Skip to main content

Publication, Part of

National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2022/23 School Year

Official statistics, National statistics, Accredited official statistics

Accredited official statistics logo.

Part 5: Deprivation (based on postcode of the school)

For NCMP, we provide deprivation data based on both where the child lives and where the child attends school. Deprivation based on where the child lives is more accurate since sometimes children attend schools in areas with different relative deprivation compared to where they live. Part 4 of the report uses the deprivation decile of the child postcode as the main analysis of the current year, and changes since 2013/14.

Part 5 uses the deprivation decile of the school and gives time series from 2006/07. The NCMP data collection was most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020/21 see  Data Quality Statement Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the NCMP. The 2019/20 NCMP collection was incomplete as no measurements were taken after March 2020, when schools were closed as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data quality work on the 2019/20 data indicated that the deprivation data presented in the gap analyses is comparable with earlier years and suitable to use as a pre-Covid-19 pandemic reference point.

The deprivation gap is defined as the difference in the prevalence figures between those children in the most deprived decile and least deprived decile.

How has deprivation been defined?

Deprivation for 2022/23 data has been defined using the English Indices of Deprivation 2019, commonly known as the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). For previous collection years, the IMD that was current at the end of the collection year has been used.

IMD is the official measure of relative deprivation for Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England and ranks every LSOA in England from 1 (most deprived area) to 32,844 (least deprived area). Deprivation deciles are calculated by ranking the 32,844 neighbourhoods in England from most deprived to least deprived and dividing them into 10 equal groups. These range from the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods nationally to the least deprived 10% of neighbourhoods nationally.

For further information see: English indices of deprivation 2019


Reception – deprivation gap for obesity

Among reception children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased from 12.2% in 2006/07 to 19.7% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased to 12.2% in 2022/23, which is lower than 13.0% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).

Among reception children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased from 7.7% in 2006/07 to 9.1% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased to 6.3% in 2022/23, which is lower than 2019/20 (6.7%, pre-pandemic). 

Over time, between 2006/07 and 2018/19, the deprivation gap for reception children attending schools in the most and least deprived areas increased, due to the prevalence of obesity increasing in the most deprived areas and reducing the least deprived areas. In 2022/23 the deprivation gap is 5.9 percentage points, closer than in recent years.

 

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity among girls increased from 11.3% in 2006/07 to 11.9% in 2022/23. The prevalence of obesity among boys decreased from 13.0% in 2006/07 to 12.4% in 2022/23.

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity decreased among girls from 7.0% in 2006/07 to 5.9% in 2022/23 and decreased for boys from 8.3% in 2006/07 to 6.6% in 2022/23.

Overall, the increase in the deprivation gap over time was similar for boys and girls. 

 

Reception - deprivation gap for severe obesity

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 3.6% in 2006/07 to 7.4% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased to 3.8% in 2022/23, which is similar to 2019/20 when it was 3.9% (pre-pandemic).

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased from 1.5% in 2006/07 to 2.2% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased to 1.3% in 2022/23, which is similar to 2019/20 when it was 1.3% (pre-pandemic).

Between 2006/07 and 2019/20, the deprivation gap for children attending schools in the most and least deprived areas increased from 2.1 percentage points to 2.6 percentage points. It then increased in 2020/21 and fell in 2022/23 to 2.5 percentage points - a level more similar to earlier years.

 

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of severe obesity among boys increased from 4.0% in 2006/07 to 8.1% in 2020/21, the year most affected by Covid-19 pandemic. This then decreased to 4.0% in 2022/23 which is similar to 4.0% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). The prevalence of severe obesity among girls increased from 3.2% in 2006/07 to 6.6% in 2020/21, the main year of Covid-19 pandemic. This then decreased to 3.6% in 2022/23, which is similar to 3.8% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). 

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of severe obesity among boys increased from 1.7% in 2006/07 to 2.6% in 2020/21, the year most affected by Covid-19 pandemic. This then decreased to 1.4% in 2022/23 which is similar to 1.3% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). The prevalence of severe obesity among girls increased from 1.2% in 2006/07 to 1.8% in 2020/21, the main year of Covid-19 pandemic. This then decreased to 1.2% in 2022/23, which is similar to 1.3% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).  

The deprivation gap in 2022/23 was similar for boys and girls.

 

 

Year 6 – deprivation gap for obesity

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased from 21.5% in 2006/07 to 32.1% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased to 29.9% in 2022/23, but is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic) when it was 27.2%.

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.0% in 2006/07 to 15.5% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This was similar in 2022/23 (15.1%), and still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic) when it was 13.9%.

Over time, the deprivation gap for children attending schools in the most and least deprived areas, increased by 6.3 percentage points from 8.5 percentage points in 2006/07 to 14.8 percentage points in 2022/23, as the prevalence of obesity increased more in the most deprived areas.

 

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased among girls from 20.1% in 2006/07 to 27.9% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased in 2022/23 to 26.7%, however it is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). For boys, the prevalence of obesity increased from 22.9% in 2006/07 to 36.0% in 2020/21, the main year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased in 2022/23 to 33.0%, and this is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of obesity increased in girls from 11.1% in 2006/07 to 13.2% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It remained similar in 2022/23 at 12.8%, which is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). For boys, the prevalence of obesity increased from 14.7% in 2006/07 to 17.6% in 2020/21, the main year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This remained similar in 2022/23 at 17.2%, but is still higher than 15.9% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).

Overall, the deprivation gap over time increased more for boys than girls. 

 

Year 6 - deprivation gap for severe obesity

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.8% in 2006/07 to 9.5% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This decreased in 2022/23 to 9.0%, which is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 1.7% in 2006/07 to 2.3% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This increased again to 2.7% in 2022/23, which is higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).

Between 2006/07 and 2022/23, the deprivation gap for children attending schools in the most and least deprived areas increased by 3.3 percentage points to be 6.4 percentage points due to the prevalence of children with severe obesity increasing more in the most deprived areas.

 

For children attending schools in the most deprived areas, the prevalence of boys living with severe obesity increased from 5.4% in 2006/07 to 11.6% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This then decreased to 10.7% in 2022/23 which is still higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).  The prevalence of girls living with severe obesity increased from 4.3% in 2006/07 to 7.4% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This remained similar at 7.3% in 2022/23, and is higher than 5.9% in 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).  

For children attending schools in the least deprived areas, the prevalence of boys living with severe obesity increased from 2.1% in 2006/07 to 2.7% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This then increased again to 3.2% in 2022/23, which is higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic). The prevalence of girls living with severe obesity increased from 1.3% in 2006/07 to 1.9% in 2020/21, the year most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This remained similar at 2.1% in 2022/23, which is higher than 2019/20 (pre-pandemic).  

Overall, since 2006/07, the deprivation gap has increased more for boys than girls.

 

Last edited: 19 October 2023 12:42 pm