research we've done that parents
want to know their child's results and whether there is a
concern about their health. But they want clear information which
is helpful and non-stigmatising.
"Today we've published guidance which will help PCTs
deliver this programme and help to make sure parents get the
information they need about their child's results in ways
that they have said will be most helpful.
"Research shows that most parents of overweight or obese
children think that their child is a healthy weight. This
important move isn't about pointing the finger and telling
parents that their children are overweight, instead it's
about equipping parents with the information they need to help
their children live healthier lives."
Children's Minister Kevin Brennan said:
"Schools are well placed to make a real difference in
tackling obesity - with record investment in sport and exercise;
encouraging active travel to and from home; making cooking
compulsory in secondary schools; scrapping junk food and
transforming the quality of school lunches.
"But at the end of the day, parents bring up children, not
the Government, schools or health services. Every parent wants
their child to be fit and healthy so it's only right to help
them make informed decisions about their lives."
Figures published earlier this year showed that in 2006/7 22.9
per cent of children in Reception year (age four to five) were
overweight or obese. In year six (age 10 to 11) 31.6 per cent were overweight.
Tackling obesity is a top cross Government priority; we have
invested £372 million in a strategy to enable people to maintain a
healthier weight for a healthier life.
This is just one part of the drive to get people living healthier
lives. Recently, the Health Secretary Alan Johnson met with
leaders from major health charities, retailers, the health
profession and community action groups to discuss how the
Government form a national campaign - Change4Life - that will help
everyone change the way they live.
This national movement for change will enable every citizen in
the country at every stage of their lives to get the encouragement
and support they need to be healthy - from what they see on the
television, to what they buy in the local supermarket, to the
resources at their disposal in the local community, to how they
travel to and from work or school, to the information and advice
they get from health professionals.
The Government is calling on everyone - from the smallest
community keep fit class to the biggest retailers in the land - to
join in this campaign to change the way people in England live
their lives.
Notes to editors
1. The PCT guidance can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk/healthyliving.
2. Beginning its fourth year in September 2008, the National
Child Measurement Programme was set up to gather information that
is vital to inform the local planning and delivery of
children's services. This data is also key to build a
national picture of trends in growth patterns and obesity. The
programme is a useful vehicle for getting children and families to
actively pursue more healthy lifestyles and keep a healthy weight.
3. Trained staff, such a school nurse, will weigh and measure
children. Care is taken that it is done in a sensitive way with
the measurements being taken in a separate room or screened off
area. Pupils will not be told about other pupils' weight and
height and the results will not be shown to teachers or other
school staff.
4. Once a child's height and weight have been recorded, the
results will be held by their local Primary Care Trust (PCT) along
with some other information, including date of birth and the
school. The PCT will then send this information securely to the
Information Centre for Health and Social Care, who will look after
and analyse it on behalf of the Department of Health. During the
upload to the Information Centre, the bits of the data that could
identify the child, such as their name and date of birth will be
removed or changed, so that they cannot be identified. Once the
Information Centre has this anonymous information, they will
analyse it to look at trends in children's height and weight
across England.