Child well being in the UK has improved over the last 20 years according to most indicators. This is the finding of a leading academic who has just published a seminal study.

Jonathan Bradshaw, launching the third edition of The Well-being of Children in the UK at the International Society for Child Indicators in York, said that the improvements had largely been made during Labour’s term of office.

Bradshaw, professor of social policy at York University, who is author of an influential UNICEF report comparing the well-being of children across nations, said that of 48 indicators of child well-being, covering material and economic well-being, physical and mental health, education, housing, maltreatment, 36 show improvement. For example, child poverty has been reduced, but change fell well short of targets. The general health and diet of children has improved, as has educational performance, and smoking and illicit substance use has reduced.

However, Bradshaw argues that this general picture of improvement should not be a cause for celebration. Compared with other countries children in the UK are not doing well. In an index of 42 comparable indicators the UK was in the bottom third of rich countries on 19 and in the top third on only eight items.

Four indicators, where results are poor, are, worryingly, immunization, where rates have dropped, while there are increases in diabetes, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases. For the remaining eight indicators no discernible trends were observed.

Despite the improvements, the conclusion from international comparisons is that UK children are still not doing as well as they could or should be.

Bradshaw, whose book covers the years 1997 to 2010, said: “While children in the UK do comparatively well on a few indicators, such as rates of accidental death, enjoyment of school and housing, we are not good on infant mortality and low birth weight. We do comparatively badly on most health behaviors - obesity, diet, smoking, drinking and misuse of drugs. Child poverty rates are relatively high and we are middling on life satisfaction and educational achievement”.

The ISCI conference brings together leading authorities on indicators of child well-being across the globe to discuss both advances in the measurement of children’s health and development, and how this data may be used to influence policy and practice.

The UK has a wealth of indicators on child well-being that are routinely and consistently collected over time from a variety of sources. Repeated national surveys such as the British Household Panel Survey and the Health Survey for England, coupled with a variety of administrative data sources from government departments, comprise the data underpinning the indices of child well-being presented Bradshaw’s book.

• Prevention Action will continue to report over the next two days highlights from the 2011 ISCI conference.

References:

Bradshaw, J. (Ed) (2011). The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press, Bristol, UK.

This third edition of The Well-being of Children in the UK is available from 29 August from Policy Press: http://www.policypress.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9781847428363&