The COVID-19 pandemic brought many disruptions to children’s education, including the education of children with intellectual (learning) disability and/or autism. We investigated the educational experiences of autistic children and children with an intellectual disability about a year after the COVID-19 pandemic started in the UK. An online survey collected data during the summer/autumn of 2021 from 1,234 parents of 5 to 15 year-old children across all 4 UK countries. The study investigated school attendance and home learning experiences of children with intellectual disability and/or autistic children who were registered to attend school in 2021. The study also investigated the experience of Elective Home Education in families of children with a neurodevelopmental condition whose child was de-registered from school before and after the pandemic started in the UK in March 2020. The study provided evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on school attendance and home education for children with a neurodevelopmental condition.Education changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools closed in 2019/20. There was compulsory return to school in September 2020 with measures in place to control infection and new regulations about COVID-19-related absences. School attendance in the first term of 2020-21 was lower compared to other years. Many children were de-registered from school. In early 2020-21, there was a second prolonged period of national school closures. The pandemic has caused many disruptions to children's education. Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs), in particular intellectual disability and autism, are the most vulnerable of vulnerable groups. Among children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), children with intellectual disability and/or autism consistently struggle to meet the required standards in education. Our study will focus on these two groups of children. Before the pandemic, many children with NDCs missed school. Then the pandemic disrupted everyone's education. Approximately one year after the pandemic started, we will investigate the educational experiences of children with NDCs. Our project will investigate: - School absence and reasons for absence among children with intellectual disability and/or autism - Child, family, and school factors associated with school absence - Barriers and facilitators of school attendance - Parents' experiences of home schooling An online survey will collect data from approximately 1,500 parents of 5 to 17 year-old children with NDCs across all 4 UK countries. We will recruit parents of: (i) children registered with a school in spring/summer 2021; (ii) children not registered with a school in spring/summer 2021 but who were registered with a school at the start of the pandemic in March 2020; and (iii) children not registered with a school on either date. We will collect data on school attendance for those registered with a school, and data on home learning experiences for those not registered with a school. For all children, we will collect data on their mental health. The first analysis will investigate school absence with a focus on children registered with a school. We will summarise school absence data as well as reasons for absence as reported by the parents. The second analysis will investigate school attendance: attending school or home schooling. We will describe the children currently registered to attend school (group 1), those not currently registered who were registered in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic (group 2), and those not registered on either point (group 3). We will summarise the reasons parents give for de-registering their child from school. Our final analysis will focus on home learning support during home schooling. We will describe the types of support schools offer to school-registered students during remote learning (when students are self-isolating/shielding, or schools are closed because of lockdown). We will describe the home learning experiences of school de-registered children and parents' satisfaction with these arrangements. We will work closely with parents of children with NDCs, seeking their advice on the study. Our team includes the Council for Disabled Children, the largest umbrella organization in the UK bringing together many charities supporting disabled children and their families. We will share the study findings widely, including key messages for policies related to the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The transition project at the University of Leeds examined the change in academic language encountered by school students when they transition from primary to secondary school. The project involved focus group interviews with school students spanning 12 months. There were four interview phases: when students were midway through their final year of primary school; just before the end of primary school; early in their first year of secondary school, and midway through the first year of secondary school. Five interviews with six students in each were conducted in the first three phases, and two in the final phase (which was interrupted by school closures due to Covid-19). Students were asked for their feelings about the transition and their views on the academic and language demands of their work at each stage.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which was established in September 2017, provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. This school-based survey is the first and largest established physical activity survey with children and young people in England. It gives anyone working with children aged 5-16 key insight to help understand children's attitudes and behaviours around sport and physical activity. The results will shape and influence local decision-making as well as inform government policy on the PE and Sport Premium, Childhood Obesity Plan and other cross-departmental programmes. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables. Due to the closure of school sites during the coronavirus pandemic, the Active Lives Children and Young People survey was adapted to allow at-home completion. This approach was retained into the academic year 2022-23 to help maximise response numbers. The at-home completion approach was actively offered for secondary school pupils, and allowed but not encouraged for primary pupils. The adaptions involved minor questionnaire changes (e.g., to ensure the wording was appropriate for those not attending school and enabling completion at home) and communication changes. For further details on the survey changes, please see the accompanying User Guide document. Academic years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 saw a more even split of responses by term across the year, compared to 2019-20, which had a reduced proportion of summer term responses due to the disruption caused by Covid-19. The survey identifies how participation varies across different activities and sports, by regions of England, between school types and terms, and between different demographic groups in the population. The survey measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and less active), attitudes towards sport and physical activity, swimming capability, the proportion of children and young people that volunteer in sport, sports spectating, and wellbeing measures such as happiness and life satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of variables, such as gender, family affluence and school year. The following datasets have been provided: 1) Main dataset: this file includes responses from children and young people from school years 3 to 11, as well as responses from parents of children in years 1-2. The parents of children in years 1-2 provide behavioural answers about their child’s activity levels; they do not provide attitudinal information. Using this main dataset, full analyses can be carried out into sports and physical activity participation, levels of activity, volunteering (years 5 to 11), etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross - Csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them). 2) Year 1-2 dataset: This file includes responses directly from children in school years 1-2, providing their attitudinal responses (e.g., whether they like playing sport and find it easy). Analysis can also be carried out into feelings towards swimming, enjoyment of being active, happiness, etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross - Csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them). 3) Teacher dataset: This file includes responses from the teachers at schools selected for the survey. Analysis can be carried out to determine school facilities available, the length of PE lessons, whether swimming lessons are offered, etc. Since December 2023, Sport England has provided weighting for the teacher data (‘wt_teacher’ weighting variable). For further information, please read the supporting documentation before using the datasets.

The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, which was established in September 2017, provides a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. This school-based survey is the first and largest established physical activity survey with children and young people in England. It gives anyone working with children aged 5-16 key insight to help understand children's attitudes and behaviours around sport and physical activity. The results will shape and influence local decision-making as well as inform government policy on the PE and Sport Premium, Childhood Obesity Plan and other cross-departmental programmes. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpage and the Active Lives Online website, including reports and data tables.

The Active Lives Children and Young People survey is a school-based survey (i.e., historically always completed at school as part of lessons). Academic years 2020-2021 and 2019-20 have both been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in school sites being closed to many pupils for some of the year (e.g., during national lockdown periods, and during summer term for 2019-20). Due to the closure of school sites, the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2020-2021 was adapted to allow at-home completion. Despite the disruption, the survey has still received a sufficient volume of responses for analysis.

The adaptions involved minor questionnaire changes (e.g., to ensure the wording was appropriate for those not attending school and to enable completion at home), and communication changes. For further details on the survey changes, please see the accompanying User Guide document. Academic year 2020-21 saw a more even split of responses by term across the year, compared to 2019-20 which had a reduced proportion of summer term responses due to the disruption caused by Covid-19. It is recommended to analyse the data within term, as well as at an overall level, because of the changes in termly distribution.

The survey identifies how participation varies across different activities and sports, by regions of England, between school types and terms, and between different demographic groups in the population. The survey measures levels of activity (active, fairly active and less active), attitudes towards sport and physical activity, swimming capability, the proportion of children and young people that volunteer in sport, sports spectating, and wellbeing measures such as happiness and life satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed to enable analysis of the findings by a broad range of variables, such as gender, family affluence and school year.

The following datasets have been provided:

1) Main dataset – this file includes responses from children and young people from school years 3 to 11, as well as responses from parents of children in years 1-2. The parents of children in years 1-2 provide behavioural answers about their child’s activity levels, they do not provide attitudinal information. Using this main dataset, full analyses can be carried out into sports and physical activity participation, levels of activity, volunteering (years 5 to 11), etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross.csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).

2) Year 1-2 dataset – this file include responses from children in school years 1-2 directly, providing their attitudinal responses (e.g. whether they like playing sport and find it easy). Analysis can be carried out into feelings towards swimming, enjoyment for being active, happiness etc. Weighting is required when using this dataset (wt_gross / wt_gross.csplan files are available for SPSS users who can utilise them).

3) Teacher dataset – this file includes response from the teachers at schools selected for the survey. Analysis can be carried out into school facilities available, length of PE lessons, whether swimming lessons are offered, etc. Weighting was formerly not available, however, as Sport England have started to publish the Teacher data, from December 2023 we decide to apply weighting to the data. The Teacher dataset now includes weighting by applying the ‘wt_teacher’ weighting variable.

For further information about the variables available for analysis, and the relevant school years asked survey questions, please see the supporting documentation. Please read the documentation before using the datasets. More general information about the study can be found on the Sport England Active Lives Survey webpages.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (January 2024), the Teacher dataset now includes a weighting variable (‘wt_teacher’). Previously, weighting was not available for these data.

Local authority level vaccine coverage estimates for the school-based meningococcal ACWY adolescent vaccination programme for 14 to 15 year olds.

Rationale The MenACWY vaccination was introduced into the national immunisation programme in autumn 2015 to respond to a rapid and accelerating increase in cases of invasive meningococcal group W (MenW) disease, which was declared a national incident. The MenACWY conjugate vaccine provides direct protection to the vaccinated cohort and, by reducing MenW carriage, will also provide indirect protection to unvaccinated children and adults. This follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). It is routinely offered through schools in academic school Years 9 and 10 (rising 14 and rising 15 year olds). The indicator measures local authority level MenACWY vaccine coverage for students at the end of school Yr 10. Vaccination coverage is the best indicator of the level of protection a population will have against vaccine preventable communicable diseases. Coverage is closely correlated with levels of disease. Monitoring coverage identifies possible drops in immunity before levels of disease rise. Previous evidence shows that highlighting vaccination programmes encourages improvements in uptake levels. May also have relevance for NICE guidance PH21: Reducing differences in the uptake of immunisations (The guidance aims to increase immunisation uptake among those aged under 19 years from groups where uptake is low).

Definition of numerator Total number of adolescents in LA responsible population whose 15th birthday falls within the time period who have ever received MenACWY vaccine.

Definition of denominator Total number of adolescents attending school in LA plus adolescents resident in the LA not linked to any school whose 15th birthday falls within the time period.

Caveats On 23 March 2020, all educational settings in England were advised to close by the UK Government as part of COVID-19 pandemic measures. Although the importance of maintaining good vaccine uptake was impressed, operational delivery of all school-aged immunisation programmes was paused for a short period of time as a consequence of school closures limiting access to venues for providers and children who were eligible for vaccination and to ensure that lockdown regulations were not breached.

The NHSEI central public health commissioning and operations team rapidly established an Immunisation Task and Finish Group, with regional NHSEI and UKHSA representation. The group was established to:

assess the impact of COVID-19 on all immunisation programmes, including school-aged programmes develop technical guidance and a plan for restoration and recovery of school-aged programmes, once education settings were reopened

From 1 June 2020, some schools partially reopened for some year groups for a mini summer term. NHSEI published clinical guidance for healthcare professionals on maintaining immunisation programmes during COVID-19, and the Department of Education published further guidance which led to schools allowing vaccination sessions to resume on site.

NHSEI commissioned, school-aged immunisation providers were able to implement their restoration and recovery plans to commence catch-up during the summer of 2020. This included delivery of programmes in school and community settings following a robust risk assessment and in line with UK Government Public Health COVID-19 guidance.

In September 2020, schools across the UK reopened for general in-person attendance. During the 2020 to 2021 academic year, students were required to stay at home and learn remotely if they tested positive for COVID-19 or if they were a contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case, and so school attendance rates in England were lower than normal, especially in areas with very high COVID-19 incidence rates. In England, as part of a wider national lockdown in January 2021, schools were closed to all except children of keyworkers and vulnerable children. From early March 2021, primary schools reopened, with a phased reopening of secondary schools.

Although this led to some disruption of school-based elements of programme delivery in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, NHSEI Regional Public Health Commissioning teams worked with NHSEI commissioned school-aged immunisation providers to maintain the delivery of the routine programme and catch-up. As the routine programme is commissioned for a school-aged cohort rather than a school-based cohort, providers were able to build on existing arrangements such as community-based clinics in place for children not in mainstream education. A wide variety of local arrangements were established to ensure programme delivery continued effectively and safely in the school and community premises, during the term time and school breaks.

The Social Distancing and Development Study (SDDS) aimed to examine how changes in sleep, parenting style, social interactions, screen use and activities affect young children’s language and cognitive development since the Spring 2020 UK lockdown. This longitudinal study followed a cohort of nearly 900 children aged 8 to 36 months of age, enrolled in an online study at the onset or during the Spring 2020 UK lockdown, to capture changes in their environment and measure their impact on children’s vocabulary size and executive function. Since Spring 2020, we have collected data at three additional timepoints: T2 – End of the Spring 2020 lockdown, T3 – November 2020 lockdown, and T4 – One-year follow-up.On 20th March 2020, the UK Government instigated a nationwide nursery and school closure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, followed by instructions for people to stay at home. For millions of children, this brought stark changes to their routines, with a decrease in outdoor activities and interactions with others. The environments children grow up in heavily influence key elements of cognitive development such as language and executive functions, which in turn associate with later educational and occupational attainment as well as health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime situation that has dramatically changed the daily lives of millions of families. Several environmental factors likely to be affected by quarantine measures (such as sleep, parenting style and social interactions, screen use, and outdoor activities/exercise) are known predictors of language and executive function development. The proposed study will follow up a UK-wide cohort of 600 children aged 8 to 36 months of age, enrolled in an online study at the onset of social distancing measures, to capture changes in key environmental variables and measure their impact on children's vocabulary size and executive function. Using sophisticated analyses on a large and diverse sample, we will examine the role of each factor on children's cognitive abilities. At this time of unforeseen and ongoing change, it is imperative to understand the impacts of the lockdown on cognition during a critical period for development (0 to 3 years of age), and then find strategies to minimise disruption to this cohort. Our findings will identify approaches that mitigate the temporary loss of formal early years' education, identify those groups most at risk of adverse consequences, and inform policy on how to remediate the negative impacts of lockdown post-COVID-19.

Over the five years through 2025-26, revenue is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 2.3% to £5 billion. The numerous benefits of online education and training (e.g. reduced learning and development costs, time savings and flexibility and promotion of continuous development) have spurred growth. Recognising its advantages, the government has implemented a series of measures to hasten the uptake of educational technology by investing in improving household internet connections across the UK. The rise in student numbers has supported demand for additional training courses for those looking to boost their grades. The COVID-19 pandemic hiked revenue during 2020-21, with the forced closure of schools and universities pushing many courses online. Many universities are now committed to ensuring lectures and course material are uploaded online, a legacy of the COVID-19 technological wave. Revenue is anticipated to grow by 2.6% over 2025-26, with growth picking up again after naturally slowing following the surge in demand during the pandemic and encouragement from many critics to return to face-to-face learning to improve the learning experience and re-connect classmates. Over the five years through 2030-31, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.6% to £6.2 billion. The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the adoption of online education and training, as lockdown periods normalised the use of technology and individuals have become accustomed to a new learning method. Unemployment rates are low, but a high number of vacancies remain, despite falling from COVID-19 highs, that aren't being met with the right skills, which is encouraging online learning and training. The number of UK 16- to 18-year-olds participating in full-time education is high, with record university applications that will boost online learning too. The growing skills gap will sustain demand as online platforms look to adapt to the changing job market and provide employees with the skills needed to secure work. The rise of free educational content through social media platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn will constrain future growth. The average profit margin is expected to expand to 18.4% in 2030-31.

COVID-19 and COVID-related decisions are having significant impacts on children and adults vulnerable to, and already experiencing, the crime of forced marriage. This mixed-methods project aimed to chart and understand this impact, inform evaluation of the UK's response to COVID-19, and shape on-going policy regarding the UK's pandemic response. This collection includes a timeline of key COVID-19 related events and government restrictions. This includes key data such as when COVID-19 (and variations) was discovered, and when significant case numbers were reached globally and in the UK. It also includes detail of when key forced marriage-related COVID-19 restrictions were brought in, and lifted, in 2020, and 2021, across the UK and also in each of the devolved jurisdictions. Plus processed data from this timeline, including visualisations.COVID-19 and COVID-related decisions are having significant impacts on children and adults vulnerable to, and already experiencing, the crime of forced marriage. Our mixed-methods project will chart and understand this impact, inform evaluation of the UK's response to COVID-19, and shape on-going policy regarding the UK's pandemic response. We consider the uneven economic and social impact of the pandemic, and the ethical dimensions of unequal impacts of COVID-related decision-making, on this vulnerable group, and seek to impact how civil society and the voluntary sector support vulnerable people. The government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) and the charity Karma Nirvana (KN) (which provides a national forced marriage helpline) have warned about the significant impact of the pandemic on forced marriage in the UK. We designed this project with both organisations, and will work with them to analyse quantitative and qualitative data about the impact of COVID-19 on those at risk of, or experiencing, forced marriage; and to record and analyse the challenges faced in the pandemic, evaluate the efficacy of mitigation strategies, and formulate new policies and practises for protection and response. Within the first 6 months, we will have co-created an accurate account of the economic and social impact of COVID-19 and COVID-related decision-making on victims of forced marriage, and the ethical implications of unequal impacts. We will then continue to chart the changing risk environment, while co-developing policy reports and recommendations for the UK government (including FMU), NGO practice responses (including KN), and other stakeholders, to improve the on-going response to COVID-19 and build community resilience. We collected information from public websites, including UK government website, official airline carrier websites (and their Twitter feeds), and news media. We were particularly interested in a pre-set set of criteria, including: regulations relating to national and local “lockdowns” (or “stay at home” orders), restrictions on gatherings, school closures, restrictions relating to weddings, closures or access to places of religion, travel and shielding. In addition, we looked for any key dates or statistics for the pandemic at a global scale, and international travel restrictions relating to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan (because these are countries which regularly feature as "focus countries" in Forced Marriage Unit Data. We took a chronological approach, starting with UK-wide and global events, then focusing on England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other countries. We made visulisations of data on regional and local lockdowns in 2020 using tableau, and also used the data collected to count how many days regions in England were under different Covid-19 restrictions relevant to vulnerability to forced marriage.

Over the five years through 2024-25, the Universities industry's revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.1% to £56.5 billion. The increase in tuition fees to £9,250 in 2017-18 has been an important driver of revenue growth. However, with tuition fees frozen since then, inflation and particularly high inflation in the two years through 2023-24 has meant their real value has plummeted. The cap on undergraduate student numbers in the UK was lifted in 2020-21, leading to a rise in student enrolments, which has helped prop up universities’ income. Universities have struggled in the face of cuts to the level of research funding received from the government and disruption caused by the pandemic. Teaching went online in the final term of 2019-20 and remained there for most of the 2020-21 academic year due to restrictions imposed following the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing down revenue. However, despite fears of a fall in demand, student applications for 2020-21 rose and continued to climb in the following year. Universities are benefiting from the UK rejoining Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research programme – they’ve been able to access funding since January 2024. However, there are big concerns over ailing international student numbers since they currently prop up univeristy finances and help to subsidise domestic students' places. The introduction of the dependant ban in January 2024 on overseas students bringing family with them on their student visa for taught masters has seen applications from several countries fall. Revenue is still set to grow 1.9% in 2024-25 as funding levels rise and student numbers remain high. From April 2025, the DfE has confirmed tuition fees are due to increase in line with inflation to £9,535, which should lift revenue for universities. Over the five years through 2029-30, university revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 1.2% to reach £60 billion. Strong demand from domestic students will further support revenue growth, with rising tuition fees boosting revenue post 2025. Commitment to the graduate visa route could be a positive signal for international student applicants, but the industry will need more funding intervention to prevent closures and budget cuts.

SN 9007 - Young Lives: Head Teacher Telephone Survey, Ethiopia and India, 2020
In 2020, a follow-up survey of head teachers was conducted to understand how the COVID-19 situation affected schools in Ethiopia and India. The survey investigated how schools provided support to children and families while schools remained closed, the effects of this on children's learning, and their plans for reopening.

The survey was conducted by Policy Studies Institute (PSI) in Ethiopia, Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) in India and the University of Oxford. Both PSI and CESS obtained permission from the government for this survey to be conducted with head teachers. The research was done in collaboration with the REAL Centre, who were also carrying out surveys of head teachers (and teachers) during the school closures.

For many parents, child day-care centres are necessary, whether they need to use an after-school club to work longer hours, put their kids in care during holiday periods, or occasionally need help. From April 2024, parents of two-year-olds have been able to access 15 hours of childcare support, marking the beginning of the government’s awaited expansion of free childcare hours. As of September 2024, parents of children over nine months old can access 15 hours of free childcare. Children of eligible working parents over nine months will have 30 free hours of childcare a week by September 2025. However, centres have cast doubt on the feasibility of expanding free childcare hours as they struggle to grapple with costs (like rising minimum wages) and problems with retaining and recruiting staff. Over the five years through 2024-25, revenue is slated to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.3% to £5.9 billion. Forced closures, remote working and fear among parents regarding COVID-19 infection rates in childcare settings stifled requests for places over the two years through 2021-22. Since then, demand has bounced back, climbing up to pre-pandemic levels by 2022-23. While more parents having jobs is spurring demand, flexible at-home working has given parents more freedom, holding demand back slightly. Still, as child day-care centres continue to up prices to cover costs not alleviated by government funding, revenue is anticipated to grow by 2.9% in 2024-25. Revenue is expected to climb at a compound annual rate of 2.3% over the five years through 2029-30 to £6.6 billion. Expanding free childcare hours through September 2025 will heighten demand for day-care centre places. Government commitments to invest in wraparound childcare for school-aged children will give after-school clubs more support and drive revenue growth. As companies encourage employees to come into the office more, parents will have to seek more childcare options. Government funding for breakfast clubs at schools may cause revenue from before-school child care to dip in the short term. However, this creates opportunities for companies to form partnerships with schools to find a mutually beneficial solution to before-school childcare.

The Obesity Profile (previously named NCMP and Child Obesity Profile) displays data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) showing the prevalence of obesity, severe obesity, overweight, healthy weight and underweight at local authority (LA), regional and national level over time; for children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years).

Users can compare LA data by region or between ‘The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) nearest neighbours’ (LAs with similar characteristics).

The tool also presents inequalities in child obesity prevalence by sex, deprivation quintile and ethnic group by local authority. The profile also includes child obesity slope index of inequality (SII) for each of the 9 English regions and England.

School closures, in March 2020, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic meant that in 2019 to 2020 the number of children measured was around 75% of previous years. Analysis by NHS Digital shows that national and regional level data is reliable and comparable to previous years. The data at local authority level and below is not as robust, as a result a small number of areas do not have published data for 2019 to 2020 and data for some areas have a reliability flag indicating that figures need to be interpreted with caution. Further information is available in the Obesity Profile and in the https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2019-20-school-year" class="govuk-link">NHS Digital 2019 to 2020 annual report .

The NCMP small area data domain displays trend data on the prevalence of excess weight (overweight including obesity) and obesity for Middle Super Output Areas (MSOAs), Electoral Wards, and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) with comparator data for local authorities and England.

To produce as robust an indicator as possible at small area level, the prevalence estimates use three years of NCMP data combined; the latest data is presented for 2017 to 2018 up to 2019 to 2020 combined. In the three-year grouped NCMP data for small areas we would expect around 33% of data from each contributing year. Values for areas where less than 20% of data is from 2019 to 2020 is flagged in the Obesity Profile. The percentage contribution of 2019 to 2020 data to the three-year data for each geographic area is available on the https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2019-20-school-year" class="govuk-link">NHS Digital website. The obesity, and excess weight prevalence indicators at small area level for 2017 to 2018 up to 2019 to 2020 are still considered to be reliable even with a small amount of data from 2019 to 2020.

A new domain (Adult prevalence data) has been added to this profile to display indicators on adult excess weight and obesity in early pregnancy. More indicators for other adult BMI categories will be added in 2021.