This document will help agencies understand practical ways in which they can work together to reduce childhood obesity and improve health outcomes. By exploring promising local activity in the context of national policy, this document can inform how schools, early years settings, local authorities, voluntary organisations and others plan and deliver effective and joined-up initiatives. It can also provide ideas for how additional funding generated by the soft drinks industry levy can be used to best effect.
To do this, the document brings together information from a range of sources. It provides national context and explains key developments in policy, including the measures set out in the 2016 childhood obesity strategy, Childhood obesity: a plan for action. It also showcases examples of local programmes and interventions that support children in early years settings or primary education to be healthy and physically active, particularly those benefiting children who experience health disadvantages and those living in areas of deprivation. In particular, examples highlight how early years providers or primary schools, local authority public health teams and local voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations have worked together.