What are the challenges and what do we want to see?
Children and families access a network of early years health and support services. These include health visiting, general practice (GP) and paediatric community care, family hubs, emotional wellbeing support, prevention programmes and developmental services. These can support healthy development, prevent ill health and identify health needs early.
However, paediatricians too often see opportunities to lay strong foundations for child health missed. Unequal access to services, significant variation in local provision and sustained workforce pressures mean many families experience delayed or fragmented support. These challenges are compounded by poverty: a child’s start in life is shaped by where they live and the resources available to their family or carers.
When early intervention is missed, paediatricians see the long term consequences: preventable illness, poorer health outcomes across the life course, widening health inequalities and increasing pressure on already stretched child health services.
While there is welcome focus from UK governments on giving every child the best start in life – for example, through England’s Best Start in Life strategy or the Healthy Child Wales Programme – this ambition must include strong health services.
What is the campaign?
Children’s health services must be adequately funded, supported by a fully resourced child health workforce and properly integrated with wider early years and family support services. So, families can access help early and easily, no matter where in the country they live.
That’s why in 2026, we are launching our campaign, ‘Strong foundations’. We bring together the expertise of our members and up-to-date evidence to understand what it takes to strengthen health services, improve outcomes and reduce inequalities in the early years.
We launch the campaign at our RCPCH Conference 2026 in Birmingham where we will start speaking with members about what they’re seeing in the early years and what they want to us champion.
What else does the College do for the early years?
Strong foundations builds on work we already do to advocate for good health in the early years, such as:
- Advocate on vaccinations as one of the most effective interventions to protect health in the early years. We’ve been campaigning for improved access to vaccination services, better data sharing and information for parents to increase uptake and reduce inequalities.
- Champion a sustainable child health workforce. This includes working with others such as through the Child Health Workforce Alliance in England, and the Welsh Child Health Collaborative to call for a whole system approach to workforce planning for children’s health.
- Publish data on key early years indicators. In July, we will relaunch State of Child Health, which includes evidence and recommendations on infant mortality, vaccination uptake, obesity, oral health and asthma, highlighting trends over time and stark inequalities linked to deprivation.
- Produce position statements, resources and advocacy. These include key early years health issues, such as nutrition and obesity, air pollution and the role of paediatricians in prevention and early intervention.
- Lead the National Neonatal Audit Programme. Our long-running clinical audit identifies variation in care and supports quality improvement in newborn services across the UK.
Get involved
Survey on members' experiences
We invite members to share their experiences of supporting babies, young children and families in the early years. Our short survey asks about your experiences of early years health care, including workforce pressures, service gaps, barriers to access and the changes needed to improve provision for infants and families. You'll help shape the campaign's priorities and strengthen the case for strong, equitable early years health services across the UK.
Paediatric Influencing Network
You can also sign up to our new Network, which enables members to contribute to our influencing work, including this campaign. It's open to members at any career stage and location.