Advice and resources : The Healthy Child Programme

Overview

The Healthy Child Programme is a national programme offering every family an evidence-based intervention programme consists of screening, immunisation information, support and advice.

We measure the height and weight of children in reception and year 6 as part of the National Childhood Measurement Programme (NCMP). After the screenings and measurements are completed, you will receive a copy of the results. If your child’s measurements fall outside of the healthy weight range, you will be sent a letter to your home address with further advice and information.

We check the hearing of children in reception (hearing screening) at schools in Bracknell and West Berkshire. Children in Reading and Wokingham schools will not routinely be screened but this will be offered if concerns are raised about hearing in the health questionnaire

We check the sight of children in reception (vision screening) at schools in Bracknell. For children at schools in Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire, this check is done by orthoptist teams from the Royal Berkshire Hospital

We review all completed health questionnaires from parents/carers for all children in reception

We provide confidential health advice and support to children and young people of school-age and their families on a range of health-related topics, including:

• Long term medical conditions such as asthma, epilepsy and acute allergy
• Bed wetting (enuresis) which includes advice on toilet training and the use of nappies, drinking patterns, bed wetting alarms and medical therapies.
• Behavioural or emotional difficulties 

We work with other health services to get children and young people with non-complex needs or disabilities the specialist services they need

We offer support and advice to families regardless of the child’s age on weight management and healthy lifestyles.

We work closely with children and young people who have been identified as needing to be safeguarded or “looked after” by the local authority

We keep school staff up to date on common medical conditions such as asthma and epilepsy

Where needed, we can refer a child or young person to other services such as GP’s, speech and language therapy, audiology, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) dieticians, talking therapies, paediatricians (through their GP), children’s social care and voluntary services.

We play an active role in keeping children safe in accordance with the government policy “Working Together to Safeguard Children (March 2015).

Health visiting contacts

Our health visiting teams continue to offer the Healthy Child Programme through virtual or face to face contacts or at appointment only clinics.

When you move into a new area, this contact will be offered to families meeting our specific criteria.

We offer the following contact:

Antenatal contact

This first contact will either be a face-to-face group session, or access to our online presentation, depending on the locality you live in. You may need to meet your health visitor at home before your baby arrives; this will be arranged by consultation with your midwife and your health visitor. We will contact you in plenty of time to offer either an appointment, bookable group session or access to our presentation. We will discuss topics such as parental health and wellbeing, infant feeding choices, transition to parenthood, safety and safe sleeping and how parents can help baby's early development. 

You can also find information on our antenatal page along with lots of information and advice helping you to prepare for your baby's arrival. 

• Antenatal advice

New birth contact (Day 10-14 after your baby is born)

This first contact to home, lasting around 1-1½ hours, is made by your health visitor after your baby is born. The health visitor will provide advice and support in the early days, checking on the health and wellbeing of both the parents and the baby, providing support with feeding, making sure your baby is gaining weight appropriately, and discussing safe sleeping and safety in and outside the home. We will also talk with you about early bonding with your baby, encouraging responsive parenting and discuss the childhood immunisation schedule so that you have all the information you need. At this point you may have lots of questions and that is absolutely fine - our visit will be tailored to your needs so that you feel reassured. It may help to write any questions down ahead of time!

6-8-week postnatal contact

Our contact between 6-8 weeks is normally conducted in clinic settings, although on some occasions it may be a home contact. Our practitioners will look at your baby's health and development, making sure your baby is gaining weight appropriately, feeding well and supporting you if there are any issues. We also discuss parental mental health, specifically thinking about postnatal depression. We will be able to signpost you to support and activities within your local area, so you are able to get out and about in your community with your baby.

9-12-month developmental review

This contact will look at development, growth and immunisation status. We will send you an appointment date , along with a development questionnaire for you to complete. Please keep this safe and spend time looking through. Answer the questions just before your appointment date as little ones develop so quickly! We will talk with you about safety in and outside of the home, now your baby is on the move as well as nutrition and dental health. You may have questions around routines, sleep, returning to work and solid foods. This developmental review appointment is a great time to cover all of these questions.

2-2½ year developmental review

This age and stage of your child's life is a key time to think about onward developmental and readiness for early years settings or even school. It's a time where specific behaviour, or speech and language issues may be more evident in children. Our developmental review will give you the opportunity to discuss how your child is progressing in meeting the milestones. Again, we will send you an appointment date to attend one of our clinic sessions alongside the questionnaire. Please keep this safe and spend time looking through, answering the questions just before your appointment date. If there are any developmental issues identified, we can support with early planning, referral or signposting in good time to support the transition into education.