Chicken shops galore for Wembley as two new shops greet pupils returning to school next week despite planning policy

 

New shop on Bridge Road

Secondary school students returning to school next week will find two new chicken shops within a the few hunded yards of Ark Academy and the bus stops that are used by pupils from Preston Manor, Michaela and the Lycee, bringing the total to 6.

The new shop above is particularly problematic because it is at the bus stop that was moved at the time of the reconnection of Bridge Road and North End Road. The pavement there is narrow and the single bus stop serves the 83, 182, 206, 223 and 297 bus routes resulting in large crowds. Imagine the chicken licking crowds of school children mixing with the public at peak times while local families with push chairs and several childre try to get home from primary school. Not very Covid secure...  I have asked Brent Council and TfL to move the bus stop to its old position on a wider pavement away from shops.

Another chicken shop serves the 245 bus route.

Clearly issues are raised about Brent Council's attempts to tackle teenage obesity and its policy to limit fast food outlets near schools.

A Brent JSNA report (2019-20) stated that for the last 5 years Brent had a higher proportion of obese children leaving primary school than the London and National average. These statistics (note 4 years old) are stark. What would have been the impact of lockdown, I wonder?:

 The report notes as an action:

 

 

BUT - CHICKEN SHOPS AROUND ARK ACADEMY AND THE BUS STOPS USED BY MANY SCHOOL PUPILS.

 

Red stars denote fast food chicken outlets

 

Grand Parade, Forty Avenue

Sam's on the corner of Forty Avenue and Bridge Road
 

A new outlet on Bridge Road on the site previously occupied by Nat West Bank

One of the earlier Bridge Road chicken shops

Wok 'n Roe on Bridge Road predates Ark Academy by decades but has a line in spicy and non-spicy chicken and chips as well as other dishes

The latest Bridge Road chicken shop - opened just this week

 

A little further away but heavily frequented by school children at the end of the school day is McDonalds at ASDA. McDonalds controversially replaced the ordinary restaurant some years ago. It is clearly marketed at children.

Note: I have asked Brent Planning and Brent Public Health officers for clarification.

Brent's child obesity crisis worsens - nearly 1 in 3 obese on leaving primary school

A report to the Brent Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee lays out the stark facts. Graphs show the annual trend since 2013 (click on images to enlarge):

The most significant trend is the proportion of Year 6 children who are obese as they make the transition to secondary school. The figures are well above the London and England averages and the latest figure at 28.6% compares with 24.63% in 2013.

4 and 5 year olds in Reception classes have a lower level of overweight and obese children but there the proportion of overweight children has peaked at 14.8% (13.06% in 2013) and the proportion of obese children is almost back to 2013 levels at 13.8% (13.97%) despite a dip in the interim.

The report looks at the relationship between deprivation and obesity and found only a weak link in ward data:

Analysis by ethnic group shows the highest overweight and obese group is the Black group but the Asian increase in obesity rates from Reception to Year 6 is also worth noting.

The report LINK lists initiatives already underway to tackle the problem including promotion of breast feeding, adoption of Maternity Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting model, the Healthy Early Years Award introduced in 2012, Health Schools London award, Action on Sugar (includes sugar free Tuesdays), Allotment and Food growing Strategy, promotion of physical activity and action on takeaways near schools.

All this hasn't reduced child obesity although there is a slight reduction for 2016-17 in Year 6 overweight children. Clearly more needs to be done to tackle what is an urgent public health issue.

The report outlines what is proposed by the Brent Clinical Commissioning Group:

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The proposed Service Delivery Improvement Plan would be:

1)  Review food provided by the Trust in line with guidance on reducing obesity 
and health weight by end of Quarter 1 (30 Jun 2018); 


2)  Develop a local action plan to promote healthier options by end of Quarter 2 
(30 Sep’18), and monitor in Quarter 3 (Oct-Dec 2018) and Quarter 4 (Jan-Mar 
2019); 


3)  Develop a plan for front-line staff to have ‘Make Every Contact Count’ training 
about reducing childhood obesity and local weight management services by end of Quarter 2 (30 Sep 2018), and monitor in Q4 (Jan-Mar 2019); 


         4) Identify conditions where obesity is a risk factor (e.g.CHD, dementia,  diabetes), ensure family members are aware of ways to reduce their risks by being healthy weight, and ensure the family knows how to access weight management support, in Q3 (1 Oct 2018) onwards.

The treatment of childhood obesity

 The new 0-19 children’s public health service includes tier 1 and 2 weight management service. This is a preventive universal service with additional lifestyle weight management services for those children, and their families, who are overweight or obese. This is a new service within health visiting and school nursing and mobilisation has been delayed by difficulties recruiting to the new team. However, the full establishment has now been appointed. 


The CCG commissions tier 3 services for those children who require specialist paediatrician or dietician clinical assessment and advice. A very small number of children will require drug treatment or surgery. 


 The CCG and public heath secured funding from Health Education England which was used to provide tier 1 weight management training to front line staff working with children in Brent. 173 people have attended this training which should ensure a consistent high quality offer across the Borough. 


Good News and Bad News on Under 5s Public Health in Brent

Tomorrow's Cabinet meeting will be discussing the 2015 Public Health Report on Under 5s and their mothers. Brent has been responsible for the public health of under 5s since October 2015 and the report gives a mixed picture.  Tooth decay and obesity are high but fewer mothers smoke in pregnancy.  The number of Unders 5s in the borough that has been rising in recent years and produced a crisis in school places, is flattening out and perhaps declining.

However the general fertility rate remains higher than the Inner London, Outer London and England average. In ethnic terms the number of white births is the highest but it is not broken down into different groups as other births are. Teenage conceptions are lower than the London and England rates and in long-term decline. Worryingly, Brent infant mortality is on the increase against the London and England trend.

Obesity rates in Reception classes are rising and well above the England rate. Tooth decay in under 5s is the second highest in London and the most common reason for non-emergency hospital admission for 5-9 year olds.

A note of caution, although the charts give a summary it is also important to read the commentary. The full report is HERE.

Pertussis better known as Whooping Cough

A further item on the Cabinet agenda is the commissioning of Health Visitor and Family Nurse Partnership and a promise to review current arrangemtns and consider future models. Clearly the School Nurse service should also be included in any review.

The positives and negatives of public health in Brent

Tomorrow's  Brent Health and Wellbeing Board will be discussing an important report on public health and the issues facing the borough in the future. The full report is available HERE

For each issue the report goes into details of some of the initiatives and projects that address the problem so here I will print some of the tables and graphs to stimulate interest.

Brent actually has healthier statistics than some of the areas with equal levels of deprivation but there are considerable differences between different parts of Brent.

The causes of premature deaths:

Differences in age expectancy in wards within the borough:

Increases in rates of dementia are a long-term issue:

As are rates of diabetes:

One area of success has been the reduction in teenage pregnancies:

The figures on child health indicate health problems building up for the future. I have been keen to persuade the Council to increase school nurse provision to address these issues and procurement is in process

Obesity of Year 6 child (11 year olds)

As they go into Year 7 at secondary schools the pupils are likely to use takeways:

To inform the Council’s planning policies, the Council public health team undertook a survey of secondary school students to explore associations between the presence of fast food takeaways close to the school and students’ use of takeaways and general food knowledge. In the seven schools that participated, all year 7 and year 10 students were surveyed. Nearly two and a half thousand students responded resulting in a unique insight into student behaviour. Students who attended schools less than 400m from a takeaway ate more takeaways at lunch, on the journey home from school and at home for their evening meal with their family.

The survey supports the policy of a buffer zone around schools which the Council is now implementing.

Dental health is a particular issue in Brent:

Some excellent preventative work is taking places from the Chalkhill Wellbeing project which ends in March 2015 unless further funding is found. I will return to this in some detail in the future.

"Heard it in the playground, not enough space!"

Mindful of current concerns about child obesity and the lack of outdoor play opportunities for children, I have been interested in how the current school expansions affected the play space available to children when at school. Following a Freedom of Information request I now have the figures which are tabulated below.

These show an overall reduction in the space (expressed in square metres) available per child after expansion. I have left out those for Mugas (Multi-use games areas) as these are likely to be used per class or after school activity, rather than shared. Clearly however access will be less because more classes will have to be timetabled to use it within the confines of the school day.

The amount of playground space available at break times and lunch times is of major concern. Recent research has shown that children use more energy then than when they take part in PE activities. The reduction in play space can be addressed by staggering break times so that different phases or year groups use the playground at different times, but this then reduces the time for their use for class games activities.

Over crowded playgrounds restrict the amount of space for 'tearing about' and using up surplus energy as well as increasing the number of collisions, bumps and scrapes. Competition for space, unless well supervised, can lead to more playground fights.

Mitchell Brook Primary has the additional resource of Gibbons Recreation Ground which it backs onto, but the other schools are less fortunate.


PLAY SPACE IN SCHOOLS SCHEDULED FOR EXPANSION (square metres to nearest 0.5)

FRYENT	Existing (420 pupils)	Per pupil	Proposed (840 pupils)	Per pupil after expansion
Habitat	262		310
Hard Play/Games Courts	2447	6.0	3325	4.0
Pitches/Soft Play	6714	16.0	4974	6.0
Muga	360		360
BARHAM	Existing (630 pupils)		Proposed (840 pupils)
Habitat	Playing field edge		Playing field edge
Hard Play/Games Courts	2501	4.0	3254	4.0
Pitches/Soft Play	4748	7.5	3713	4.5
Muga	254		254
MITCHELL BROOK	Existing (420 pupils)		Proposed (630 pupils)
Hard Play/Games Courts	3773	9.0	2738	4.5