Weight Management for children (tier 1 and 2)

Overview

General advice and support

National resources and information for young people and parents/carers:

• Children’s Healthy Weight - advice for parents of healthy weight children.
• Change for Life - tips for parents and children on how to eat well and move more.
• What can I do if my child is overweight?  https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/overweight-children-advice-for-parents/
• BMI Healthy Weight Calculator (click on child calculator): https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator

Healthy Start

• Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start) - for families who are receiving a qualifying benefit and are pregnant or have parental responsibility for at least one child under the age of 4
• NHS scheme to help families afford healthy food, milk and access to free vitamins. ​
• Online application and digital card, replaced paper vouchers/‘milk vouchers’.​

​​What do families get?​

• Pre-loaded chip and pin card to buy healthy food and milk in food shops. Funds uploaded automatically every 4 weeks.​
• ​Families with the card can ask for free child vitamin drops and women’s tablets from Children’s Centres. 

How do families apply for a card?​​

• ​Online form, phone 0300 330 7010 or email. No printer or signatures needed. ​​
• Online access and application assistance now available in NSC libraries.​​
• Need National Insurance number, all details must match those on other benefit awards (current address, children’s names)​​
• If parent is not a British citizen (no access to public funds), can only apply if has a child who is a British Citizen under 4yrs. ​If so, apply by this email  ​​

Physical activity guidelines (Useful infographics):

• • Physical activity for early years: birth to 5 years (publishing.service.gov.uk)
  • Physical activity guidelines: children and young people (5 to 18 years) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Tier 1 and 2 services

Weight management services across BNSSG are commissioned by local councils (tier 1 and 2). Funding for these services is often limited.

The sections below describe what is available in each council area but please be aware that these services may change or have restricted places.

Tier 3 and 4 services

If a child has specific needs and criteria are met, then the COCO clinic at the Bristol Children's Hospital may be an option for some children and offers tier 3/4 services. Generally children should have received tier 1 or tier 2 support prior to referral although there may be exceptions if these services are not available.

Weight management - Bristol

Tier 1

In addition to the national resources above the following services are also available:

• Bristol Active City (only available via Facebook) - useful local opportunities for being active and where to get healthier food.
• Health visitors - For children under 5, Health Visitors will have information to support parents.
• School nurses - for school aged children, school nurses can be accessed via the school, or children or parents can self refer.

Tier 2

BeeZee Bodies 

BeeZee Bodies will continue to run the Bristol tier 2 weight management service until at least March 2026. We are accepting referrals from all Bristol-based GP surgeries for our online adults’ and families’ programmes, with a face-to-face, community-based, and co-produced offer to come in the next year.

They run free 12-week virtual programmes which involve a weekly, hour-long webinar with groups of families or adults. In addition, they offer the opportunity for 1-1 chats with nutritionists at the beginning, middle, and end of the programmes.

Referrals are accepted from all Bristol-based GP surgeries.

Eligibility criteria include BMI ≥25-40 (adjusted to 23 if of Black African, African-Caribbean and Asian origin) for adults. For families, we are accepting families with children aged 4-12 with a BMI centile >95th (the whole family unit is welcome and encouraged to attend if just 1 child fits this criteria).

Exclusion criteria - having a significant comorbidity or complex needs that may need specialist weight management, being pregnant, having a diagnosed eating disorder or bariatric surgery in the last 2 years.

Unsure if your patient falls under our inclusion or exclusion criteria? Please still refer and we will contact yourself or the patient to explore how we might be able to support them.

How to refer:

Website, follow our simple procedure here: https://beezeebodies.com/refer-a-client/

OR Email us at beezee.bodies@nhs.net, all we need to know is:

• Patient’s name
• Patient’s DOB
• Patient’s home address
• Patient/parent/carer and contact details
• Patient/parent/carer consent for us to contact them

Patient information - FREE healthy lifestyle programmes are beginning soon, to help families to build healthy habits around food and physical activity. Sign-ups are open NOW so families can secure their spot. Visit the BeeZee Families website for more details.

Parent leaflet: Healthy sweet swaps

Weight management - South Glos

Tier 1 - Healthy Me

This programme is no longer available. There were not enough referrals to make it sustainable (28/09/23)

Tier 2 - Healthy Weight Programme (families) 

Eligible South Gloucestershire families can access a free 12-week programme delivered by the Active Lifestyle Centres. The includes 12 weekly family sessions which provides support around physical activity, healthier eating and emotional wellbeing, as well as access to 12 family physical activities such as swimming, badminton, table tennis. 

Eligibility

• Aged 5 to 17 years
• Has a BMI ≥91st centile with no co-morbidity
• Lives in South Gloucestershire. or registered at a GP surgery in South Gloucestershire
• Parents/carers must consent to the referral and attend/engage in all provision alongside the child or young person
• Does not have a history of or an ongoing eating disorder 

Referral 

Families can be referred to the programme by the One You team, to refer a family use the ‘South Glos Weight Management on Referral Form’ via EMIS.

If you have any questions relating to the Healthy Weight Programme (families) please call 01454 865337 or email oneyou@southglos.gov.uk 

Weight management - North Somerset

Tier 1

In addition to the national resources above, in North Somerset we have the following:

Better Health North Somerset

Lots of health and wellbeing information is available on our Better Health North Somerset website: Here for your Health and Wellbeing | Better Health North Somerset (betterhealthns.co.uk)

Healthy families – healthy pregnancy, healthy baby, healthy child, healthy parenting

Healthy child – healthy start, early years nutrition, budget recipes, healthy packed lunch ideas, toothbrushing, children’s centres

Getting active in North Somerset

Active under 18’s​

• Park Play​
• Free activity equipment packs​
• Cycling​
• Junior Park Run​
• Play Your Way​

Active Under 18s | Better Health North Somerset (betterhealthns.co.uk)

Healthy Start

In addition to the information above, instructions on the option to request free home delivery of child vitamin drops and women’s tablets are available on the Better Health webpage.

Any questions, or for leaflets and posters for Healthy Start please contact healthystart@n-somerset.gov.uk

Tier 2

A children/young people/families service is under development for North Somerset. It will be possible for stakeholders to input views as part of the consultation which will be shared in 2024.

Care of Childhood Obesity (COCO) Clinic

Please see the COCO Clinic page for details of the Tier 3 and 4 service at the Children's Hospital.

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.