Pathfinder: using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Assessment to predict whether an individual will need child and adolescent services during childhood.

Infants with an early developmental delay are those who do not reach expected physical, intellectual or social milestones for their age. There is some evidence to suggest that those with poor mental health during childhood are likely to have experienced early developmental delays, however, this remains unclear. Therefore, using linked data, this project aims to explore whether early developmental delays, as identified through the EYFS assessment (a routine measure of development administered to all children in English state sector education at ages 4-5), are predictive of poor mental health in children.