18 month development check

In partnership with Bolton's Public Health Nursing team, Bolton Council’s Start Well Service offer an extra 18-month developmental check for all children living in Bolton. This is designed to support families during this important stage of development.

The check is carried out by a qualified Start Well Locality Practitioner, with lots of experience in child development and supporting families. It usually takes place in your home. During the home visit, you’ll have time to talk about how your child is developing socially and emotionally, as well as discussing their communication and language skills. The Start Well Locality Practitioner will bring some play activities with them to help explore your child’s communication and language skills. This is also an opportunity to consider overall development and to raise any concerns you may have.

After the visit, the information is shared with your health visitor to make sure you and your child get the right support if needed.

From time to time (and with parental consent), it may be beneficial for a Start Well Locality Practitioner to contact your child's early years provider. This will be to discuss the 18-month check results for an individual child and agree any follow up action.

You will receive a letter in the post with the date and time of the visit, when your child is around 18 months old.