Mental health, obesity and autism diagnoses are all areas where the pandemic has substantially harmed children's wellbeing in Oxford.

Deteriorating education standards and increasing challenges with poverty due to the pandemic also significantly damaging young people's health across England.

Mental health

Across the country, the number of children receiving mental health support has almost doubled over the last five years as 460,000 people were in contact with children and young people's mental health services in June.

NHS Digital figures show 26,530 under-18s were in contact with mental health services at the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board.

This was up from 12,860 in June 2019, the latest comparable period before the pandemic, and means the number of children receiving mental health support in the area has more than doubled in the last five years.

The charity YoungMinds said youth mental health is a "huge problem society can no longer turn away from".

Obesity Rates

Children's obesity rates across the country have also risen during the pandemic, separate NHS Digital figures show.

In 2022-23, 22.7% of Year 6 pupils were obese or severely obese – up from 21% in 2019-20, before the pandemic.

In Oxfordshire, some 17.9% of Year 6 children were measured as obese or severely obese – up from 16.2% in 2019-20.

Just 21 of 138 areas with comparable data saw a fall in the proportion of obese or severely obese children.

Dr Mike McKean, vice president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said overweight children – which accounts for two in five primary school leavers – have a higher risk of chronic illnesses, mental health issues, and lower life expectancy.

The Government aims to cut childhood obesity rates in half by 2030, but Dr McKean said the root cause is poverty and deprivation, which "are robbing our children of a healthy adulthood before they even start school".

The data also shows children living in the most deprived areas were more than twice as likely to be obese as those living in the most affluent.

Autism Diagnoses

Further NHS Digital figures show diagnosis services are letting down autistic children following the pandemic.

Autism is a lifelong condition which impacts how people communicate and interact with the world, but every area in England has seen an increase in the number of children waiting for a diagnosis following a referral.

Meanwhile, the proportion of children waiting at least 13 weeks, which is the recommended timeframe in which a diagnosis should be provided, has increased in all but three areas.

In Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, around 7,005 children had an open referral as of the end of June, with 85% waiting for at least 13 weeks.