A National Roadmap to a Good Childhood

For too long, this report has been a damning indictment of the low wellbeing experienced by far too many children and young people in the UK. [...] Early support hubs The Children’s Society, as part of the #FundTheHubs group,2 have long called for the national rollout of early support hubs for young people to receive easy access support for their mental health and wellbeing in the community. [...] 1 The Good Childhood Report 2024, data from The Children’s Society’s household survey 2024, 10- to 17-year-olds. 2 The #FundTheHubs group calls for a network of early support hubs across the country. [...] Specific steps: The Department of Health and Social Care to fund and support a national rollout of early support hubs in every local community, providing young people with a space to access the right support at the right time, without waiting in line. [...] Our Good Childhood Report shines a light on young people’s wellbeing across the UK and has done so for 13 years. However, the programme is restricted by the reach and sample size of existing surveys. Similarly, some local areas have instigated initiatives to survey children in the local area about their wellbeing, however this is far from being evident or consistent across the country. [...] Specific steps: The Prime Minister and the Department for Education to introduce a national measurement of children’s wellbeing, conducted every year across England to ask every child about their wellbeing, helping to inform the national mission in policy and local delivery. [...] It is pivotal that wider Government initiatives seeking to address the decline in children’s wellbeing consider the experiences of children and young people with intersecting characteristics and needs. For example, considerations on improving spaces for young people to socialise must consider the safety and wellbeing of girls. The introduction of a national measure of children’s wellbeing [...] Specific steps: The Government to take an intersectional approach to addressing challenges to children’s wellbeing, that takes account of the differing experiences of children and young people. [...] The Good Childhood Report 2024 showed that a larger proportion of children and young people were unhappy with school (14.3%) than with any other aspect of their life.13 There is a real opportunity to evolve the school experience, prioritising emotional and social development alongside academic progression, not just because happier and healthier children do better in school,14 but becaus [...] Specific steps: The Department for Education to increase and protect opportunities for children and young people to be active, engage in creative activities and socialise at school in recognition of a need for emotional and social development alongside academic progression.