Well-Being of Children in the UK

Jonathan Bradshaw CBE, FBA is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of York. In addition to research into family policy, in recent years his research has focused on international comparisons of child poverty, child benefit packages and child well-being. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a board member of the Child Poverty Action Group.

"Any effort to measure and monitor children's well-being is about children and how we can positively affect their lives. Jonathan Bradshaw stands at the forefront of this effort, worldwide and in the UK. His monumental work on the status of children in the UK is a superb example for a state of the child report. This third volume keeps up with his former works and beyond. It is rich in data and a comparative perspectives and should be read and used by anyone working with and on behalf of children."Asher Ben-Arieh, Chair, International Society for Child Indicators and Editor in Chief, Child Indicators Research journal. "In the absence of an official 'State of the Nation' report on child well-being in the UK, this volume - like its predecessors - is the place to go. Offering rigorous and dispassionate analysis of the evidence, it makes sense of where we are and points to what needs to be done." Nick Axford, Head of What Works, Dartington Social Research Unit. "A significant contribution to improving our understanding of children's well-being in contemporary Britain. Indeed, the text successfully brings together a vast amount of information in one accessible and compelling volume...Its relevance is wide-ranging and students, lecturers, researchers and policy-makers will all find it a useful resource." Children & Society. "With chapters written by exceptional authors, rich data, intra and inter national comparison and above all the leadership of Prof Bradshaw this is a most valuable publication for anyone who cares about children, wants to know more about their life and to promote their well-being." Asher Ben-Arieh, Jerusalem, Israel

• Introduction ~ Jonathan Bradshaw;Demography of childhood ~ Jonathan Bradshaw;Child poverty and deprivation ~ Jonathan Bradshaw and Gill Main;Physical health ~ Jonathan Bradshaw, Veronica Dale and Karen Bloor;Subjective well-being and mental health ~ Gwyther Rees Gill Main;Education ~ Antonia Keung;Housing and the environment for children ~ Deborah Quilgars;Children’s time and space ~ Antonia Keung;Children and young people in care and leaving care ~ Gwyther Rees and Mike Stein;Child maltreatment ~ Gwyther Rees;Childcare and early years ~ Christine Skinner;Children, crime and correction ~ Rachel Morris and Lisa O’Malley;Conclusion ~ Jonathan Bradshaw.