Media Releases

Links between children's health, wealth and learning examined

13/10/2009

Press Release

The links between children's health, wealth and educational achievement will be explored at a special meeting on Wednesday (October 14).

The Council's Education and Children's Services and Housing, Health and Community Care scrutiny panels will look at various factors outside school that can affect a child's education.

Discussion will focus on the lessons that can be learned from eight reports that highlight major issues that affect children and young people.

The reports look at: obesity; infant mortality; the early years foundation stage; breastfeeding; oral health; childhood immunisation; teenage pregnancy and substance misuse.

The health of children in Reading is comparable overall to the health of children in other parts of the country. But there are particular areas of concern locally, such as the numbers of children in poverty, high numbers of teenage pregnancies and relatively low levels of physical activity.

Reading is also a place of contrasting wealth, where very well-off communities sit alongside more deprived neighbourhoods, in which lack of skills, unemployment, low incomes and poverty are features.

People who have experienced poverty, poor housing, lower educational achievements, insecure jobs and homelessness in their lives are also more likely to suffer poor health and early death.

Cllr Daisy Benson, Chair of the Housing, Health and Community Care Scrutiny Panel, said: "We know that in parts of Reading, notably the less well off parts of town, the health of children and young people is significantly worse than that of those in other areas and this is a matter of serious concern to us.

"It is the aim of this scrutiny review to attempt to gain a better understanding of health inequality in Reading - how it affects children's life chances - and to challenge Lead Members and officers from both the Primary Care Trust and Reading Borough Council about what plans are in place to bridge those gaps."

Cllr Mark Ralph, Chair of the Education and Children's Services Scrutiny Panel, said: "It is tragic that in 2009 this Country should have so many children still living in conditions of poverty and deprivation. In Reading there are just over 33,000 0-19 year olds, 16% of whom (2007) live in areas ranked nationally as amongst the 20% most deprived (up from 12% in 2004).

"The correlation of poverty and deprivation with poor academic achievement, poor health and high rates of teenage pregnancy have been evident for some years.

"I hope that this meeting will give emphasis to the need for closer monitoring and the better prioritisation and focusing of resources."

ENDS

Notes for Editors: The meeting will take place in the Council Chamber, on Wednesday, October 14, starting at 6.30pm. Reporters are welcome.

Chris Branagan
Tel: 0118 939 0330