70% of children aged between two and two-and-a-half in Barnet reached the expected standard when they were assessed across five key development areas reports Andrew Dowdeswell, Data Reporter

A child's hand building a tower of coloured large-sized lego blocks. — Across England, the proportion of young children developing as expected remained below pre-pandemic levels – (Credit – Radar)

Nearly a third of toddlers in Barnet failed to meet key development milestones last year, new figures show.

A leading children’s charity has warned under-resourced services such as family hubs have led to parents being unable to access crucial support.

Office for Health Improvement and Disparities figures show 70% of 812 children aged between two and two-and-a-half in Barnet reached the expected standard when they were assessed across five key development areas – up from 4% the year before.

However, this was below 2019-20, the latest data before the coronavirus pandemic, when 78% of toddlers met the expected standard across all five areas.

Across England, the proportion of young children developing as expected remained below pre-pandemic levels, despite rising slightly from 79% to 80%. Before the pandemic, this figure had reached 83%.

Vicky Nevin, policy manager at the NSPCC, said even before the pandemic, too many children were “overlooked”.

She added: “It’s vital that parents can access trusted advice and support from professionals during this time. However, too often maternity, health visiting and family hubs services are under-resourced and hard to reach for families.”

Nevin urged the Government to address the shortages of 2,500 midwives and 5,000 health visitors.

She also highlighted concerning regional inequality, adding: “We need to ensure that children and families across the nation can access quality support – avoiding a postcode lottery.

“We hope to see ambitious commitments on this in the upcoming government spending review and the 10-year health plan.”

The figures also showed regional inequality across the country, with children in Yorkshire and The Humber far outperforming their peers in London.

Some 86% of children in Yorkshire and The Humber met the expected standard across all five areas, but this dropped to just 75% for those in London.

Ealing, in the capital, had the worst development rate in England at just 23%, while Wokingham in the South East had the highest at 95%.

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