21st September 2026
Through collaborative working we have brought together parents, carers and professionals to shape the future of early years research.
The UK’s first-ever Top 10 Research Priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of babies, toddlers and pre-school children have been announced by the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), marking a significant milestone for early years research and policy.
Developed and agreed collaboratively by parents, carers, family members and professionals from across the UK, the priorities will help guide future research direction and investment into the areas that matter most to parents, carers and professionals to improve support for young children and their families.
The initiative comes at a crucial time, with less than five per cent of the national research budget currently allocated to child-related research despite the vital importance of early childhood experiences in shaping lifelong health and wellbeing. Many current recommendations for supporting the social and emotional development of children under five are based on limited evidence, highlighting the need for targeted research in this field.
By identifying and prioritising key unanswered questions, the partnership aims to ensure future research funding is directed towards studies that can make a tangible difference to families. Areas highlighted include improving support for under 5s who have experienced trauma, developing culturally sensitive approaches to care, and finding more effective ways to engage fathers.
The Developing Child UK PSP plans to share the Top 10 priorities with major research funders, policymakers and academic networks through publications, presentations and research papers, helping to influence future investment and practice across the early years sector.
The UK Top 10 Developing Child Research Priorities are:
- What are the most effective methods of supporting the social and emotional development of babies and children aged 0-5 years who have experienced trauma?
- What are the most culturally sensitive approaches to support parental understanding of early child social and emotional development in diverse ethnic groups?
- What are the most effective ways to support fathers to develop healthy parent-infant relationships?
- What are the most effective methods of identifying neurodivergence in babies and children age 0-5 years?
- How can well-baby clinics better support parents to understand and promote the emotional and social development of their baby where there are concerns?
- What is the short- and long-term impact of parent-infant teams on the social and emotional wellbeing of babies (aged 0-24 months) and families, and for which families do they work best?
- What are the most effective methods of supporting parents and preschool children who are on a waiting list for specialist child mental health services?
- How can services better support babies and children age 0-5 years experiencing court proceedings or family separation?
- What public health strategies are effective in promoting parental understanding about the importance of social and emotional skills in babies and children age 0-5 years?
- What are the most effective home and nursery-based early interventions to support babies and children age 0-5 years with sensory integration difficulties?
National Collaboration
The project was led by members of the Supporting Early Minds Research Network (part of the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre) at the University of Oxford and the Institute of Health Visiting, through a James Lind Alliance(JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP). The initiative focused on identifying research priorities relating to community interventions that support the social and emotional development of babies, toddlers and pre-school children.
With its infrastructure hosted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the James Lind Alliance’s well-established and respected methodology ensured that the experiences and perspectives of families carried equal weight alongside professional expertise. This approach enabled a broad range of voices to contribute, including groups that have traditionally been under-represented in research.
The resulting Top 10 priorities reflect shared concerns and aspirations across communities and professional groups, creating a research agenda designed to deliver meaningful benefits for children and families.
Rigorous Process
The priorities were identified through an extensive 18-month process involving consultation and consensus-building across the UK. With the expert guidance of JLA facilitator, Jo Watson, the PSP was jointly led by Professor Jane Barlow (University of Oxford) and Dr Michael Fanner (University of Oxford and, since April 2026, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust), with a core team based at the Institute of Health Visiting.
In an initial consultation survey, 523 participants submitted 1,071 questions, with 413 found to be within the project’s scope. These submissions were organised and refined into more than 50 summary questions, reflecting the wide-ranging issues affecting the social and emotional wellbeing of young children.
Following a comprehensive review of the existing evidence, the priority setting partnership identified that 17 of the summary questions were not already adequately answered by research. These 17 summary questions were then presented in national prioritisation survey, which attracted more than 520 responses.
The final stage took place during a virtual online consensus workshop on 2 September 2026, bringing together 13 parents and carers and eight healthcare professionals. Through structured discussions facilitated by the James Lind Alliance, participants reached agreement on the final Top 10 priorities.
Shaping the Future of Early Years Support
The publication of the UK’s first Top 10 research priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of under 5s represents a significant step towards strengthening the evidence base for early years support.
By focusing attention on the questions that matter most to families and practitioners, the partnership hopes to accelerate research that can improve services, inform policy and enhance outcomes for babies, toddlers and pre-school children across the country.
As the priorities begin to inform future funding decisions and research programmes, those involved hope they will contribute to a stronger foundation for supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing during the most critical years of development.
Jane Barlow (Professor of Evidence Based Intervention and Policy Evaluation) and Michael Fanner (Consultant Nurse) as the PSP leads commented:
“We are delighted to announce the UK’s first Top 10 Research Priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of babies, toddlers and pre-school children. Developed through a uniquely collaborative process involving parents, carers, family members and professionals, these priorities provide a clear and nationally agreed direction for the future of infant mental health and early years research in the UK.
“The breadth and diversity of perspectives represented through this Priority Setting Partnership has been one of its greatest strengths. The resulting Top 10 priorities offer both depth and scope, creating significant opportunities for researchers, practitioners and families to work together to co-produce the evidence that will shape future services and support for young children.
“We hope these priorities will help strengthen the UK’s infant mental health and early years research infrastructure, while also sending a clear signal to major research funders of the urgent need to invest in this area. By focusing attention on the questions that matter most to families and professionals, we can build a stronger evidence base and ensure that future policy and practice are informed by research that has the greatest potential to improve outcomes for all children and families.”
JLA Advisor, Jo Watson, added:
“The James Lind Alliance approach to research priority setting focuses on giving voice to those who access health and care services and those who deliver them. Historically, these key stakeholder groups have had little influence over what research is undertaken, despite being the end users of that research.
“The Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership brought parents, carers and professionals together as equal partners throughout. The resulting Top 10 priorities for research focused on the social and emotional development and wellbeing of children under 5 provide crucial insights for researchers, research funders and policy makers about where to invest funding, time and effort to generate evidence that will have the greatest impact for them.”
Steering Group member, Kieran Anders, added:
“As a dad, and someone working with dads in the perinatal period, it was really refreshing to be involved in such a comprehensive process. The conversations, collaborations and decisions made were testament to this. I have real hope that this piece of work will lead to some robust and crucial research in areas that can truly make a difference to babies, children and their families.”
The JLA PSP for the Developing Child UK was funded by https://elevategreat.co.uk/, and Oxford staff time funded by the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre.
