The proportion of toddlers in England who met the expected levels of development has continued to fall, according to figures published on Tuesday.
The figures, published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, showed that between April 2022 and March 2023, around 79.2 percent of children who received a 2—2.5-year-old check were at or above the expected levels of development across all five metrics, including communications skills, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, and personal-social skills.
It’s down from 80.9 in the financial year 2021/2022 and 83.3 percent in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alison Morton, chief executive of the Institute of Health Visiting, said it’s “stark” to see more children falling behind in recent years.
She attributed the fall to “several factors,” including “poverty, mental health problems, isolation, and abuse.”
More children have been falling behind across all five metrics in the past financial year.
For communication skills, 85. 3 percent of children met the expected level of development, compared to 86. 2 percent in the previous year and 88.9 percent in the year 2019/20. The figure has declined consistently over the past four years.
In the other four areas, the percentage of children who met the expected levels recovered in the year 2021/2022 but dropped again in the year 2022/2023.
Some 92.8 percent of children developed the expected level of gross motor skills, compared to 93.1 percent in the previous year and 93.8 percent in the year 2019/20.
For fine motor skills, 92.6 percent of children met the expectations, compared to 92.9 percent in the previous year and 94.1 percent in the year 2019/20.
Some 91.8 percent of children developed the expected level of problem-solving skills, down from 92.4 percent in the previous year and 93.9 percent in the pre-pandemic year.
Around 90.3 percent of toddlers reached the expected level of personal-social skills, down from 90.8 percent in the year 2021/2022 and 92.9 percent in the year 2019/20.
Ms. Morton told PA news agency parental stress would lead to impacts on children’s health and development.
Health visitors see first-hand the impacts that the pandemic has had on babies, toddlers, and families who are often hidden behind front doors and invisible to other services,” she said.
“It is stark to see the growing numbers of children at two years who have fallen behind with their development over the past three years.
Ms. Morton said the drop is “due to several factors, including the increase in the number of families affected by poverty, mental health problems, isolation, and abuse.
“When parental stress increases, we see knock-on consequences for child health, development and safety concerns that have all increased in recent years,” she said.
Ms. Morton also blamed “short-sighted” cuts and workforce shortages for the reduction in access to services.
“Despite health visitors’ best efforts, many children who are struggling are identified too late or are unable to access the vital early support that they need,” she said.
James Bowen, assistant general secretary of school leaders’ union, also said the latest figures were a “concern.”
“It is hard to pinpoint one single reason for the fall, but many early years leaders tell us that the growing levels of child poverty they are witnessing is having a negative impact on the children they work with,” he said.
“Early years leaders also tell us that they are particularly concerned about the number of children that are experiencing difficulties with communication skills, as well as their personal and social skills.
“What we need to see is greater investment in early intervention from government so that young children get the support they need from specialists so that they can reach those early milestones.”
