Prospects
Why is this important?
Understanding Coventry's economic, cultural, educational, and early childhood prospects can help us better understand the effects these factors have on the wellbeing of the local populations. A person's lifelong health, happiness, and productivity are affected by preventable health inequalities that can arise during pregnancy, childbirth, and the early years.
Best start in Life
Why is this important?
“Giving every child the best start in life is crucial for securing health and reducing health inequalities across the life course. The foundations for virtually every aspect of human development – physical, intellectual, and emotional – are laid in early childhood. What happens during these early years, starting in the womb, has life-long effects on many aspects of health and well-being”. - Sir Michael Marmot
What is the local picture? How does it compare?
Avoidable differences in health emerge by the time a child reaches the age of five. In Foleshill and Longford, a lower percentage of children (57.8%) achieve a good level of development by age 5 compared to the Coventry (61.1%) and national average (65.2%), however there is significant variation between neighbourhoods. A child’s level of development is assessed at the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) on early learning goals in the prime areas of learning: personal, social, and emotional development; physical development; and communication and language and the early learning goals in the specific areas of mathematics and literacy.
Longford and Foleshill West have some of the lowest rates in the city with only 47.3% and 49.1% measured as being at a good level of development in 2021/22. Children living in Foleshill East have higher rates than average at 64.7%, reaching as high as 74% in the specific neighbourhood of ‘Paragon Park Red Lane’.
In Foleshill and Longford, uptake of funded early years childcare for all children aged two, three and four is below the Coventry average. Two-year-olds whose parents are in receipt of certain benefits are entitled to 15 hours of free early education per week. Additionally, all three- and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free education.
The 2-year-old up take in Foleshill and Longford in 2023 was 64% compared to 75% for Coventry overall and 72% nationally. Similarly, the 3- & 4-year-old take up was 82% which is still below the Coventry average of 88% and national average at 92%.
There is significant variation between neighbourhoods, the lowest take up rates in Foleshill and Longford for eligible 2-year-olds was Little Heath at 55%, significantly lower than the Coventry average. The 3-&-4-year-old take up was lowest in Foleshill West at 74%.
Between 2018-2022, the percentage of all babies born at low weight (under 2500g) in Foleshill and Longford was slightly higher than the Coventry average. Low birthweight is often associated with premature birth, Coventry has relatively high numbers of babies that are born prematurely, leading to a higher number of babies born at low weight. Between 2018 – 2022 the number of babies born at low birth weight in Foleshill and Longford was 9.3%. This is higher than the Coventry average of 8.6% and the national average 6.8% (in 2021).
Antenatal appointment attendance in Foleshill and Longford has declined, with 74.1% of mothers attending within 12 weeks in 2022-23, below the city average of 80.3%. This is having been on a declining trend since 2019-2020 where rates were 80.5%, a 6.3 percentage point drop. However, 77% of children aged 2 to 2 ½ received timely health visitor reviews, above the city average of 75%. Foleshill East and West had some of the highest review rates (85% and 84%) despite lower antenatal attendance.
Maternal smoking at the time of delivery in the last 4 years (2019/20 – 2022/23) in Foleshill and Longford was 13.2% higher than 10.5% across Coventry but not the highest rates overall.
Breastfeeding prevalence in Foleshill and Longford is higher than the Coventry average. In 2022-23, 74.4% of new mothers initiated breastfeeding within 48 hours, compared to 72.2% citywide, a 5% increase since 2019-20. At 6-8 weeks, 62% of infants were still totally or partially breastfeeding, above the city average of 58%. It is known that rates of breastfeeding are generally higher amongst women from ethnic minority groups, and Foleshill and Longford is an ethnically diverse area where the population is made up of a high proportion of people from ethnic minority groups.
The percentage of children under the age of 16 who live in relative poverty is significantly greater in Foleshill and Longford compared to the rest of the city. The percentage of children living in ‘relative poverty’ in Foleshill and Longford in 2021/22 is 42.8%, amounting to an estimated 3,682 children, this is significantly higher than 26.7% for Coventry and 19.9% for England. This has been on an increasing trend in Coventry, and elsewhere, since 2014/15. Improving access to support and services whilst addressing the root causes of relative poverty can work to provide better opportunities for children to thrive.
Children in Foleshill West, Foleshill East and Little Heath are more likely to experience deprivation relating to low income.
What else is happening? What else can be done?
Health visitors can help children and families make the best start in life. NHS Health visitors are very active in the area. They visit all parents with children under the age of 5 in the city and offer health promotion and write developmental reviews during their home visits to promote childhood development. Schools, faith groups and community centres can work together to help reach socially isolated families, helping bring support to those who need it.
The Family Hub located in Foleshill is highlighted as an asset in the community. Families for all Family hub, located in Foleshill helps co-ordinate early intervention and support. By bringing together different professionals such as, Health visitors, social workers, midwives, police, and others the hub can offer holistic and tailored support to families who face challenges.
Community and voluntary groups also play a vital role in supporting families and young people. Foleshill Women's Training is an organisation that provides a culturally sensitive and appropriate environment for women to access education, training, healthcare, and employment opportunities. They aim to empower and enable women to move forward. Some of their projects include MAMTA, which supports ethnic minority women during and after pregnancy, cervical screening projects to improve cervical screening uptakes among women from different backgrounds, the perinatal mental health peer support project, which educates and supports women during and after pregnancy, and the Loss Pathway pilot project, run in partnership with Coventry and Warwickshire perinatal mental health team.
Education and skills
Why is this important?
Poor work chances, social isolation, and difficulties with mental and physical health are just a few of the social disadvantages that people could potentially face later in life as a result of low educational attainment and low expectations. By supporting high levels of educational attainment and boosting their expectations, these barriers can be removed so that children and young people realise their full potential in life.
There have been significant disruptions to education over recent years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing schools to close and move to digital classrooms. It is fair to say that this has had an impact on education and some children’s school readiness as a result. Therefore, the Department of Education are reluctant to directly compare attainment statistics between 2019-2022, we have included some for your information here.
What is the local picture? How does it compare?
There are 12 Primary Schools and 2 Secondary schools in Foleshill and Longford. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, also known as Ofsted, inspects services providing education and training for learners and regulates services that care for children and young people. 58% (7) of the primary schools were rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, 25% (3) of the primary schools were rated ‘Requires improvement’ and 16% (2) were not rated at all. Of the two secondary schools, both were rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.
In May 2023, 72.3% of children who live in Foleshill and Longford attended a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ school. 15.6% attended a school with the rating ‘Requires improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ and 10% were uninspected. This means that 82.7% of those whose school had been inspected attend a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ school similar to the city average of 83.5%. It should be noted that the number of students living in Foleshill and Longford is 7,476 compared to the city’s total of 58,507.
The number of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) is in line with the city average (18.2%). In 2023, 19.0% of children living in Foleshill and Longford were SEN pupils. SEN can be divided into two types, those with a Statement or an Education, Health & Care (EHC) plan; and those with SEN support. In total 1,400 children were identified as SEN pupils, 4.0% were in receipt of an EHC plan, slightly higher than the city average of 3.4%, and 15.0% were receiving SEN support.
Longford has a higher than average number of pupils, with 20.8% of children in this area being SEN students, it is amongst the areas with the highest rates in the city; although it is higher than average here mainly due to higher numbers of pupils with SEN support rather than having more with EHC plans, who tend to be those with greater needs.
Foleshill and Longford’s attainment performance at the end of year 6 (key stage 2) is higher than Coventry averages and in line with national averages. In 2022, 61% of students who live in Foleshill or Longford met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined at the end of year 6, compared to 54% for Coventry as a whole and 59% for England. There is some variation between the neighbourhoods across Foleshill and Longford, 70% of students living in Foleshill East achieved the expected standard in 2022 putting it amongst the areas in Coventry with the highest rates.
At key stage 4, the average attainment 8 scores for pupils living in Foleshill and Longford is lower than the Coventry average. Based on attainment 8 scores, which are an average score used to measure an individual student's progress across their 8 best performing subjects taken at GCSE level, the average attainment 8 score for pupils in Foleshill and Longford in 2022 was 41.4, compared to 46.2 in Coventry and 48.9 in England overall.
Pupils living in Little Heath had the lowest attainment 8 score in the city at 38.0, 10 points lower than the average for England. Foleshill West (42.3) and Foleshill East (41.5) were also amongst the top 10 lowest scores throughout the city.
Free school meals eligibility in Coventry continues to increase, and for students who live in Foleshill and Longford. 31.6% of pupils were entitled to free school meals in 2022, compared to 24.8% across Coventry.
More people living in Foleshill and Longford have little or no qualifications, compared to the city average. A lack of qualifications may make it more difficult for someone to find more fulfilling work in the city or reduce their chances of getting positions based in Coventry as the city's jobs become more competitive and demand higher skilled workers.
27.2% of residents aged 16+ in Foleshill and Longford do not have any qualifications, this is significantly higher than Coventry (19.4%) and England (18.1%).
30.1% of residents in Foleshill West have no qualifications, the highest in the city. This is closely followed by Foleshill East ranking second highest with 28.9% of residents having no qualifications. Little Heath also ranks within the top 10 with 25.2%.
25.5% of Foleshill and Longford’s population aged 16+ are qualified to level 4 or above, which means they have a foundation degree or above, lower than the city and national average.
What else is happening? What else can be done?
Adult education offers opportunities across the city for adults to engage and learn. The Adult Education Service in Coventry offers a choice of courses in a wide range of subjects. Each year thousands of people take the opportunity to learn a new skill, gain a qualification, find out more about something they are interested in, or simply make new friends. Data from the academic year (2020/21) suggests Adult Education delivery in Coventry is doing reasonably well in serving Coventry’s communities. Wards with higher levels of deprivation have higher volumes of learners such as St Michaels (12%) and Foleshill (12%). However, there could still be community groups and areas of the city that are under-represented, and we need to continue to ensure our Skills Providers have good reach across the city.
The library also supports children through programmes such as Bookstart. Through Bookstart children of preschool age receive a free information pack containing a variety of activities, guidance for parents and a book. This is in the hopes that good literacy habits will be formed at a much younger age. Rhyme times are also an opportunity for the formation of good literacy habits and encourage the development of language and social skills amongst babies and toddlers.
“Apprenticeships for young people so they go into jobs. There are so many big industries in and around Coventry that could do more.”
“Work more closely with employers to get them working with schools to prepare children for the realities of the workplace.”
Utilising Coventry’s diverse industry and trade was noted by residents in Foleshill and Longford as an opportunity for progression. Apprenticeships offer opportunities to receive hands on training and a chance to put skills into practice. There are many opportunities for apprenticeships throughout the city at a variety of levels, from school leavers, people upskilling in their careers or complete career changes.
Residents in the area also noted the importance schools and colleges play in raising the aspirations of young people with suggestions to work more closely with them to ensure children are prepared for the workplace.
Community groups are working together to provide better opportunities and outcomes for children. Having a healthy balanced meal is vital for children going to school and concentrating, there is lots of food-based provision for children throughout the holidays through initiatives such as Holiday Activities and Food programmes (HAF) as well as Magic Breakfasts. HAF provides free activities, experiences and food for eligible children and young people in the Easter, Summer, and Christmas school holidays, whilst Magic Breakfasts are healthy school breakfasts to children at risk of going hungry. HAF also has information available to support families particularly to help with cost of living and food help for families. Which has been well received by residents.
“Continue the free summer activities in local parks, our local one was great and enabled families to get out and participate with no barrier of cost.”
Economy
Why is this important?
A protective factor for health is having meaningful employment. Reducing avoidable health disparities will involve tackling the unequal distribution of money, wealth, and power by improving opportunities and skills.
What is the local picture? How does it compare?
Foleshill and Longford neighbourhoods have higher levels of multiple deprivation than most other areas of Coventry. The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019, measures the extent to which people in each neighbourhood (LSOA) in England experiences ‘multiple deprivation’ across the factors of employment, income, education, health, crime, housing and services and living environment; it is the headline measure of deprivation at a local level. This measure remains valid, although the data is now a little old as it is only refreshed every five years on average – the insights from this should be considered in conjunction with other more up to date statistics.
41% of the population live in neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that are amongst the most deprived 10% LSOAs in England and two thirds (66%) live in neighbourhoods that are amongst the most deprived 20% LSOAs in England.
The map below indicates that many of the neighbourhoods across Foleshill and Longford are amongst the most deprived 10% of areas in England, those in the darkest red colour. It shows parts of the area to the south, in the ward of Foleshill, have higher levels of multiple deprivation, particularly parts of Foleshill East, and parts of Little Heath; and Longford less so, although still experiencing higher than average multiple deprivation.
Map: Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 for all Coventry neighbourhoods (LSOAs)
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019, Ministry of Housing, Communities of Local Government
These pockets of deprivation limit people’s opportunities to succeed and transforming life chances requires addressing the social inequalities that are established right from the earliest years.
The unemployment rate in Foleshill and Longford is higher than the city average. A contribution to this will inevitably be the disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and slow growth in the national economy in 2022, however rates in these areas have been consistently above average. The unemployment rate according to the 2021 Census, for residents in Foleshill and Longford was 6.5% which equates to (1,463 people), higher than the Coventry average 5.9%. There is variation across the area, Foleshill East has an unemployment rate much higher than average at 7.9%, whereas Longford’s unemployment rate is lower than average at 4.9%.
In the 2021 Census, 61.2% of those aged 16-64 were in employment, compared to 64.2% across Coventry overall. The Census measures employment and unemployment rates differently to other data sources and was produced during a unique time for the labour market due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, therefore the percentages used from the Census are lower than other official data and employment rate sources.
Employment is lower in the areas that are part of Foleshill ward to the south of the area, at 55.7% and 55.9% respectively the employment rates in Foleshill East and Foleshill West are among the lowest in the city. The employment rate in ‘Edgwick Webster’s Park’, a neighbourhood where new housing has been built, is higher than the city average at 74.4%.
The number of residents claiming unemployment benefits is notably higher in Foleshill and Longford. Another way to measure unemployment rates is by using the claimant count, this enables us to understand more recent changes than the 2021 Census. The claimant count increased significantly in early 2020, an indication of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on employment, and while it has fallen since 2020 it remains notably higher than 2019 levels. Between August 2019 and August 2023, the proportion of the local working age population claiming unemployment benefits in Foleshill and Longford had increased by 3.3 percentage points from 5.9% to 9.2% equating to 2,065 claimants in total, significantly higher than the city average of 5.6% and greater than the overall increase across the city of 1.9 points from 3.7% to 5.6%.
Economic inactivity rates in Foleshill and Longford are higher (32.2%), than the city average (29.9%) despite the area being home to a lower-than-average number of students. Economic inactivity refers to people who are neither in work nor unemployed, they are not actively seeking work for various reasons. This includes full-time students, those looking after a home, people living with long term illness, retired people, and others.
Across the city the main group of inactive people are full-time students, but this is not the case in Foleshill and Longford. Economic inactivity rates are particularly high amongst people who are ‘looking after home/family’, making up 10.5% of all working age people (compared to the rest of Coventry 6.0%), and people who are ‘long-term sick or disabled’, making up 6.0% of all working age people (Coventry 4.9%).
1.3% of working age residents in the area are retired (Coventry 2.3%) and 8.9% are inactive students (Coventry 12.8%).
Large parts of the area, in Foleshill West, Foleshill East and Little Heath, have the highest rates of ‘looking after home/family’ in the whole city with proportions as high as 13%.
Household income is lower than the city average for residents in Foleshill and Longford. The ‘UK Paycheck’ dataset from CACI estimates average gross annual household income in 2023, for Foleshill and Longford the mean average is estimated at £36,636 compared to the Coventry average of £41,552 and the UK average of £47,621.
When calculating household income, it is important to consider the incomes of all individuals living in the same household. The number of people per household is higher than average in this area, so total household income in this area is lower than average and has to be shared between a higher number of people.
A higher proportion of households in this area are on low incomes, 31% of households are on an annual income of less than £20,000 in Foleshill and Longford, compared to 27% across Coventry overall and 22% across the UK.
Average household income is at its lowest in Foleshill East at £32,934, lower than most areas in the city. There are some neighbourhoods with higher-than-average income: ‘Edgwick Webster's Park’ in Foleshill East (£41,806), ‘Ricoh Arena & Wilsons Lane’ in Longford (£43,369) and ‘Little Heath Old Church Road’ (£45,145).
People living in Foleshill and Longford are more likely to worry about money, this in part can be attributed to the cost-of-living crisis. The Household Survey 2022 found that 59% of residents said that they had felt worried about money often or almost all the time in the last few weeks this is significantly higher compared to the Coventry average of 40%.
69% of residents in Foleshill East have worried about money in the last few weeks, one of the highest percentages in the city, second to 71% of people in Stoke Heath.
An emerging impact of the cost-of-living crisis is shown by the responses recorded in the Household Survey 2022 regarding household food consumption. 58% of residents surveyed in Foleshill and Longford said that all their household had enough of the kind of food they wanted. This is significantly lower than city average of 69%. Less than half of those living in Foleshill West (43%) said that all their household had enough of the kind of food they wanted, significantly lower than residents in Little Heath where most residents 86% stated that they had enough of the kind of food they wanted to eat.
Foleshill and Longford is home to a thriving small business community. The area has a high number of business and there are employment opportunities locally. There are 1,310 businesses in the area, the majority of which are small businesses. Foleshill East and Foleshill West is home to 455 and 365 respectively whilst Longford and Little Heath both have 245 businesses.
There are an estimated 17,235 people employed at workplaces in the area; if you compare this to the resident population of 34,400 you get a ‘Job Density’ figure of 0.50, which is higher than the city average of 0.47 and higher than most Coventry neighbourhoods.
Digital accessibility is crucial, but many Foleshill and Longford residents face digital exclusion despite good infrastructure. The Ofcom Connected Nations report 2022 gives us local data, there is a high level of ‘gigabit’ availability, 96.7% of premises have gigabit broadband capable of 1,000 Megabits per second (Mbit/s)and 99% %) have services capable of ‘Superfast Broadband’ (30 Mbit/s or more). However, having overall good connection levels does not mean that residents have the capacity to access fast broadband or can afford it. The Digital Exclusion Risk Index (DERI) tool, developed by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, models the likelihood of digital exclusion for all small neighborhoods (LSOAs) in England by creating an overall score based on number of metrics measuring the risk factors of demography, deprivation, and broadband availability. This data shows a mixed picture for the area, some neighbourhoods, like Ricoh Arena & Wilsons Lane, have a low risk (score of 3.09), while others, such as Paradise - Awson Street in Foleshill East, score 4.11, placing them in the top 5% at risk of digital exclusion. Half of the area is classified as ‘e-Withdrawn,’ indicating low internet engagement, especially in more deprived neighbourhoods.
There is another measure of digital exclusion, the Internet User Classification 2018 data set from the Economic and Social Research Council, which used a number of statistics to classify each LSOA in Great Britain into 10 different types according to the internet use and engagement of its residents. Half of the neighbourhoods in Foleshill and Longford, concentrated in the part of the area covered by Foleshill ward, were classified as ‘e-Withdrawn’, the type that is least engaged with the internet. The areas of Coventry that were given this classification were typically those with higher levels of multiple deprivation.
What else is happening? What else can be done?
Increasing the economic prosperity of the city is important to those living in Foleshill and Longford. The One Coventry Plan sets out the council’s ambition to ensure more residents of Coventry are fulfilling their ambitions, living healthier lives for longer and living in safer, connected, and sustainable communities.
One Coventry plan engagement found that residents in Foleshill and in Longford felt that the most important priority was increasing the economic prosperity of the city and of the region, closely followed by improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities and finally tackling the causes of climate change.
Community and voluntary organisations are working together to address the needs of those on low incomes with affordable access to food, advice, and support. Many community groups throughout Foleshill and Longford are actively involved in supporting the Holiday Activity and Food programme, developing and implementing Food Hubs and Advice services, as well as raising awareness, and supporting the delivery of the Household Support Fund. All of which are exploring opportunities for collaborative working by being a part of the Coventry Food Network, Community Centre Consortium or becoming Community Messengers, these groups work with a range of organisations both locally and nationally, including Business in the Community and Feeding Britain.
An example of partnership working is work at Foleshill Community Centre led by Feeding Coventry. Feeding Coventry first opened in March 2020, two weeks later the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the UK went into a national lockdown. Instead of closing their doors, they, like many of the community groups and centres in the area adapted to the changing government regulations and supported people in need. Joining a growing network of other social supermarkets Coventry Food Network.
Since then, the centre has provided more services and supported more people.
Similarly, the Hope Hub at St Laurence’s Church opened in April 2020 to support the community during COVID19. Working in partnership with Coventry Foodbank, Coventry City Council, volunteers from the local area and generous funding and support from Godiva Lions, Severn Trent and the Heart of England Foundation and Ladybird Nursery, they are feeding over 100 people a month.
Coventry Food Network is a food partnership which brings together several public, private, voluntary and community sector partners to address food poverty and its causes in Coventry by taking a city-wide collaborative and strategic approach towards a unified Coventry Food Network and Strategy. Since 18 March 2020, the Council has been working closely with a range of partners, to create and deliver a system of food provision. Some of the initiatives that have evolved from this partnership are:
- Established 15 social supermarkets/grub hubs throughout the city to provide nutritional food and support to those residents in greatest need.
- Support the delivery of the Household Support Fund by providing emergency food provision to vulnerable residents who needed additional support with accessing/affording food.
- Supported the delivery and developed a model to support those who were clinically extremely vulnerable (Shielding) re: food and basic support.
- Procured food and distributed food parcels to children eligible for free school meals provision during school holidays.
- Continue to support and enhance the offer of healthy, nutritious food to children and families eligible for free school meals through the HAF programme.
The cost-of-living crisis is undoubtedly having a huge impact on residents, however there is a more coordinated approach to help and support on offer to residents. Amba Care solutions provide residents in Foleshill with a ‘Here 4 U’ Warm Hub with advice and support for people experiencing mental health issues due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. This project recognises that many people are struggling to keep up with the cost of living where the price of energy, food and bills are all rising steeply and for many this is having a huge impact on their mental health. As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, it is more important than ever to ensure that we look after each other's mental health.
Since August 2023, Coventry Independent Advice Service (CIAS) have been holding monthly digital skills drop-in sessions at Foleshill Library. Digital volunteers help people to learn useful digital skills, from getting to grips with the devices themselves, to navigating websites and writing emails. Residents who attend are the drop-in were keen to develop their digital skills and through being supported by digital volunteers, they were able to do so.