Report highlights health and education outcomes for children

Research published today by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister reveals that poverty here has a real and negative impact on children’s outcomes at the age of five.

The research examined child outcomes analysing data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a study following around 19,000 children born in the UK in 2000/01 of which around 1,800 were from Northern Ireland.

The report, ‘The consequences of childhood disadvantage in Northern Ireland at age 5’ was produced by a research team at the Institute of Education in London. It shows that income poverty is associated with poorer cognitive, educational, and behavioural child development. In addition, both general health and the incidence of overweight amongst young children are worse amongst families experiencing poverty.

The negative impact of poverty on child development here is similar to that seen throughout the UK. However, young children in Northern Ireland fare on average better than those in Great Britain in terms of their cognitive scores, educational assessments, behavioural assessments and general health. These differences are largely driven by poorer outcomes in GB and in England in particular. As the report authors indicate, although England is more affluent than Northern Ireland, it is also a highly urbanised, diverse and unequal society.

Children at age five in Northern Ireland are however, more likely to be overweight than those in GB and, whilst not solely related to poverty, the relationship of poverty to the incidence of overweight young children is stronger here than in GB.

The findings of the research also included:

• Poverty is linked to all the outcomes measured at age five however cognitive and educational outcomes are those outcomes most strongly predicted by poverty.
• Parental education and to a lesser extent social class are powerful predictors of cognitive and educational outcomes. Differences in parenting practices only partially account for the differences in cognitive and educational outcomes and do not, on their own, fully explain the effects of social disadvantage on child outcomes.
• Low birth weights predict worse educational, cognitive, behavioural and general health outcomes but high birth weights also predict being overweight at age five.
• Girls are more likely to be overweight than boys at age five however girls fare better than boys in terms of general health, cognitive scores, educational assessment, and behavioural difficulties.
• Being an older mother is generally linked to positive educational, cognitive and behavioural outcomes for their children, but being an older mother is not linked to children’s general health or incidence of overweight.
• Having older brothers and sisters has a strongly negative impact for the child’s cognitive and educational outcomes but a positive impact in relation to the incidence of behavioural difficulties and a positive effect for the child’s general health. In the case of the incidence of overweight amongst five year olds, the presence of both older and younger brothers and sisters exerts a positive impact.
• Parental longstanding illness and parental mental distress were linked to all of the outcomes measured with the exception of overweight. The parent’s Body Mass Index was the most powerful predictor of the child’s Body Mass Index. Parental smoking was also linked to a child being overweight and the mother’s Body Mass Index was also linked to children’s educational and behavioural difficulties scores.
• Good parenting practices, such as regularity, and a strong home learning environment predicted positive cognitive, educational and behavioural outcomes. The extent of the father’s involvement in child care was related to better cognitive and educational outcomes.

Notes to editors:

1. The report, ‘The consequences of childhood disadvantage in Northern Ireland at age 5’ was produced by a research team from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the Institute of Education in London.
2. The report examines child outcomes at the age of five analysing data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a study tracking a cohort of around 19,000 children born in the UK in 2000/01 of which around 1,800 were from NI. The longitudinal design of the study allows child development to be examined over time and to enable an assessment of outcomes at a given age in light of the circumstances and characteristics which precede them.
3. The report is available on the OFMDFM website
4. Media enquiries to OFMDFM Press Office on 028 9037 8142. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Office via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.