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Following its latest State of Child Health report, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's (RCPCH) is calling on the Prime Minister to make children's health a national priority, warning that the UK is at risk of raising one of its unhealthiest generations in decades.

The RCPCH recommends a Children's Health Investment Standard to address unequal spending between child and adult health services, backed by a funded workforce strategy. It also wants stronger child health data and national targets to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.

Therapeutic play must be recognised as an essential healthcare intervention rather than an optional extra, the Association of British Paediatric Nurses (APBN) has said. Therapeutic play helps children to understand illnesses, investigations and treatments, and reduces anxiety before procedures and interventions.

The APBN is urging government to invest in the health play specialist workforce to meet growing demand.

Charities are to receive a share of £1.5 million from the 1,001 Critical Days Foundation, a charity focused on supporting the period from pregnancy to age two. The grants will support frontline projects focused on young parent peer support, therapeutic playgroups, early communication, parent-infant mental health, early years wellbeing, sleep and language, and infant feeding and nutrition.

Those awarded a share of the grant include Parents 1st UK, Heads Up Leicester, Home-Start Cymru, Nurture the Borders, PEEK (Possibilities for Each and Every Kid), The Sleep Charity and Trelya.

Early years training should include supporting children to enjoy reading, MPs have said. Amid evidence that child reading rates have decreased, the Education Committee has called for reading for pleasure to be "built into all levels of training for early years practitioners and make continuing professional development on reading for pleasure available to practitioners".

The Local Government Association (LGA) which represents council leaders in England has warned that falling vaccination rates will not be reversed unless councils are given greater authority.

The call comes ahead of changes next year which will see immunisation commissioning transferred from NHS England to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). The LGA warns this will cause uncertainty over who has overall responsibility for vaccination numbers. As part of this, the LGA has published a vaccination guide that includes a call for a "single named, accountable lead for vaccinations" in every area.