National Childhood Measurement Programme
Height and weight checks of reception and year 6 children as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)
Across England, over 99% (approximately 17,000) of eligible schools take part in the NCMP each year. This provides valuable information which is used to plan for and invest in key services to ensure all children have the opportunity to be healthy. The programme also engages with parents by sharing their child’s measurements with them and promoting healthy lifestyle advice and support.
The programme is delivered by Solent NHS Trust School Nursing Service and involves measuring the height and weight of all reception and year 6 children. In Year R, children’s vision and hearing will also be checked.
Support from schools
The School Nursing Service is very appreciative of the part that schools play in making the visits a success.
If the visit to a school is scheduled to go ahead over the coming months, the School Nursing Service requests the co-operation of each school to make the visit run as smoothly as possible. This can happen by making sure the following provisions are put in place:
- Providing a quiet room which will be available for the whole visit without interruption, where the children’s measurements can be taken privately and confidentially, which is large enough for the measurements to be carried out safely
- Providing class lists for all children in reception and year 6, including any new starters
- Identifying any children who are unable to participate because they are unable to stand unaided, have a disability, medical condition or other reason for not being able to participate
- Collating names of any children who have been withdrawn from the programme by their parent
- Arranging for staff to help bring children to and from the measurement area
- All children should be included in NCMP as appropriate. However, there are special considerations for some children who are measured including children who may have a condition affecting their growth, see NCMP guidance for more information National Child Measurement Programme: operational guidance 2024 - GOV.UK
- Sending pre-measurement letters to parents electronically to inform them about the programme and how they can withdraw their child from being measured - this ensures the information provided to parents about processing their children’s height and weight data meets data protection requirements.
Further information for schools
Further information about the programme is available in the 'NCMP information for schools 2024' in the National Child Measurement Programme: operational guidance.
You can find NHS England's statistical reports from the NCMP at their National Child Measurement Programme report page.
If schools have any queries, please contact Public Health.
If parents have any questions, please contact Solent NHS Trust School Nursing Service on 0300 123 6661.
Healthy High 5 Award
Whilst thinking about the health and wellbeing of our school pupils, taking part in the Healthy High 5 Award is a great way to make it easier for schools to provide healthy and fun activities for all pupils to improve their wellbeing. The award has five achievable elements (stars) designed to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of all Southampton school pupils.
To find out more about the award and how schools can get involved, please take a look at the Healthy High 5 Award.
