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Key demographics

  • An estimated 59,467 children and young people (CYP) aged 0-19 years live in Trafford, making up around 1 in 4 (25.2%) of the total population (ONS, 2021).
  • Recent data on the ethnic group breakdown of Trafford children is available from the 2021 census. About a third (33.1%) of children belong to an ethnically diverse group, predominantly Asian (17.2%), mixed/multiple (8.6%) and Black (3.9%).
  • Between the years 2021 to 2031, the estimated number of children aged 0-4 years old living in Trafford is projected to shrink slightly (-0.5%), lower than the projection for England (-2.9%).  The number of 5 to 9 year olds and 10-14 year olds are also projected to shrink slightly (-7.9% and -5.0% respectively), compared to strong growth in 15-19 (15.2%) year olds (ONS, 2020).
  • Based on the definition used in the 2019 Indices of Deprivation, 11.7% of Trafford under 16s are living in poverty, but this reaches 35.7% in one small area of Trafford (IMD, 2019).
  • Educational achievement in Trafford is better than the average for England, however some groups within Trafford fare worse.  For instance, 71.6% of children have reached a good level of development by the end of Reception (statistically better than England average of 65.2% and highest in the north-west), but the equivalent figure for children on free school meals is 47.5% (significantly similar to the England average of 49.1%) (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2022).

Indicators of health and wellbeing

  • Indicators of population health and wellbeing among CYP in Trafford are generally better or similar to the England average. 
  • Infant mortality rate (number of deaths in infants before their first birthday per 1000 live births) is an indicator of the general health of an entire population and reflects the relationship between causes of infant mortality macro-level determinants of health such as economic, social, and environmental factors. The infant mortality rate for Trafford is 1.8 per 1000 live births and is statistically better than the England average of 3.9 per 1000 live births (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2021).
  • Neonatal mortality and stillbirth rate (number of still births and deaths under 28 days per 1000 still births and live births) is 5.1 per 1000 for Trafford similar to England average of 6.5 per 1000 still births and live births (Child and Maternal Heath Profile, 2020).
  • Child mortality rate (deaths due to all causes aged 1-17 years per 100,000 population) for Trafford (10.8 per 100,000 population) is similar to England average (10.3 per 100,000 population) (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2020).
  • Almost one in five (18.5%) Reception children and just over a third (33.6%) of Year 6 children living in Trafford were overweight or obese (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2022).
  • Prevalence of obesity more than doubles between Reception (6.7%) and Year 6 (17.9%) (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2022).
  • There is a strong association between deprivation and the prevalence of obesity in Reception and Year 6 with obesity prevalence increasing as the level of deprivation increases (i.e. higher prevalence of obesity in deprived areas compared with least deprived areas) (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2022). 
  • The rate of children in care (66 per 10,000 population under 18 years of age) in Trafford is significantly similar to the England average 70 per 10,000 population under 18 years of age) (Child and Maternal Health Profile, 2021).
  • Rates of hospital admissions in certain age groups (e.g. emergency admissions in under 5s) are similar relative to England. Local analysis suggests that this is likely to reflect patterns of health seeking behaviour and/or access to community services as opposed to a higher level of underlying illness in the population (Public Health Profile, 2021).

Information correct as of: 21st March 2023


Further reading