Unfavourable toddler development stats were wrong admit NHS trust

FIGURES showing that Rochdale is bottom of the league for toddler development are not correct, according to an NHS trust.

The most recent Public Health England (PHE) statistics showed Rochdale tots lagging well behind their peers nationally, with just 26 per cent of those assessed by health visitors around their second birthday at the expected levels in five key areas.

The figures – covering July to October last year – compared unfavourably to an England average of 84pc and a north west region average of 86pc.

But Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provides health visiting services in Rochdale, says the information it provided to PHE was not accurate.

A spokesman said: “Due to a new data system being developed at that time, the data submitted to Public Health England was not correct. The system is being refined and improved and we are confident that future data will be accurate. Our health visitors remain absolutely committed to providing the best support to families, so that every child can reach their full potential.”

Since 2015 every child in England has been eligible for a development review around their second birthday under the Healthy Child Programme.

Carried out by health visitors, the reviews focus on five indicators of early childhood development – communication, gross motor skills, problem solving skills and personal-social skills.

The best performing Greater Manchester borough was Tameside, where 95 pc of toddlers achieved the benchmark.

A Public Health England spokesman said the assessments ‘provide an objective measure of development and allow comparisons to be made helping to identify children who are not developing as expected and support decisions on closer monitoring of progress or targeting of services.’