for use by child development centres and teams. The development of an alternative approach, using a series of statements of good practice, is described. Parents of children with cerebral palsy were asked to participate in semistructured interviews, to ascertain the value and relevance of these quality statements. Parents were most concerned about the standard of news breaking and early follow up, the sharing of information, and the supply and repair of equipment. The findings were used to modify the quality checklist and it is proposed that this should form the basis of a 'charter for disabled children and their families'. (Arch Dis Child 1996;75:399-404)

Members of the Child Growth Foundation were surveyed to ascertain how children's growth problems were diagnosed. For many (46%) it was the parents who first expressed a concern about the child's growth. Routine height monitoring detected only 8%. Parents consulted a doctor promptly when worried, but there were often delays between the first medical consultation and referral to a hospital consultant. Many parents reported that their concerns were not taken seriously.

No abstract

Given the extent of medical and mental health needs, often unmet, in children attending for CPMEs, Children's Services might consider seeking medical reviews at an earlier stage for children known to them.If educational and mental health professionals, and where relevant, Looked After Children's teams, had closer links to these medical assessments, then the CPME could prove a powerful tool in addressing the multiple needs of these vulnerable children.