The report concludes “the postcode lottery is real”
Middlesbrough, Hounslow and Bradford have been named as the hardest places for children to grow up in England, according to a landmark report by the Children’s Commissioner.
The Childhood Lottery, which will be published on Monday, examines the challenges facing youngsters in every local authority in the country.
Nottingham, Halton in Cheshire and Peterborough have been named as some of the other areas where childhood is hardest, while Cheshire East, Merton and Surrey are identified as the least difficult places to grow up.
On Monday, Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, is expected to make a speech in which she will warn of a “state of emergency” in some communities.
The Childhood Lottery, a new dataset and interactive map, brings together more than 160 measures to examine the greatest challenges faced by children.
An overall score has been assigned to each area, with the rankings based on almost 100 metrics covering access to health and social care, education and housing, safety, opportunities to play and whether children have a voice in the decisions made by leaders.
The hardest places to grow up have been identified as Middlesbrough, Hounslow, Bradford, Nottingham, Halton, Peterborough, Leicester, Liverpool, Sunderland and Medway.
Cheshire East, Merton, Surrey, Richmond upon Thames, Hertfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Haringey, Leicestershire, Central Bedfordshire and Wokingham are described as the least challenging places for youngsters.
The report concludes “the postcode lottery is real” and identifies differences in children’s experiences depending on where they live.
It finds there are “unacceptable outcomes and levels of service delivery for children in too many parts of the country”, amounting to a “state of emergency” in some areas.
For example, of the more than one million youngsters who had active referrals to children and young people’s mental health services in 2024-25, the median number of days from referral to second contact in Leicester was six, compared with 118 in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
The report said that all regions are represented in the 25 places where the data shows childhood is hardest, including Somerset in the South West, Birmingham in the West Midlands, and Hounslow in London.
In a speech on Monday, Dame Rachel is expected to call on Andy Burnham’s Government to ensure children’s outcomes and life chances are not determined by where they live.
The commissioner is expected to say that “every single local area in England has work to do to make lives better for their children”.
“In some communities, these challenges amount to nothing less than a state of emergency. Not for every child. Not everywhere,” she will say.
“But what we see here is a litany of failure. In so many areas of the country, children are being radically failed.”
Dame Rachel is expected to say that devolution represents “an opportunity” and is a “unique chance to remove the extreme inequality and unfairness” identified in the report.
She will say: “New powers will mean new structures, and therefore new opportunities to think about, listen to, and deliver for children.
“Local areas must be provided with support from central government to raise standards for children across health, social care, housing and communities, with urgent action where it falls beyond a set level.
“This needs to be our response to the emergency.”
Dame Rachel is also expected to make a number of recommendations, including the appointment of a deputy mayor for children in every strategic authority.
The Childhood Lottery uses data gathered by the Children’s Commissioner, alongside figures from the Department for Education and 10 other public bodies.
The report will be launched at an event in Westminster on Monday.