Children's health in England is at “crisis point,” according to a new King's Fund report, which found nearly two in five school nurses have been lost over the last decade while the overall nursing workforce grew. Full-time school nurse numbers fell 38 per cent, from a peak of 3,026 in January 2010 to 1,862 in June 2026 — even as total full-time nursing, excluding general practice, rose 32 per cent to 371,725.
Health visitors have fared even worse: numbers dropped nearly half since 2015, from a peak of 10,309 in October 2015 to 5,666 in June 2026. The report warns that “an entire generation” risks potentially preventable epilepsy, asthma and mental-health conditions, and notes that government funding for children's public health programmes fell 16 per cent in real terms between 2016-17 and 2025-26.
King's Fund policy adviser Niamh Buckingham said the findings expose “a stark gap between the government's ambition to create the healthiest generation of children and the reality facing children, schools, families and the staff working tirelessly to support them.” With public-health nurses disappearing, the report says, pressure is falling on unequipped teachers and special-educational-needs staff.
The analysis lands as new Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper pledges to focus on children's health and prevention, including rolling out Sure Start-style baby health services to every family hub in England. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson responded that the government is “committed to strengthening health visiting and school nurse services” and is expanding mental-health support teams across every education setting in England.
