Report | RCPCH

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State of Child Health 2026: Scotland - Quick read

State of Child Health 2026 provides a clear and comprehensive overview of children’s health across the UK, analysing progress against 12 key child health indicators. This quick read report summarises data and recommendations for Scotland.

Health policy

Resource

State of Child Health 2026: Wales - Quick read

State of Child Health 2026 provides a clear and comprehensive overview of children’s health across the UK, analysing progress against 12 key child health indicators. Our quick read report in English and Welsh summarises data and recommendations for Wales.

Health policy

Resource

State of Child Health 2026: Northern Ireland - Quick read

State of Child Health 2026 provides an overview of children’s health across the UK, analysing progress against 12 key child health indicators, and sets out a roadmap for change. By placing children at the centre of policy, funding and service design, Northern Ireland can build a health system that g...

Health policy

Resource

Children in crisis: Mental health pressures in emergency departments - quick read report

Published in September 2026, our quick read presents data about A&E attendances among children and young people between 2019 and 2025 in England. It includes insights from clinicians, children and families and our recommendations for improving mental health support and care pathways.

Emergency medicine

Mental health

Document

State of Child Health 2026: Oral health

This indicator examines the rate of tooth decay by reporting the proportion of children aged 5 years with obvious tooth decay across England, Scotland and Wales. Data for Northern Ireland were last collected in 2018 and are not included.

Oral health

Health policy

Document

State of Child Health 2026: Obesity

This indicator looks at the prevalence of children across the UK who are overweight or obese when they start primary school compared to when they finish by measuring a child’s body mass index (BMI).

Document

State of Child Health 2026: Vaping and smoking

This indicator reports primarily on youth vaping trends by examining the proportion of children aged 15 who are e-cigarette users, including those who have ever tried an e-cigarette and those who currently vape, across the UK.

Resource

State of Child Health 2026: England - Quick read

Health policy

Document

State of Child Health 2026: Emotional health and wellbeing

This is a child and young person-led indicator, selected through a UK-wide engagement and ballot process and further developed with children and young people across the UK to reflect what emotional health and wellbeing support should look like and how it should be measured.

Children and young people's voice

Document

State of Child Health 2026: Early childhood development

This indicator assesses whether children have met the expected developmental outcomes as they enter primary school. It provides an indication of their overall health and wellbeing at a key milestone, and whether children have received access to the support they needed to ensure the best start in lif...

Infant health