Table Of ContentHealthy lives, brighter futures
The strategy for children and young people’s health
A commitment from
I NFORMATION READER BOX
P olicy Estates
HR/Workforce Comisioning
Management IM&T
Planing Finance
Clinical Social care/partnership working
Document purpose Policy
ROCR ref: Gateway ref: 10489
Title Healthy lives, brighter futures – The strategy for children and young
people’s health
Author Department of Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Publication date February 2009
Target audience PCT CEs, NHS Trust CEs, SHA CEs, Care Trust CEs, Foundation Trust CEs,
Medical Directors, Directors of Public Health, Directors of Nursing, Local Authority
CEs, Directors of Adult Services, PCT PEC Chairs, NHS Trust Board Chairs,
Special Health Authority CEs, Directors of HR, Directors of Finance, Allied
Health Professionals, GPs, Directors of Children’s Services, Head teachers,
Heads of Children’s Centres, FE College Principals, Government Offi ce
Children’s Advisors, Government Offi ce Directors of Children and Learning
Circulation list Communications leads, voluntary organisations/NDPBs
Description This joint DH/DCSF strategy presents the Government’s vision for children and
young people’s health and wellbeing. It sets out how we will build on progress
through: world-class outcomes; high quality services; excellent experience in
using those services; and minimising health inequalities.
Cross ref National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity
(Gateway ref 3779); Every Child Matters; The Children’s Plan – Building
Brighter Futures; Securing better health for children and young people through
world-class commissioning – A document to support delivery of Healthy lives,
brighter futures
Superseded docs N/A
Action required N/A
Timing N/A
Contact details Child Health Team
Partnerships for Children, Families and Maternity
Area 208, Wellington House
133-155 Waterloo Road
London
SE1 8UG
020 7210 4850
Healthy lives, brighter futures
The strategy for children and young people’s health
A commitment from
Joint Ministerial Foreword 2
Executive summary 4
1. Introduction 10
2. Building on progress: the framework for child health 18
3. Pregnancy and the early years of life (up to 5 years) 22
4. School-age children 36
5. Young people 50
6. Services for children with acute or additional health needs 64
7. Making it happen: system-level transformation 80
8. Next steps: supporting local delivery 98
Annex A: National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services – Standards 101
Annex B: Public Service Agreements, NHS Vital Signs and Local Area Agreements 103
Annex C: Consultations with children, young people, parents and stakeholders 107
Annex D: The Healthy Child Programme – recommended schedule from pregnancy to 5 years 108
CONTENTS
JOINT MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
people, parents and professionals working with
children and families.
We have met many children and young people in
the process of putting this strategy together. They
have told us that they want easier access to health
services to support their psychological as well as
physical health. Parents and carers have told us
that they want better information about what
services are available locally. Many parents have
By the Secretary of State for Children, said that there need to be better links between
Schools and Families and the Secretary health and children’s services. Frontline staff
of State for Health want help to overcome the barriers to providing
excellent, integrated health services that they know
We cannot overstate the importance of children children and families need.
and young people’s health. A healthy start in life
is at the heart of a happy childhood and the ability Healthy lives, brighter futures sets out how we
of every young person to achieve their potential will work in partnership with local authorities
and grow up well prepared for the challenges of and primary care trusts and those working across
adolescence and adulthood. children’s health services to build the quality
of support for families at key stages in their
Children and young people are healthier than ever children’s lives.
before, but we now have the opportunity to go
further. We know that we must do more to provide Every family will have easy access to support from
mothers and fathers with the support they need to pregnancy and early years of children’s life, with
give their children the best start and to help young more health visitors, and a strengthened role for
people to make healthy choices as they grow up Sure Start Children’s Centres, with each centre
and take more responsibility for themselves. having access to a named health visitor. There
will be further expansion of the successful Family
Our two departments have come together to Nurse Partnership programme for vulnerable fi rst
produce this long-term strategy to improve health time mothers and the development and testing of
outcomes for all children and young people. It is a a new Antenatal and Preparation for Parenthood
direct response to the views and concerns of young Programme for mothers and fathers.
Joint ministerial foreword 3
For school-age children and their families, there will This will be backed by £340 million from each of
be a core health programme, the ‘Healthy Child our departments to improve the experience of
Programme’, to set out clearly what services should disabled children and their families through better
be available to parents, children and young people access to short breaks, community equipment and
from 5 to 19, supported by 21st Century Schools wheelchair services, as well as palliative care and
with a focus on pupils’ health and wellbeing, and end-of-life care.
pilots to test the impact of extending free school
meals to a greater number of pupils. Young people Improving children’s health from birth to 19 is
will be given more opportunities for sport and an ambitious agenda. In order to drive change in
better access to health services that are tailored to every area, we know that we need stronger joint
helping them deal with the health challenges of leadership to plan, commission and monitor the
adolescence. delivery of excellent services. The strategy sets out
how we will help those on the frontline make a
For families who rely on health services for reality of this vision.
urgent, short-term care as well as those who
need ongoing support for children with complex With schools, GP practices, hospitals, Sure Start
and long-term conditions, we know that timely Children’s Centres, the voluntary sector and
access to high quality support is crucial. We are government all playing their part in support of
making new commitments to strengthen urgent families, we can ensure that every child has a
care and specialist support, so that every child can healthy start in life and a brighter future. Working
reach their full potential. We will test innovative together, we can continue to work towards our
approaches to the provision of community goal to make this the best place in the world to
equipment and make sure that by 2010 all children grow up.
with complex health needs have individual care
plans to support co-ordinated care.
Ed Balls Alan Johnson
Secretary of State for Children, Schools Secretary of State for Health
and Families
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive summary 5
1 Children and young people are healthier today 3 Parents are the key to achieving the best physical
than they have ever been. Medical, technological, and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for
social and economic advances have radically cut their children. This strategy sets out the principles
infant mortality rates and given many children of the relationship between parents and services,
and young people a healthier start to life than and will establish what parents and their children
they could ever have enjoyed before. There is can expect from their services. These principles
more support for parents, children and young are that:
people in promoting health and wellbeing and
in meeting additional health needs. There are: • Mothers and fathers are provided with the
thousands more professionals with specialist skills information they need to help their children
working with children; new Sure Start Children’s lead healthy lives, with local areas setting out
Centres providing integrated services; reduced what parents will be able to receive in their
waiting times for access to healthcare; and new communities.
sources of information and advice. There is also • Public sector settings provide healthy
a greater focus on health and wellbeing in our environments and encourage children and young
schools and colleges, and more choice over how people to make healthy choices.
to access healthcare. • The right services are in place to meet the specifi c
health needs and expectations of children and
2 To deliver our 2020 ambition of making England their families.
the best place for children to grow up, we need • Extra support is provided for those from the most
to support families in securing world-class health disadvantaged backgrounds.
and wellbeing outcomes for their children. This
means continuously driving up the quality of our 4 These ambitions underpin the policy
services for all parents and children, and ensuring recommendations that follow – recommendations
that those improvements are refl ected in the that seek to cement, not replace, the standards
experience of services for children, young people and ambitions set through the National Service
and their families. At the same time it means Framework for Children, Young People and
doing more for the most vulnerable, to reduce Maternity Services (see Annex A) and the
the persisting inequalities in health and wellbeing Every Child Matters programme for improving
outcomes for different groups. Better support outcomes for children. And they build on the
in the early years and through childhood and consistent approaches of the NHS Next Stage
adolescence will lay the foundation for better Review and The Children’s Plan, details of which
health and life chances into adulthood, so this are set out in Chapter 2. The policies that follow
strategy sets out how we will build on progress will help to ensure that our existing ambitions for
through the achievement of: children, young people and families are realised
and that improvement continues.
• world-class health outcomes
• services of the highest quality
• excellent experiences in using services
• minimising health inequalities.
6 Healthy lives, brighter futures
5 This strategy sets out the plans for universal, 8 To ensure that the right services are in place to
targeted and specialist support across three life meet the needs and expectations of children and
stages – early years and pregnancy; school- their families, additional improvements will be
age children; and young people – as well made to antenatal and early years services.
as the additional support for children and In doing so, the focus will be on ensuring that the
young people in need of acute or ongoing right services, support and advice are available
healthcare. It also sets out how the delivery for all parents, and that more intensive support is
system can be supported in taking forward the given to the most vulnerable. The improvements
recommendations – in particular, how the range include:
of services in contact with children and young
people can work better together, and with • Further development of the health visitor
families, to achieve common aims. In accordance workforce to deliver the Healthy Child
with our commitment to implementing the Programme.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the • The development of a new Antenatal and
Child, this strategy is underpinned by the general Preparation for Parenthood programme
principles and basic health and welfare articles of that, following successful testing, will help
1
the convention. engage parents, including those from more
disadvantaged backgrounds.
Pregnancy and the early years • The expansion of the successful Family Nurse
Partnership Programme, which provides intensive
6 During pregnancy and the early years of their support from highly trained nurses for the most
children’s lives, parents have access to a wide vulnerable fi rst-time mothers. It will be expanded
range of services in support of their children’s from 30 to 70 sites by 2011, with a view to
health, from midwives to childcare practitioners. rolling out this support for the most vulnerable
But the extensive consultation with parents, fi rst-time young mothers across England over the
children and young people undertaken to next decade.
develop this strategy has demonstrated that • A strengthened role for Sure Start Children’s
we can do more to provide further support for Centres – both through additional health-based
parents and their children at this time. programmes, focusing on reducing obesity and
smoking, and by ensuring that each centre has
7 One of the key principles underpinning this access to a named health visitor.
strategy is to ensure that parents get the
information they need to support their children’s
health. Local areas will be expected to set out
what children and families can expect from their
health services locally – to help them to access
the support they need, when they need
it, from pregnancy t hrough to services aimed at
young people up to the age of 19.
1
www.unicef.org/crc/
Executive summary 7
School-age children Young people
9 As children grow up they become increasingly 11 Adolescence is not only a key transition
aware of health-related matters and can be point between childhood and adulthood, it
expected to take on additional responsibility is a distinct developmental stage in its own
for their own health and wellbeing. Schools right, characterised by dramatic physical
and school health services, GP practices, and neurological changes, and emotional
paediatricians, children’s services (including development.
behaviour support and social care services),
child and adolescent mental health services and 12 This strategy sets out a number of proposals to
others play a hugely important role in supporting help ensure that young people are given access
children and families to lead healthy lives. Health to healthier opportunities:
and wellbeing is central to the concept of the
21st Century School. • The PE and Sport Strategy for Young People
includes a commitment to offer 16- to 19-year
10 To support local areas: olds three hours high quality sports a week.
• The ‘You’re Welcome’ standards will be rolled
• An improved Healthy Child Programme for out across England, so that all young people,
school-age children will be developed, which wherever they live, will be able to access young
will set out what services should be available to people-friendly health services.
all parents in all areas. • A new campaign to increase young people’s
• The role of schools in promoting pupils’ health knowledge of effective contraceptive methods
will also be supported through strengthening the will be launched, backed by increased investment
2
National Healthy Schools Programme. of around £27 million a year from 2008-09 in
• The creation of a world-class system of PE and contraceptive services in a range of settings.
sport, offering 5- to 16-year-olds 5 hours a week
– a signifi cant contribution to the exercise they
should undertake – and giving them high quality
sports in the run-up to, and after, the London
2012 Olympics.
• Pilots will be established to build the evidence
base on the impact of extending free school
meal criteria to a greater number of pupils
(including, in some areas, by putting in place free
school meals for all primary pupils).
• We will improve the quality and consistency of
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE)
education and intend to make it statutory within
the curriculum.
2
T roughout this document the use of a hyphen (-) denotes reference to a
fi nancial year, e.g. 2008-09. T e use of a slash (/) denotes reference to an
academic year, e.g. 2008/09.
