CYP Now - Councils prepare for integrated education and health reviews

Bringing together the health and early development reviews for two-year-olds could smooth the assessment process for parents, but experts fear a lack of resources and services will result in little impact on children's outcomes.

From September 2015, local authorities will be expected to deliver integrated health and early years reviews for two-year-olds.

The move, announced by health minister Dan Poulter and childcare minister Sam Gyimah last month, will bring together the Early Years Foundation Stage progress review with the Healthy Child Programme check for children aged 24- to 30-months-old.

The Department of Health (DH) and Department for Education hope the move will enable local authorities to develop more joined up ways of reviewing children's progress so that parents get a more complete picture.

However, the integrated reviews will not be a statutory requirement, and some experts are sceptical that even in areas where it is implemented, it will not have much of an impact on outcomes because of a lack of resources to deliver it.

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