More than a quarter of toddlers in Milton Keynes failing to meet key development targets
More than a quarter of toddlers in Milton Keynes failed to meet key development targets according to figures from a leading children’s charity.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities say data shows that 71 per cent of children aged between two and two-and-a-half in the city reached the expected standard when assessed across five key development areas.
This was below 2019-2020, the last data before the coronavirus pandemic, which showed that 81 per cent of toddlers met the expected standard across all areas.
Nationally, the proportion of young children developing as expected remained below pre-pandemic levels at 80 per cent.
Vicky Nevin, policy manager at the NSPCC, said many children remained overlooked.
"It is vital that parents can access trusted advice and support from professionals during this time," she said.
"However, too often maternity, health visiting and family hubs services are under-resourced and hard to reach for families.
"We need to ensure that children and families across the nation can access quality support - avoiding a postcode lottery.
"We hope to see ambitious commitments on this in the upcoming Government spending review and the 10-year health plan."
Nevin has called on the Government to address a shortage of 2,500 midwives and 5,000 health visitors.
The figures showed regional inequality across the country, with Ealing in London seeing the worst development rate at 23 per cent, while Wokingham in the south east of England saw the highest development rate of 95 per cent.
Elsewhere, children in Yorkshire and the Humber outperformed their peers in London, with a development rate of 86 per cent compared to 75 per cent in the two areas.