If you are happy for your child to be included in the Child Measurement Programme, you don’t need to do anything. If you do not want your child to take part, you need to let your school nurse know as soon as possible. You can also request that your child is weighed and measured but that the results are not used as part of the Child Measurement Programme.
The School Nursing Team will measure your child’s class during the school year. To respect privacy, children will be measured in the quietest available area of the school. Your child will be asked to remove heavy clothes such as sweatshirts and shoes. Your child will stand on the scales to be weighed, and have their height measured.
Your child’s information is confidential and will be part of your child’s health record. A letter from the school nurse will explain how you can see your child’s results.
At the end of the school year, the height and weight results are sent to the Public Health Wales Observatory who will analyse the data and look for trends at a local level, at a health board level and nationally to learn how children are growing.
The data is sent in such a way that your child cannot be identified by the staff who receive the information and are responsible for analysing it.
Anonymised data is also supplied to the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank and may also be used by other researchers. When this happens safeguards are in place to prevent children and schools being identified.
Parents frequently asked questions
What will happen?
1. If you are happy for your child to be included in the Child Measurement Programme, you don’t need to do anything. The School Nursing Team will measure your child’s class during the school year.
2. To respect privacy, children will be measured in the quietest available area of the school.
3. Your child will be asked to remove heavy clothes such as sweatshirts and shoes.
4. Your child will stand on the scales to be weighed, and have their height measured.
Are children already measured when they start school?
Yes they are, the school nursing service routinely measures children’s height and weight as part of the ‘school entry health check’ that is routinely completed sometime within the first two years at school, but until the introduction of the Child Measurement Programme, this was done in different ways and at slightly different age groups.
The Child Measurement Programme ensures that the way children are weighed and measured is the same across Wales.
The data collected will be used to compare how Welsh children are growing against the rest of the UK and other parts of Europe. It will also allow us to understand how children’s weight changes in early school years.
May I see my child’s results?
Yes but the systems vary across Wales. You will receive a letter from the school nurse that explains how you can see the results if you wish.
If you already know your child’s height and weight and want to know if they’re a healthy weight for their age, height and sex, you can check using a healthy weight calculator . Your whole family can use the calculator.
Anyone who is concerned that their child might be underweight or overweight should speak to their GP, school nurse or health visitor. They will be able to offer advice and support.
Will everyone know my child’s height and weight?
No. Your child’s information is confidential and will be part of your child’s health record.
The results are written on a form and later entered onto the local electronic child health system. This is the clinical system that is used by school nurses, health visitors and other community based clinical staff to keep a record of important information such as the results of development checks, some tests and routine childhood.
Only health professionals caring for your child will see information that identifies your child; these professionals will use it as part of normal clinical care. Information that identifies your child will not be shared with anyone else. It is never shared with school staff.
How are my child’s results used?
At the end of the school year, the height and weight results are sent to the Public Health Wales Observatory who will analyse the data and look for trends at a local level, at a health board level and nationally to learn how children are growing. The data will be used in a way in which your child cannot be identified.
Height and weight results are first used to calculate Body Mass Index Centile (BMI Centile). The BMI Centiles are then grouped together by the Public Health Wales Observatory and used to compare how children are growing in different parts of Wales.
Does my child have to take part?
The Child Measurement Programme is an opt-out programme so you can choose for your child not to take part. The use of opt out approach means that if you are happy for your child to be weighed and measured and the results used for the Child Measurement Programme you need not reply. If you want to withdraw your child from the programme you need to let your school nurse know.
Every child measured is contributing to the national and regional picture about how children are growing. The more children that take part, the clearer the picture will be. If you wish to discuss whether or not to take part, please contact your school nurse.
If I do not want my child’s results to be used for the Child Measurement Programme, can my child still be weighed by the school nurse?
Yes, if you contact the school nurse you can arrange for your child’s results not to be used.
Should I share these results with my child?
The decision about whether to talk to your child about the results is entirely yours. Some parents or carers like to discuss the result with their child and then decide together whether to make any changes to the family’s diet or activity levels, while others decide to make subtle changes without telling them. There is no right or wrong answer and your decision depends on your family and your child.
Leaflets for parents/carers
A leaflet, which is available in eight languages, has been produced for parents and carers which can help them talk through the Child Measurement Programme with their children and other family members. The information is also available in an easy read version for parents with learning difficulties or who have other difficulty reading.
