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Height & Weight checks for Children in Reception and Year 6

What is NCMP?

Every year in England, children in Reception and Year 6 have their height and weight measured as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Your child’s class will take part in this year’s programme. If your child is absent on the day, one further attempt will be made to complete this. Information about the way measurements are taken and how the data is used, can be found in the attached leaflet.

Data from the NCMP shows national and local trends in children’s growth over time. It is important that we understand this, so that advice and information can be given to support children and their families. Collecting this data also helps us to plan better health and leisure services within local communities.

After your child has been measured, there are two possible outcomes:

If your child is growing as expected

You will not receive a letter. However, if you would like to receive your child’s measurements please contact us.

If your child is outside the healthy weight range

You will receive a letter which includes information about healthy lifestyles. We may contact you by phone to discuss their results and can offer you advice and support.

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A child’s weight category is described as follows:

  • below the expected weight range for their age, sex and height
  • growing as expected for their age, sex and height
  • above the expected weight range for their age, sex and height

Some parents and carers may find receiving the letter upsetting and may feel:

 

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We understand that weight is a difficult subject for many of us. The results letter is simply a way of giving you information about your child’s growth based on their screening measurements. We hope that this will help you to make informed choices to support your child’s health and wellbeing.

Easy access to fast food and the cost of buying food can make it difficult for parents and carers to provide a healthy balanced diet to their children. If you want support or advice about growth and healthy lifestyles, you can call our health team on 03000 263 538.

We also have resources available on the Healthy Lifestyles page

Read More

If you are happy for your child to be measured, you do not need to do anything. Children will not be made to take part on the day if they do not want to.

If we do not hear from you within 2 weeks of this letter being sent, your child will be measured in school.

If you do not want your child to take part in the National Child Measurement Programme, please contact us:

For Durham: Child Health Department, Chester-le-Street Community Hospital, Front Street, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3AT
or via secure email: cdda-tr.childhealthinformation@nhs.net

For Darlington: Child Health Department, Bishop Auckland Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland. Co. Durham DL14 6AD
or via secure email: cdda-tr.southdurhamchildhealth@nhs.net

Please ensure you include your child’s name, date of birth and address in any correspondence.

Useful Links

Talking to your child about weight (bath.ac.uk) BMI Explained NCMP process animation - An animation explaining the process of the NCMP and why it is important. It has been carefully designed and illustrated to explain to parents, children, teachers and schools what the NCMP is, what it involves, how a child’s data is collected and processed and what it will be used for Talking to a healthcare professional about weight video Talking to your child about weight video NHS - The National Child Measurement Programme

Resources