Dear Parent/Carer,

 

Height and weight checks for children in Reception and Year 6.

Every year in England, school children in Reception and Year 6 have their height and weight checked at school as part of the National Child Measurement Programme. Height and weight measurements are used to calculate weight status. We collect this information because it is in the public interest to understand how many children overweight, healthy weight or underweight. Your child’s class will take part in this year’s programme.

 

The height and weight measurements will be carried out by a member of the School Nursing Team. Children are measured fully clothed, except for their coats and shoes, in a private space away from other pupils. The School Nursing Team will be adhering to Government and NHS Guidelines whilst working within schools.

 

This will include robust hand hygiene and cleaning arrangements for the measuring equipment and environment used. The team will be following the current Covid Guidance at the time the measurement is taken and will be wearing any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as required.

 

The information we collect and what it is used for is listed below:

•  Your child’s date of measurement, sex and date of birth are used to calculate your child’s weight category.
• Your child’s name, date of birth and NHS Number are used to link your child’s measurements in Reception and Year 6. Other data sets may also be linked such as your child’s dental survey results or any visits to hospital they may have had. Linking your child’s information in this way helps us to understand how and why the weight status of children is changing, and how this affects children’s health. 
• Your child’s ethnicity and address are used to help understand some of the reasons for the difference and changes in child weight across England.
•  Following their height and weight measurement, your child’s feedback letter will be sent via the email address identified by your child’s school as the priority contact email address. 
• We may contact by telephone to discuss your child’s feedback and offer you further support following their height and weight measurement.

 

All the data collected is also used for improving health, care and services through research and planning.

 

All this information is treated confidentially and held securely. No individual measurements will be given to school staff or other children.

 

How the data is used

 

The information collected from all schools in the area will be gathered together and held securely by Solihull MBC. We will store your child’s information as part of their local child health record on the NHS’s child health information database and share it with their GP.

 

All the information collected about your child will be sent by us to NHS Digital. NHS Digital is responsible for collecting data and information about health and care so that this can be used to monitor and improve the care provided to people across England.

 

The information collected about your child will also be shared by NHS Digital with Public Health England but in a de-personalised form only. This means Public Health England will not be able to identify your child. Public Health England is responsible for working to protect and improve the nation’s health.

 

Both NHS Digital and Public Health England will use the information from the National Child Measurement Programme to better understand numbers and trends in child weight and body mass index (BMI). This helps with the planning of services to support healthy lifestyles in your area. No information will ever be published by NHS Digital or Public Health England that identifies your child.

 

De-personalised information from the National Child Measurement Programme may also be shared by NHS Digital with other organisations, such as universities. This is to help improve health, care and services through research and planning. This information cannot be used to identify your child, and NHS Digital only ever shares information for research with the approval of an independent group of experts.

 

Withdrawing your child from the National Child Measurement Programme

 

If you are happy for your child to be measured, you do not need to do anything.

 

If you do not want your child’s height and weight to be checked, or your child has a medical condition that affects their height or weight please let us know by contacting the School Nursing Team on 0121 726 6754.

 

Children will not be made to take part on the day if they do not want to.

 

Further information

 

Further information about the National Child Measurement Programme can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/national-child-measurement-programme

 

Information and fun ideas to help your kids stay healthy can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/

 

Information about how NHS Digital and Public Health England collect and use information can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/our-work/keeping-patient-data?safe/how-we-look-after-your-health-and-care-information and https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england/about/personal?information-charter

 

Information about the organisations

 

NHS Digital has shared information from the National Child Measurement Programme can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-child?measurement-programme