Health and Development Reviews

Health Visitors offer services to families within our children’s centres, family hubs and local health centres to provide services to families in locations close to their home. After attending antenatal classes and being seen at home by midwives, there will be a new birth visit by the health visitor and parents will receive information and support for their new babies. Parents will also be invited to Child Health Clinics to regularly weigh babies and ensure that they are healthy and well.

We strongly encourage you to attend these to ensure the best start to your young child’s life.

A Health and Development Review is an opportunity to:

• assess the health and development of the child within the context of his or her home environment and family circumstances

• ensure that families are linked in with the right services and support

• identify and address issues the parent or carer may have regarding the child’s health

As part of the review, an experienced member of the Health Visiting Service works with parents to complete an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) about their child’s development. The questionnaire is a holistic and comprehensive assessment of your child’s developmental achievements across five key domains:

1. Gross Motor (i.e. larger movements of arms, legs, feet etc.)
2. Fine Motor (i.e. smaller movements needed to use pencils, scissors, play with blocks etc.)
3. Personal/Social
4. Communication
5. Problem Solving

Two to two and a half years of age is a crucial stage when problems such as speech and language delay, tooth decay or behavioural issues can be identified. Support from the Health Visiting Service working collaboratively with you can    provide help early and support you before problems develop.

Good quality, evidence-based early identification through developmental reviews, and Health Visitor facilitation of early intervention/support is key for improving outcomes and nursery readiness.

You should have received an appointment for a two-year review by post. If you are unsure, and want health visiting advice, please feel free to contact us:

By phone: 0208 200 2500 option 2 

By email: [email protected]