National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)
Children are invited to have their height and weight measured and recorded.
Every year in England, children in reception and in year group 6 will be invited to have their height and weight measured and recorded as part of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).
In Nottinghamshire, this is delivered by the Healthy Family Teams.
Notttinghamshire County Council will notify your child’s school of the intended NCMP visit. The NCMP team will call to arrange a visit to the school and provide the school with resources to support this visit.
You will receive a letter from your school about the NCMP visit, which is when you have the opportunity to opt in or opt out.
If you do not want your child to take part, or your child has a medical condition that affects their height or weight, please write in confidence to the school marked in the envelope, for the attention of the Healthy Family Teams and NCMP within 10 days of receiving this letter. You will need to include your child ‘s name, date of birth, class, school and reasons for opting out.
On the day, your child will be taken to the NCMP area where children will be encouraged to remove shoes and socks, outdoor clothing and any other items that may interfere with the measurement process.
To ensure confidentiality, individual children whose consent has been recorded by the school will be invited to the NCMP area by a member of staff who will check their identity and invite them to be measured.
The children are then invited to stand and have their height and weight measured. The scales readings are not visible to the child. The measurements are recorded digitally and are confidential, so are not shared with the child or school members of staff.
Children are thanked and directed back to their teacher, when they will put on shoes, socks and other belongings, and another child is then collected.
You will receive a letter if your child is identified outside of the healthy weight boundaries: underweight or overweight.
You will be offered free resources and services that may help your child be the healthiest version of themselves.
The Healthy Family Teams work really hard with schools, teachers, parents and students to ensure the process is quick, effective and a positive experience for all. Your feedback is always welcome.
For more details about the Healthy Family Teams visit the Healthy Family Teams webpage.
