Put Children First

Started and led by Alder Hey Children’s Charity and inspired by children and young people, Put Children First is creating a coalition of organisations working to end child health inequality in the UK.

Children and young people are our future scientists, innovators, artists, medics, sportspeople and entrepreneurs. They are our future.

But their health needs have changed and rising inequality across the country is limiting their life chances.

Letters to the Prime Minister

Three young people joined by MP Annaliese Midgeley to deliver an open letter to the Prime Minister at Number 10 on 24th April 2025
As part of Alder Hey Children’s Charity’s Put Children First campaign, the open letter has been written by 16 year old Jai Radcliffe and 11 year old Sophia Morton and signed by more than 30 children, young people and child-focused charities.
The letter is an impassioned plea from the future electorate, saying “we want to make sure every child gets the opportunity to follow their dreams, not letting medical or financial obstacles get in their way”.

Anneliese Midgeley, MP for Knowsley was pleased to support Put Children First: “This campaign is stressing the very clear link between child poverty, inequality, cuts to the NHS and the welfare system – and sick children. I have made my stance on child poverty very clear, and won’t rest until this is eradicated in my constituency and across the country. I hope this letter from the amazing children and young people will encourage the Government to prioritise children and listen to doctors and nurses on the front-line.”

The charities who have supported the letter are Save the Children, Children North East, Obesity UK, Whizz Kids, NHSA, Health Equity North, Feeding Britain, The Children’s Society, PRAN and Children’s Rights Alliance for England

Read the letter and join the campaign.

Watch our new short film #IgniteTheSparks

Why Put Children First?

Half a million children and young people visit Alder Hey every year. We hear their stories and we’ve built our hospital and community services around them.

We are seeing rising numbers of diseases in children which should have been eradicated – from measles to tooth decay. Children are presenting with conditions usually only seen in adults such as lung disease and obesity. And the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a rise in mental health related illnesses.

Child poverty is at a record high in the UK – leading to a decline in children’s health.

Children have not been a political priority for over a decade – and the health service has not been designed or commissioned with children and young people in mind.

Put Children First is calling for a renewed approach to children’s health: develop a child-first, digitally enabled NHS for children and young people, which puts prevention and community care at its heart.

Alder Hey Children’s Charity is asking political leaders to
Put Children First in order to:

Empower them to live healthier lives.
Reduce the impact of inequality on health
Support children and young people to fulfil their potential

How to Put Children First

Politician leaders and decision makers should listen to children and young people, clinicians, academics and other experts to put children at the heart of every policy.

We see the everyday challenges which can be solved by putting children at the heart of decision making. Children are natural innovators and digital natives – we can follow their lead to provide solutions.

We have three clear goals…

We want to see an NHS fit for the future of our children and young people:

1) A child first NHS.

Appoint a children’s health representative to inform the Ministerial taskforce on child poverty.
Develop a commissioning framework specifically for children and young people to enable partners to jointly commission care that is holistic and makes use of limited resources.

Appoint a children’s representative on every mission delivery board across Government.

2) A data driven, digital NHS for children and young people.

Roll out the NHS number as the child’s unique identifier to improve coordination between education, the health service, social care and wider services that support families, ensuring that no child falls through the gaps.

Ensure that digital and technological solutions in health take into account digital inequality and ensure inclusion for all children, young people and their families.

3) A preventative and community based NHS.

Fund Children’s Health & Wellbeing Hubs in the community to improve access, patient experience and reduce duplication across the system.
Develop an indoor air quality strategy to protect, promote and improve lung health in childhood.

Create better access to NHS dentistry and introduce supervised toothbrushing in early years settings and primary schools.
Ban junk food advertising to children.

Put Children First Campaigns

Our campaigns ask the Government and political leaders to Put Children First in order to end child health inequality in the UK.

Meet ‘The Sparks’: a group of children and young people with unique talents and huge potential. With the right support and a fair chance, The Sparks can do anything they set their mind to! It’s up to us all to Ignite The Sparks.