New money to help tackle deprivation in Canvey Island
Its thought deprivation is having a major impact on life expectancy in parts of Castle Point
The stark gap between life expectancy between Canvey Island’s richest and poorest residents has been revealed.
Essex County Council say the £60,000 it plans to use in Canvey Island – which has all of Castle Point’s neighbourhoods in the top quintile of deprivation – in the creation of two schemes.
A total of £45.000 is being spent on creating new pre-school physical literacy breakfast clubs for 300 of the most disadvantaged reception aged children and their families in Canvey Island to help gross motor skills such as strength, balance and coordination when playing.
The sessions will be also be used to hone fine motor skills – such as holding a pencil – and other small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery.
Essex County Council say this will help children concentrate better in lessons and improve relationships with other children.
A total of £15,000 will be used to develop a Flying Start programme to ingrain positive early experiences of school physical education.
The council says the level of deprivation means children born and growing up in Canvey Island face “significant disadvantage” from the very start of their life and it is likely that true levels of health inequalities are underreported for Canvey Island where data only reaches district level.
These inequalities have only been exacerbated by the covid pandemic. Currently, only 40.8 per cent of children in Castle Point reach Chief Medical Officer guidelines for sport and physical activity, which is below the Essex and national average.
Of the children and young people from the least affluent families just 39 per cent are active and nearly one in four children are overweight or obese at reception age.
Healthy life expectancy at birth in Castle Point is 12 years different between the most affluent ward of Boyce and the least affluent ward of Canvey Island South.
Of the six wards in Castle Point with a higher than average percentage of children living in low income families, ranging from 19.3 per cent in Canvey Island East to 26.3 per cent in Canvey Island South and Central wards, all are in Canvey Island.
A statement from Essex County Council as part of a decision notice to be agreed in the coming days, said: “Providing children with the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life will much more likely result in an active adulthood.
“Children and young people with skills and confidence to be active are happier and have higher levels of individual and community development.”
The council adds that physical activity has an important role to play to support levelling up in Canvey Island with Castle Point scoring below the average level of current performance in both “strong foundations in early years” and “successful school years”.
It adds: “Providing children with the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life will much more likely result in an active adulthood.
“Children and young people with skills and confidence to be active are happier and have higher levels of individual and community development.”