Happy birthday Childline!

Children can be vulnerable to the impact of action – or inaction – by other people and their physical and social environment, including poverty, social inequalities, and structural racism. A shift towards prevention and early intervention is needed to support babies, children, and young people to lead healthy and fulfilling lives and prevent ill health in later life.

37 years ago today, Childline was set up by Esther Rantzen to provide free, confidential advice to children. To mark the anniversary of this pioneering support line, we have published our new policy position statement on childhood adversity. In it, we give both national and local recommendations on how best to address the determinants of child health, with an emphasis on strong national policies and joint working between the NHS, housing, education, social services, and youth justice sectors.