NEW REPORT FROM UNICEF UK WARNS OF ALARMING IMPACT OF DEPRIVATION ON YOUNG CHILDREN IN ENGLAND

The report, ‘Held back from the start: the impact of deprivation on early childhood’, maps every Local Authority area in England against its level of deprivation and a range of early childhood health and educational outcomes.

Mapped across a range of key indicators, the analysis shows that young children living in areas with higher levels of deprivation and child poverty have poorer outcomes. They are more likely to experience obesity and severe dental decay and present in emergency health settings. They are also less likely to reach a ‘good level of development’ in school reception class.

The analysis shows that every Local Authority in the top 20% of deprivation was in the bottom 20% for multiple measures of child health and development. In the first five years of life, the effects of deprivation and poverty are not only clearly visible, they are already well established and likely to impact that child for the rest of their life.

What UNICEF UK is calling for

UNICEF UK is calling for urgent action from the UK Government to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty by ending the discriminatory two child policy and benefits cap for families on universal credit.

Key Findings

• Early Years Development: Children in England’s most deprived areas are less likely to achieve a good level of development by the age of five. The most deprived areas of the country are more than twice as far away from achieving the government’s target for 75% of young children to reach a ‘good level of development’ than the most affluent areas. There is a clear link between attainment and deprivation: 9 out of the 10 local authorities with the least children reaching a good level of development, are in the most deprived areas of the country. 
• Oral Health: 22% of five-year-olds in England have late-stage, untreated tooth decay. In the most deprived areas, nearly twice as many children suffer from this condition (29%) compared to the least deprived (15%). Five-year-olds in the poorest communities are three times more likely to have had teeth removed due to decay than those in wealthier communities.
• Healthy Weight: Nearly a quarter (24%) of reception-age children in the most deprived areas are overweight or obese. Levels of obesity in reception-aged children in the most deprived areas are more than double those of children in the most affluent areas (12.9%, compared to 6%). In Blackpool, the most deprived area, 27% of young children are overweight or obese, versus 15% in Wokingham, the most affluent.
• A&E Attendance: Babies and young children in the most deprived areas of the country have 55% more visits to A&E than those in the least deprived areas, an average of 1,020 A&E attendances per 1,000 young children in the most deprived areas, compared to 658 attendances in the most affluent areas.  

A National Challenge

This new analysis clearly shows the link between deprivation and poor outcomes, and it also shows that there are children and families everywhere who need more support. Across England, 22% of children are overweight or obese by age five – higher than the European average. There are more children under five living in poverty than any other age group and child poverty remains high in nearly every local authority, yet 147 of the 151 Upper Tier Local Authorities in England are currently not meeting the Prime Minister’s own target of 75% of children achieving a good level of early years development.

UNICEF UK warns that this presents a significant challenge for the government, which has promised to break the link between background and opportunity, as well as raise the healthiest generation of children ever. There is a risk that without adequate investment to reduce child poverty and increase access to early childhood health and education services, these disparities will continue to hold thousands of children back before they have even started school.

Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer of UNICEF UK, said:

“The consequences of poverty can last a lifetime and are especially harmful for babies and young children. Growing up in poverty damages children’s life chances and our analysis shows the scale of the problem across the country. It is not acceptable that children in deprived areas are more likely to be behind at school, to be overweight or obese, to experience tooth decay and pain, and more likely to attend A&E – all before their fifth birthday.

“There must be immediate, decisive, and ambitious action by the government. Any further delays will entrench inequality and condemn hundreds of thousands of children to poverty and its effects, as child poverty rates continue to rise.

“The government must act urgently to lift the two-child limit and the benefit cap and commit to investing in the vital health and education services that support children during their crucial early years.”

The five Local Authorities with the highest levels of deprivation (Blackpool, Knowsley, Liverpool, Kingston upon Hull, and Middlesbrough) were each in the bottom 20% for five out of six measures of child wellbeing that UNICEF UK looked at. On average, Local Authorities in the bottom 20% for deprivation were in the bottom 20% for at least three other outcome measures. For example, Middlesbrough has the 5th highest level of deprivation, the highest proportion of five-year-olds overweight or obese, the 2nd highest number of dental extractions, the 4th lowest percentage of children reaching a good level of development, the 20th highest proportion of A&E attendances, and the 23rd lowest number of childcare places.

Clare Law, Director at Better Start, Blackpool said:

“UNICEF UK’s timely report confirms that too many children across the UK do not have access to the conditions they need to thrive – poverty and deprivation are negatively impacting their chances in life.  We hope the imminent Spending Review will unlock new resources to meet these challenges. 

 “Our Better Start Systems Building approach in Blackpool has shown beyond any doubt that integrating services properly can have real impact. The Education Secretary is absolutely right that ‘life shouldn’t come down to luck’; we look forward to working with everyone to make that a reality.”

UNICEF UK is calling on the government to:

1. Lift more babies and young children out of poverty by removing the two-child limit on Universal Credit and ending the Benefit Cap to reverse rising child poverty, and expand access to and value of the Sure Start Maternity Grant to support low-income families at birth.
2. Ensure all babies and young children can access essential health and education services in their community by restoring the capacity of the health-visiting workforce, ensuring long-term, sustainable funding for Family Hubs and expanding provision of essential services they provide, equalising access to government funded childcare hours.

70% of the UK public want support for children and their parents. On Tuesday 10 June UNICEF UK and Dr Chris Van Tulleken will present our petition of over 105,000 signatures from people across the UK calling for the government to make these investments in early childhood to the Prime Minister at No.10 Downing Street.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

For more information please contact the UNICEF UK media team on 0207 375 6030 [email protected] 

About the data
The report uses nationally reported data on key measures of early childhood health and development. These are reported against the 151 Upper Tier Local Authorities (LAs) in England and compared to each area’s deprivation score (based on the Index of Multiple deprivation 2019) and child poverty rates. The indicators chosen reflect key aspects of young children’s health and development, and link to life-long outcomes.

The indicators included in the report are:

• Deprivation average score (2019), based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation
• Percentage of children living in relative low-income families (2024)
• Percentage of children at good level of learning across the early learning goals in Reception (2023-2024)
• Prevalence of children with one or more obvious untreated dentin decayed teeth (2024)
• Prevalence of children who have had one or more teeth extracted due to dental decay (2024)
• Combined prevalence of children in reception considered overweight or obese (2023/2024)
• A&E attendance rate per 1,000 population aged 0-4 years (2022/23)
• Accessible childcare places per 100 children aged 7 and under (2023) – this is the ratio of available childcare places to the number of children aged 7 and under

Using the Index of Multiple Deprivation, the 151 Local Authorities were divided into quintiles (20%). The ‘most deprived areas’ refers to the 30 LAs with the highest levels of deprivation, while the ‘least deprived’ or ‘most affluent’ refers to the 30 LAs with the lowest levels of deprivation per the IMD.

UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign
UNICEF UK’s Early Moments Matter campaign is calling on the UK Government to invest properly in early childhood so that parents and carers can access the vital services and financial support to help them and their baby now and set them up for success in the future. Families need a range of support, but the campaign is focusing on financial support for parents, access to early education and childcare, and parents’ mental health as an urgent priority.

Find out more about the campaign or sign the petition here.

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work for children. We also promote and protect children’s rights in the UK and internationally. We are a UK charity, entirely funded by supporters.

United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), Registered Charity No. 1072612 (England & Wales), SC043677 (Scotland).

For more information visit unicef.org.uk. Follow UNICEF UK on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.