West Northamptonshire sees increase in child development checks
Key early years development checks has increased from 54% to 80% in less than three years
Uptake of health and development reviews for two to two-and-a-half-year-olds in West Northamptonshire has reached its highest level in five years, according to the council.
The reviews, which assess a toddler's physical growth, speech and social development, are a key part of early years support and offer parents advice on areas including behaviour, sleep and dental health.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said 80% of eligible children received a review in March 2026, up from 54% in 2023/24 when services were dealing with a backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The increase follows joint work between the council and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) to improve access to appointments.
Changes included introducing a new booking system designed to make it easier for families to arrange reviews and offering more choice over appointment times and locations.
Councillor Laura Couse, WNC's cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said reaching the target ahead of schedule was a "fantastic achievement".
"It means more children are getting the support they need at a key stage in their development," she said.
The reviews form part of the council's Best Start in Life Plan, which aims to improve early years development and help more children reach a good level of development by the time they start school.
Louisa Russell, assistant director for integrated children's services at NHFT and WNC, said flexibility had been an important part of the improvement programme.
"We recognise family life can be busy, therefore offering more flexible appointments was an important part of our improvement plan," she said.
She added that closer working with Family Hubs had also helped, allowing families to access several services in the same place, including child development reviews.
The council said work would continue to ensure the improvements are maintained.