As professionals working directly with children and young people we need your help now in supporting them to invoke their Rights under the UN Convention Rights of the Child. Specifically, Article 12 – the right for children and young people to be heard on decisions that affect them and Article 24 – the right for children and young people to the best possible healthcare and health services.
We have developed a short ballot listing five priority health topics for children and young people to vote on. The five areas are:
- Support for emotional health and wellbeing
- Support for physical health
- Support in independently accessing health services
- Getting involved with shaping health services to meet their needs
- Getting the right help, at the right time, from the right person
Following the ballot, which is taking place across the country, the results will be worked on by a group of young people before being featured in the 2026 State of Child Health report and ongoing advocacy and campaigning by RCPCH.
This ballot is an important opportunity for children and young people to exercise their rights and influence real change.
To be part of this important campaign for children and young people we’re asking for only a few minutes of your time.
We are asking if you could please run a vote with the children and young people you work with, giving them the opportunity to have their say? You could:
- Discuss the five priority areas for health and do a hands up vote, and send us the results (along with the ages and location of those involved) to and_us@rcpch.ac.uk
- Print the ballot papers below, give one to each person to complete, collate and send to and_us@rcpch.ac.uk
- Show the ballot on screen, give out scrap paper so people can write their vote on it, collate and send the results to and_us@rcpch.ac.uk
- Share the link to the MS Form so that people can vote individually
- If time permits, you could use the vote to explore democracy & active citizenship with your group, talking about why voting matters & how to have your say in local or national decision-making processes.
To support you, we have created some resources:
- The ballot paper, which can be downloaded below, plus a version using images
- A very short presentation, which can be downloaded below, which you can use with your groups to explain the ballot and share the topics
- An MS Form for individuals to use to vote (results coming directly to RCPCH)
Below is a message for news boards / groups / newsletters you can adapt:
Are you aged 5-25? Do you want to have your voice heard in helping children and young people to be as healthy, happy and well as they can be? Vote in the RCPCH &Us child health vote and tell us what you think today! Deadline to vote: 15.01.26. Speak to xxx to find out how to vote or use this link: Help to shape the future of child health – Fill in form
Voting closes on 15 January 2026. Please ensure all submissions are received before this date via and_us@rcpch.ac.uk. Along with the results, please let us know the ages of those involved and your location (closest village/town or city).
Next steps will include a national vote count across the UK in January 2026. The top issue will then be looked at by RCPCH &Us young people with staff and paediatricians from RCPCH and will be written up in the State of Child Health 2026. We’ll share results back with you in a youth-friendly report in summer 2026.
The State of Child Health 2026 is an evidence-based report looking to improve the health and outcomes of children and young people across the UK by presenting governments and decision makers with data and policy recommendations. To inform the 2026 report, we’ve consulted over 3,000 children and young people through national engagement activities. Their responses have helped us identify the top five issues across the UK as determined by children and young people. Our previous #VoiceMatters vote for our 2020 State of Child health report received 1,700 responses, can you help us beat this number?
We look forward to seeing your group’s results – thank you again!