This is a progress update of the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), run by Professor Jane Barlow and Dr Michael Fanner from the Supporting Early Minds team at the University of Oxford, alongside the Institute of Health Visiting and in collaboration with the James Lind Alliance.

We are now excited to announce the first ever Top 10 Research Priorities for the social and emotional wellbeing of babies, toddlers, and preschool children.

This marks a significant milestone for early years research and policy, coming at a time where society is increasingly recognising the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping lifelong health and wellbeing.

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.

By identifying and prioritising the key unanswered questions, the partnership aims to ensure future research funding is directed towards studies that can make a tangible difference to families.

The UK Top 10 Developing Child Research Priorities are:

1. 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?
2. What are the most culturally sensitive approaches to support parental understanding of early child social and emotional development in diverse ethnic groups?
3. What are the most effective ways to support fathers to develop healthy parent-infant relationships?
4. What are the most effective methods of identifying neurodivergence in babies and children age 0-5 years?
5. How can well-baby clinics better support parents to understand and promote the emotional and social development of their baby where there are concerns?
6. 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?
7. What are the most effective methods of supporting parents and preschool children who are on a waiting list for specialist child mental health services?
8. How can services better support babies and children age 0-5 years experiencing court proceedings or family separation?
9. 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?
10. What are the most effective home and nursery-based early interventions to support babies and children age 0-5 years with sensory integration difficulties?

The Process

Over an extensive 18 month process, the priorities were identified through consultation and consensus-building. In an initial consultation survey, 523 participants submitted 1,071 questions. These submissions were then organised into more than fifty summary questions, reflecting the wide-ranging issues affecting the social and emotional wellbeing of young children.

Following a comprehensive review of the evidence, the priority setting partnership identified that 17 of the summary questions were not already adequately answered by research. These 17 questions were then presented in a national prioritisation survey which attracted over 520 responses.

The final stage was an online workshop facilitated by the James Lind Alliance in early September 2026, where 13 parents and carers and eight healthcare professionals came together to agree on the final Top 10 priorities.

The Future

The objective of the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership was to strengthen the evidence base for early years support. By focusing on what matters most to families and practitioners, we hope that a key legacy of Supporting Early Minds can be to accelerate research to improve services, inform policy and enhance outcomes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers across the country.

Supporting Early Minds team members said:

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.

We are grateful to Elevate Great and the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre who supported this Priority Setting.