Child 'slow development' warning

Children are expected to be able to concentrate and share by five Continue reading the main storyRelated StoriesPoorest 'die seven years earlier'Warning over health inequalitiesCall for health inequalities push Nearly half of children in England are not reaching what teachers consider a good level of development by the age of five, public health experts say.

Achieving a good level of development by five is considered to be a guide to future health prospects.

The Marmot Review team examined local authority data and found inequalities in life expectancy, how long people lived disability-free and unemployment.

The government said it wanted to improve the health of the vulnerable.

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The report's authors, who last year published a groundbreaking study of health inequalities in the UK, looked at five key indicators that are used to predict future health: life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy, child development at five, young people out of work and households on means-tested benefits.

The assessment of children's development at the age of five is based on their behaviour and understanding.

Children should be able to share, self-motivate, co-operate and concentrate by the time they start school.

But the research, led by British Medical Association president Sir Michael Marmot, found 44% of all five-year-olds in England are not considered by their teachers to have reached that level.