Starting well

Starting well is crucial. Early life experiences influence a child's ability to thrive, and lay the foundation for long-term health and wellbeing. These experiences include prenatal care, health, education, and social environments.

Suffolk's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is created as web pages, PowerBI dashboards, PDF documents, infographics and other formats.

Suffolk statistics are compared to England where possible. Smaller areas of Suffolk are contrasted with the whole county.

This page groups JSNA content most relevant to children and young people. To see everything related to the JSNA, go to the main JSNA page or search the report index.

Click here to go to the accessible and up-to-date starting well infographic

Web reports

Each web page links to information divided into different documents.

Mental Health Needs Assessment (MHNA) (2026) - This needs assessment provides a comprehensive overview of mental health need, inequalities, risk factors, service use and outcomes across Suffolk.

Healthy weight health needs assessment (2025) - assessment examines healthy weight across Suffolk's population, from children to older adults. Combining statistical analysis with local insights and emerging evidence, it identifies key drivers of weight-related health challenges and evaluates current services.

SEND Needs Assessment (2024) - provides a detailed analysis of the needs and experiences of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) across the county. The needs assessment also includes a follow-up 2025 SEND data update.

State of Children in Suffolk report (2024/25)- The State of Children in Suffolk report aims to provide an overview of the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Suffolk. 

Smoking and Vaping Health Needs Assessment (2024) - assessment and appendices containing general information on the impact and prevalence of smoking and vaping, as well as local target population groups including children and young people

National dashboards with local data:

• Childhood vaccination coverage statistics - Data for routine vaccinations up to 5 years old
• National Maternity Dashboard - Data from the maternity services dataset with information such as maternal age, previous births and ethnicity

Report index

Filtered to show the most relevant resources for children and young people.