To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW40506/22-27 whether any assessment has been made on (i) the number of missed 3+ year reviews; (ii) the level of data on late reviews; and (iii) the information his Department have on the impact of missed reviews.

The 3+ year review is not part of the current core Healthy Child, Healthy Future (HCHF) dataset submitted by Health and Social Care Trusts (HSCTs). As a result, HSCTs do not routinely report performance on 3+ reviews, and no regional analysis is undertaken on completion, lateness, or impact. This limits the level of assessment, noted below, that can be made across points (i)–(iii).

All HSCTs report that noncompletion of 3+ year reviews can occur for reasons such as parental refusal, absence, movement between preschool settings, or questionnaire returned without attendance. HSCTs have also highlighted a range of mitigations to limit the impact of noncompletion, including making repeated attempts to complete the review, undertaking followup by the named Health Visitor before transfer to the School Nursing service, and ensuring families continue to have access to the universal Health Visiting service should any concerns arise.

Data on late 3+ year reviews is limited. The 3+ review may be completed at any point during the preschool year, meaning children may be aged either three or four depending on school entry eligibility. This wider timeframe makes it difficult to define lateness on a consistent regional basis. Only the Northern HSCT records late reviews; all other HSCTs report that this information is not held.

No HSCT holds specific data on the impact of missed 3+ year reviews, as this review is not currently included in the core dataset submitted through the HCHF reporting process.

The 3+ review is an important contact as it is the final formal Health Visiting review before a child enters school and provides an opportunity to identify any emerging needs. The refreshed HCHF framework, once implemented, will strengthen data capture and reporting by mandating standardised collection of 3+ review data across all HSCTs and enabling greater flexibility as to where the review can be completed to help reduce missed contacts.