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Data Provider: Welsh Government Management Information Number of contacts and average contacts per child receiving Flying Start services, by staff group and local authority

The number of face-to-face contacts includes contacts which took place virtually (online or over the telephone) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Local Authority 1
[Collapse]Health Visitor[Collapse]Other StaffContacts by other staff are only available from 2015-16 onwards.[Collapse]Wider Health TeamNot including health visitors
Click here to sortNumber of contactsClick here to sortContacts per childContacts per child receiving servicesClick here to sortNumber of contactsClick here to sortContacts per childContacts per child receiving servicesClick here to sortNumber of contactsClick here to sortContacts per childContacts per child receiving services
[Collapse]Wales125,0923.533,2130.957,9281.6
WalesIsle of Anglesey2,0743.21,0071.69291.4
Gwynedd4,7064.73610.42,5372.5
Conwy2,1052.000.05770.6
Denbighshire3,6383.71,3961.41,4351.5
Flintshire4,6944.03,6403.17480.6
Wrexham6,2574.12,0221.33,1992.1
Powys3,9294.45550.62,3202.6
Ceredigion3491.55472.43011.3
Pembrokeshire3,5383.67360.82,0952.1
Carmarthenshire7,7943.93,8381.91,9331.0
Swansea12,0384.11,8960.72,8851.0
Neath Port Talbot8,1594.02,5561.26,9523.4
Bridgend8,5905.32,7281.73,3942.1
Vale of Glamorgan5,3054.07540.66290.5
Cardiff17,5534.01510.08,7652.0
Rhondda Cynon TafRCT are piloting a new health visiting model and data for 2020-21 is collected differently to previous years. Caution is advised when comparing Rhondda Cynon Taf data with previous years and when comparing with other local authorities in 2020-21.15,6454.11,3240.34,6551.2
Merthyr Tydfil3,3253.800.01,9142.2
Caerphilly3,6891.45,3462.11,9550.8
Blaenau Gwent2,9172.93320.34,9134.9
Torfaen2,3001.51,9781.32,5251.7
Monmouthshire2,6575.71,6683.65371.2
Newport3,8301.63780.22,7301.1

Metadata

Title

Selected Flying Start programme indicators by local authority - Number and average contacts per child receiving services

Last update

17 January 2024 17 January 2024

Next update

October 2024 (Provisional)

Publishing organisation

Welsh Government

Source 1

Welsh Government Flying Start Data Monitoring Returns

Contact email

stats.healthinfo@gov.wales

Designation

Management information

Lowest level of geographical disaggregation

Local authorities

Geographical coverage

Local authorities

Languages covered

English and Welsh

Data licensing

You may use and re-use this data free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

General description

Flying Start is the Welsh Government early years programme delivered by local authorities in Wales. It is aimed at improving outcomes for families with children under 4 years of age in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales.

Data collection and calculation

The wider health team is defined as those staff with a professional health or social care registration, funded by the Flying Start programme. It will include staff who are:
• non-case holding health manager
• dieticians
• midwives
• clinical psychologists
• educational psychologists
• speech and language therapists
• social workers
• community nurses (with an appropriate qualification)
• occupational therapists
• any other health or care professionals
The definition of ‘other staff’ includes any unregistered staff. This typically means those who are not fully qualified and those who assist fully qualified health professionals in delivering services.

Frequency of publication

Annual

Data reference periods

2012-2013 onwards

Users, uses and context

The purpose of this statistical release is to provide evidence for policy development; to allow local authorities to monitor and benchmark their service provision against other local authorities in Wales; and to inform for the public about provision of the Flying Start programme.

Statistical quality

Data from 2020-21 and 2021-22 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In years prior to the pandemic, in general only face-to-face contacts were recorded as Flying Start contacts. Welsh Government guidance issued in June 2021 stated that, as a general rule any targeted activity conducted via different means during the pandemic (i.e. virtual contacts through Skype or Whatsapp) should be recorded in the same way as face-to-face contacts were recorded previously. The guidance also stated that local authorities should exercise their professional judgement when determining if a virtual contact was meaningful enough to be recorded.
Local authorities have provided additional feedback on how services were affected in 2021-22, and these included:
• some parenting and speech, language and communication (SLC) programmes were either not run or not able to be completed
• some childcare sessions had low attendance due to continued parental concern over COVID-19
• some parents chose not to take-up childcare which they may have accepted prior to the pandemic
• some Flying Start staff would have been self-isolating, shielding or unwell which affected the service offered
• some contacts recorded as face-to-face contacts may have taken place over the phone or virtually.
These factors need to be considered when using data for 2021-22. Services in 2022-23 were also affected by the pandemic. Whilst the enforced restrictions and adaptions to service delivery seen in 2021-22 were not seen in 2022-23, there may still have been some disruption caused by localised outbreaks of the virus. Furthermore, some of the virtual delivery of Parenting courses, SLC and health visitor services was retained as part of programme delivery for 2022-23 either due to personal choice or because it was deemed to be an effective means of reaching some families depending on individual circumstances. Caution is therefore advised when comparing data from 2022-23 with pre-pandemic figures.
Health Visiting in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf are piloting a new health visiting model which means that data for 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 are collected on a different basis to previous years. This may mean that any differences between previous years and any differences with other local authority areas may be due to the different service provision model. Therefore, caution is advised when comparing Rhondda Cynon Taf data with previous years and when comparing with other local authorities in 2022-23.

A full quality report is published alongside this statistical release and can be accessed via the weblinks.

Keywords

Flying start data, Health visitor, Wider Heath team, other staff,