Local needs analysis

A clear understanding of Shropshire’s children provides the foundation for targeted action and effective service planning. Shropshire is a large, rural county, with families dispersed across wide geographical areas. This creates additional challenges around accessibility, isolation, and equitable delivery of early years support. 

Shropshire is home to 17,458 children aged 0–5, with a total of 64,960 children and young people aged 0–19 across the county. This population is unevenly distributed, with the local Early Years Joint Strategic Needs Analysis (JSNA) identifying notable variation in where 0–4-year-olds live and how needs differ across localities. 

The 2021 census recorded 323,642 residents in Shropshire. 2.6% residents in Shropshire speak a language other than English as their main language at home. 

Woman Holding A Baby

Key local insights  

Local population and need 

  • Shropshire became slightly more deprived between 2015 and 2025 but is still less deprived than 52% of local authorities in England 

  • Average deprivation score rose to 17.6 (17.2 in 2019 and16.7 in 2015) 

  • 154th most deprived LA (out of 296) 

  • In 2024/25, there were 39,462 children eligible for free school meals in Shropshire across all state-funded primary and secondary schools

  • Shropshire’s rural population is particularly deprived - Shropshire has greater levels of challenges in accessing key services 

Education 

  • The Integrated 2 Year Review is a critical milestone for identifying developmental needs early. In 2024/25, 76.5% of Shropshire children accessed their integrated review, which is 4.3% below the national average 

  • At the two to two-and-a-half-year health review, 65.6% of children in Shropshire were at or above the expected level in all five areas of development (communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social skills). This is 15.8% below the national average of 81.4%

  • 'Good level of development' (GLD) for all children: 68%, slightly below national (68.3%) and statistical neighbours (69.2%). Across the EYFSP areas of learning, several areas children in Shropshire perform above average. This includes: 

    • Expressive arts and design, children in Shropshire achieve 88.8% compared to 85.1% nationally
    • Physical development, children in Shropshire achieve 86.2% compared to 84.7% nationally
    • Mathematics, children in Shropshire achieve 80% compared to 77.6% nationally
    • Communication and language, children in Shropshire achieve 80.8% compared to nationally 79.5% although there is a recognition this is a target area

  • Free school meal learners: 43.7%, well below national (51.4%) and the West Midlands (53.6%); this remains a key area for targeted support 

  • Gender gap: girls (75.6%) continue to outperform boys (61.3%), reflecting national trends

  • Children with EAL: 57.8%, lower than national levels (64.9%) 

  • Term of birth effect: autumn-born children significantly out-perform summer born children (75.4% vs 58.1%). 

SEND 

  • In the 2024/25 academic year, 7,150 pupils in Shropshire were identified as having special educational needs. Of these, social, emotional and mental health are the most common primary needs (1,567 pupils)

  • 'Good level of development' in early years: SEND pupils achieving expected level of development at the end of reception (2023-24) at 22% and rising, similar to regionally and nationally 

  • This rate is higher among SEN support at 31% (rising trend and above comparators) and lower at 4% among pupils on an EHCP (falling trend), but higher than region and England

Health 

Shropshire has reviewed the 0-19 heath visitor offer and recognised the challenges that come with serving a widely dispersed rural population. In response, open access health visitor clinics have been developed in targeted populations to encourage families to access further support. This has contributed positively to Shropshire’s health data for the 0-5 population.  

  • 75% of children aged 4-5 are in the healthy weight bracket, this is 0.1% above the national average 

  • 94.2% of children aged 2 have had their MMR vaccination, this is 5.3% above the national average 

  • 90.3% of children have had their MMR vaccination (second dose), this is 6.6% above national average 

The local needs analysis clearly demonstrates that children eligible for free school meals face the greatest barriers to achieving a 'good level of development' (GLD), reinforcing the need for a sharper, system-wide focus on early intervention and prevention.  

This intelligence will directly inform how we allocate resources—particularly in determining the most effective and equitable locations for Best Start in Life family hubs. Placing hubs in areas of highest need will ensure that they act as meaningful access points for early help, strengthen place-based delivery, and create the conditions for improving outcomes at scale across Shropshire.