Description:
This indicator measures the percentage of children with a concern at their 27-30 month review (as a % of children reviewed).
Source of Data:
A review for children aged 27-30 months was introduced in Scotland in April 2013. Publications of statistics from Health Visitors’ assessment of children’s development at these reviews have been published since 2013. The latest publication can be found here: Early child development statistics - Scotland 2021 to 2022 - Early child development - Publications - Public Health Scotland
Health Visitors assess children’s development during child health reviews by:
- Asking parents/carers about any concerns they have regarding their child’s development
- Asking about the child’s developmental abilities and attainment of relevant milestones
- Careful observation of the child
- Asking parents to complete a questionnaire about their child’s development
Since April 2017, Health Visitors have been asked to assess the following eight domains of children’s development during 27-30 month reviews:
- Speech, language and communication
- Gross motor
- Fine motor
- Problem solving
- Personal/social
- Emotional/behavioural
- Vision, and
- Hearing
Between April 2013 and March 2017, Health Visitors used a slightly different list of domains, and information was not collected on the Problem solving domain.
Definitions:
The ‘Number of children eligible for review’ is defined as the number of children who turned 27 months old during the financial year of interest (April to March) and who were active on the Scottish Immunisation & Recall System (SIRS).
Criteria for Change:
- Performance is improving if the indicator decreases by at least 1 percentage point.
- Performance is worsening if the indicator increases by at least 1 percentage point.
- Elsewise, performance maintains.