Medway scored 503 out of 960 in the Children's Commissioner's Childhood Lottery, 10th lowest in England and lowest in the South East. Here is what pulled it down.
Medway is one of the 20 hardest places in England to grow up, according to a new ranking by the Children’s Commissioner for England. It scored 503 out of a possible 960, the 10th lowest of the councils ranked and the lowest anywhere in the South East.
The report, The Childhood Lottery, was published on Monday 19 October. It scores all 153 upper-tier councils in England on 128 measures of children’s lives, from exam results and mental health to housing, care and safety. A lower score means childhood is likely to be harder.
The Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, says the ranking “is not a review of the local authority”. It is an assessment of the challenges children face, the services available to them and the outcomes they get.
Where Medway sits
Middlesbrough came bottom with 408. Cheshire East came top with 730. Four areas were left out of the overall table because too much of their data was missing: Bury, Nottinghamshire, the City of London and the Isles of Scilly.
Medway had no missing measures, so its score is not dragged down by gaps. The report notes that the South East has the highest average score of any region, 611, yet its Table 3 names Medway as the region’s lowest-scoring council.
The neighbours all scored higher, according to the full dataset:
- Kent: 584
- Thurrock: 576
- Southend-on-Sea: 551
- Bexley: 592
What pulled the score down
Each measure is scored from 0 to 10. The dataset ranks every council on each one, where 1 is best. These are the measures where Medway ranked among the worst in England. The middle council is the median of all the councils with data.
| Measure | Medway | Middle council | Medway’s rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looked-after children with three or more social workers in 2024-25 | 44.8% | 22.5% | 145th of 151 |
| 16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training (2026) | 5.9% | 3.3% | 142nd of 152 |
| Looked-after children with three or more placements in 2025 | 14.1% | 10.5% | 137th of 150 |
| Children who say they do not feel safe in their local area | 18.5% | 12.3% | 135th of 153 |
| Households with children unaccommodated after the council’s homelessness relief duty ended | 84% | 65.6% | 131st of 142 |
| Education, Health and Care Plans issued within 20 weeks in 2025 | 21.4% | 56.6% | 125th of 148 |
| Looked-after children placed outside Medway in 2025 | 60% | 48.5% | 118th of 149 |
| Children in temporary accommodation, per 10,000 children (2025) | 131 | 50 | 105th of 148 |
Exam results were below the middle too. In 2024/25, 42.1% of Medway pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths GCSE, ranked 108th of 153. Kent’s figure was 46.1%.
Several of the weakest scores come from the Commissioner’s own survey of children. In Medway, 25% disagreed that they have fun activities to do near where they live, ranked 149th. Almost 31% disagreed that they can make a difference to things that matter to them, also 149th. And 18.8% disagreed that they have great teachers who support them, ranked 150th.
The dataset also records “No” for four services the council was asked about in 2025:
- a youth hub
- an early support hub or mental health drop-in for children
- access to child independent domestic violence advisers
- access to child independent sexual violence advisers
Each of those scored zero.
Where Medway did well
Not every measure went against Medway. It spent £205.50 per young person aged 13 to 19 on youth services in 2024-25, the 15th highest of 151 councils. Kent spent £23.20.
Medway also scored full marks for telling the Commissioner it runs family hubs, bereavement support, substance misuse services for young people, an educational psychology team and independent advocacy for children in care and care leavers.
Child poverty sat close to the middle: 27% of children aged 0 to 15 live in relative low income, against 27.2% for the middle council.
Mental health spending across Kent and Medway
One finding covers the whole NHS area rather than the council. The report says Kent and Medway spent the least in England on children’s mental health services in 2024-25, about £569 per referred child. North West London spent the most, £2,410.
What it means for you
The ranking does not change any service on its own. It is a picture built from existing figures, most of them a year or more old. But it gives parents, governors and councillors one place to see how Medway compares, measure by measure.
- You can download the full dataset and filter it to Medway. It lists every measure, its source and Medway’s rank.
- If you have a child waiting for an Education, Health and Care Plan, the legal deadline is 20 weeks from the request. Medway met it for about one plan in five in 2025.
- The council’s Child Friendly Medway programme is the route it uses to hear from children. Medway elected its first Young Mayor this month.
Medway Council had not published a response to the report on its news page by Wednesday morning.
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