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A Child Well-Being Index at Small Area Level in England

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Abstract

The article describes the background and methods employed in developing an index of child well-being at small area level for England, the first of its kind. The index uses mainly administrative data on children covering seven domains of well-being: income, health, education, housing, environment, crime and children in need. Indicators are combined at “lower layer super output area” (LSOA) level. There are 32,482 of these geographical areas with populations of around 1,500. The indicators in the domains are combined using shrinkage estimation, and factor analysis is then used to combine indicators, where appropriate, with suitable weights. To combine domains into an overall index of child well-being, domain scores are ranked and the ranks transformed into an exponential distribution, then domains are combined with equal weights. The relationships between the domains are explored using correlation coefficients. An overall index is created at both LSOA and local or unitary authority levels. The results of the index are explored using mapping software and case studies. The strengths and weaknesses of the index are discussed and suggestions are made for improvements in further iterations.

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Notes

  1. http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/

  2. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/soa.asp

  3. In particular, where possible, areas are homogenous in respect of housing tenure (social renting, private renting and owner occupation) and type of dwelling (detached/semi-detached/terraced etc.)

  4. A ‘shrunk’ estimate is the weighted average of the original LSOA level estimate and an appropriate ‘larger spatial unit’ in this case the local authority. The weight is based on the standard error of the original LSOA estimate and the amount of variation within the local authority. For a full description see Noble, M., McLennan, D. Wilkinson K., Whitworth, A., Dibben, C. and Barnes, H. Indices of Deprivation 2007 Report. London: Communities and Local Government, 2008. Appendix D

  5. Using the STATA ‘normal/invnormal’ function

  6. See ‘Floor Targets Interactive’ at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STA/t000684/index.shtm for more information on current floor targets.

  7. http://www.kidscount.org/cgi-bin/cliks.cgi.

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Bradshaw, J., Noble, M., Bloor, K. et al. A Child Well-Being Index at Small Area Level in England. Child Ind Res 2, 201–219 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-008-9022-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-008-9022-6

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