Launch of the OECD Child Well-Being Dashboard and roundtable discussion, 5 July 2022 Child well-being policies have a key role to play in ensuring that all children get a good start to life and are well prepared for our fast-changing world. Developing effective child well-being policies requires government action on multiple fronts to ensure that the needs of children are fulfilled in the various domains that matter for their well-being and development; and policy decisions need to be informed by compelling evidence on how children fare and on the disadvantages many children experience in their life. The development of key child well-being metrics is critical for building a shared understanding of where children are doing well, and where they are not. Child well-being metrics help map how children fare in different life areas, as well as the quality of the environments in which they live. This information is essential for identifying where key challenges lie, for drawing attention to critical trends, and for prompting the action needed to reduce inequalities and level the playing field. The OECD has released a new OECD Child Well-Being Dashboard with key international indicators on child well being and disparities in child well-being between and within countries. This information is complemented by around 200 child well-being measures in the OECD Child Well-Being Data Portal, which has been updated to reflect the structure of the child well-being measurement framework developed in the OECD’s 2021 report Measuring What Matters for Child Well-being and Policies. Together, these tools shed light on how children are doing in the many dimensions that matter most for their well-being.

1. STARTING UNEQUAL: HOW’S LIFE FOR
DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN?
OECD Child Well-Being Dashboard & Data Portal
05 JULY 2022
OLIVIER THÉVENON
HEAD OF UNIT CHILD WELL-BEING UNIT
OECD WISE CENTRE

2. © OECD |
OECD Work on Measuring Child Well-being
2

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The OECD Child Well-being Measurement Framework
 Is multi-dimensional
 Is age- & stage-sensitive
 Reflects children’s lives today and tomorrow
 Reflects children’s views
 Captures children’s environments
 Covers public policies

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The revised OECD Child Well-being Data Portal
https://oe.cd/cwb-data
• Structured around: The OECD Child Well-being
Measurement Framework
• Measures: 200+
• Country coverage (where available): OECD Members
and Partners, OECD Accession Countries, non-OECD
G20, non-OECD EU Member States
• Breakdowns by (where available): Age; Sex; Family
type; Migrant background; Language spoken at
home; Parents’ education; Household employment
status; Income/Socio-economic status; Urbanisation
• Sources: PISA, HBSC, TIMSS/PIRLS, + OECD
Databases and other international datasets

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The new OECD Child Well-being Dashboard
https://oe.cd/cwb-dashboard
• Structured around: The OECD Child Well-being
Measurement Framework
• Indicators: 20 key outcome indicators
• Source: OECD Child Well-being Data Portal
• Functions:
- Monitoring tool: Accessible information for
policy-makers on (comparative) performance on
child well-being
- Communications tool: User-friendly
information on children and child well-being for
a broader audience

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Starting Unequal: childhood disadvantage stretches across
all dimensions of well-being (1/2)
children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to :
• experience poor material outcomes, including a lack a basic food and nutrition, a lack of
good-quality housing, and a lack of access to modern necessities, like the internet.
• experience poor health outcomes, with those with low socio-economic status over-
represented among overweight and obese children and those reporting poorer self-rated
health.
• do worse in education: On average across OECD countries, only 6% of disadvantaged
15-year-olds reached “top performer” status on the OECD PISA tests, compared to 29%
among the most advantaged. They are also far more likely to report limited ambitions for
future education.
• report poorer social and emotional outcomes, including weaker perceived support from
family, lower self-belief, and lower life satisfaction.
Clarke, C. and O. Thévenon (2022), "Starting unequal: How’s life for disadvantaged children?", OECD Papers on
Well-being and Inequalities, No. 06, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a0ec330c-en.

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Disadvantaged children face poorer environments at home,
in school, and in the community
• At home, disadvantaged children are often more likely to miss out on important family
activities and experience poorer quality relationships with parents.
on average across OECD countries, 36% of disadvantaged 11 , 13 and 15 year-olds report finding it
difficult to talk to their parents, compared to 28% among the most advantaged.
• At school, disadvantaged children frequently experience poorer quality learning
environments, are more likely to experience bullying, and more often report a lack of
connectedness to their school and others.
On average across OECD countries, only two thirds of 15 year olds from disadvantaged
backgrounds report feeling like they belong at school, compared to three quarters among the most
advantaged.
• With peers, disadvantaged children more frequently feel like they do not have enough friends,
and more often report poorer support from friends.
On average across European OECD countries, 12% of low income children live in areas with
problems with crime and violence – more than 50% higher than the rate for high income children.

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Future directions for the child well-being data work
Improving the quality of child data, including on material well-being, family living
arrangements, households’ expenditures on children, parental time and children’s time
use (including online).
•Informal working group with NSO’s contact points
Child-friendly neighbourhoods
• Data development on the quality of children’s neighbourhood, including on children’s access (and gaps in access)
selected essential services (e.g. health, care and education services, leisure facilities, etc.), to green areas, and
exposure to certain risks for their physical and/or their emotional or social well-being (exposure to pollution,
violence and crime, unsafe traffic, etc.).
Children of the digital world
Develop measures of children’s digital well-being and practices, their digital learning, and their perceptions of the benefits
and risks attached to the online world

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Contact us:
Chris.Clarke@oecd.org
Olivier.Thevenon@oecd.org
Visit the OECD Child Well-being
Dashboard:
https://oe.cd/cwb-dashboard
Learn about the OECD WISE Centre:
https://www.oecd.org/wise
Measuring What Matters for Child Well-being and Policies
https://doi.org/10.1787/a0ec330c-en