Change to the National Child Measurement Programme, 2023/24 school year publication

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is a key element of the Government’s approach to tackling childhood obesity by annually measuring over one million children in reception (aged 4–5 years) and year 6 (aged 10–11 years). The NCMP provides reliable data on Body Mass Index (BMI) category prevalence (underweight, healthy weight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity). Data is collected primarily in mainstream state-maintained schools.

The NCMP national report produced by NHS England includes breakdowns of BMI classification by child age and sex, ethnicity and at various geography levels.

Previous NCMP national reports included analysis by urban/rural classification of the postcode of the child, and the postcode of their school. This used the 2001 Rural and Urban Classification produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in consultation with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Countryside Agency.

For the 2023/24 school year, analysis by urban/rural classification will not be included in the NCMP national report or tables. This is due to changes to the postcode mapping file used in processing the NCMP data to produce the report.

To minimise the impact on data users, the table numbers used for 2022/23 will be maintained, and the tables file will state that Tables 5a and 5b for each school year are intentionally blank.

The National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2023/24 School Year report, due to be published on 5 November 2024, will be affected by this change.

Questions and feedback on the publication are welcomed and should be sent to [email protected] or alternatively call 0300 303 5678