Richmond scored 707 of 960 in the Childhood Lottery, fourth of 149 councils, but ranks near the bottom on MMR jabs, child dentists and care placements.
Richmond upon Thames is the fourth easiest place in England to be a child, according to a new national ranking from the Children’s Commissioner.
The Childhood Lottery, published on 19 October, scores every upper-tier council in England on 96 measures of children’s lives. Richmond scored 707 out of a possible 960. Only Cheshire East (730), Merton (714) and Surrey (708) did better. The average council scored 585.
The full ranking covers 149 councils. Four, including the City of London and the Isles of Scilly, were left out because too much of their data was missing, the report says.
The council welcomed the result on 20 October. Its release covers the strengths. The Commissioner’s full dataset also shows where the borough sits near the bottom of the table, and those measures are below.
Where Richmond comes top
Richmond ranks first in England on several measures, and close to it on others:
- Child poverty: the lowest in England. 10.6% of children aged 0 to 15 live in families on relative low income, against 27% nationally. In Tower Hamlets the figure is 50.3%.
- Year 6 weight: the lowest in England. 23.6% of 10 and 11 year olds are overweight or obese, against 36.1% nationally.
- Fun things to do nearby: first. Only 7.9% of Richmond children in the Commissioner’s 2024 survey disagreed that they had fun activities near where they live. Nationally it was 15%.
- Feeling safe online: first. 4.1% said they did not feel safe online, against 8.8% nationally.
- GCSEs: second in England. 69.6% of pupils got grade 5 or better in both English and maths, against 45.4% nationally. Only the City of London, with a very small number of pupils, was higher.
- Ready for school: fourth. 77% of children reached a good level of development by the end of Reception, against 68.3% nationally.
- Youth services: fourth. The council spent £302.10 per young person aged 13 to 19 on youth services in 2024-25, more than three times the England figure of £92.
Councillor Gareth Roberts, the council’s leader, said: “Being fourth best is not the same as every child having the same opportunities. We know some children and families face real challenges, and we are not going to be complacent.”
Where it falls short
The same dataset puts Richmond in the bottom 20 councils on six measures. The ranks below are out of the councils that had data for each one.
| Measure | Richmond | England | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in care placed outside the borough, 2025 | 88.4% | 49.2% | 148th of 149 |
| Children who saw an NHS dentist in the last year, 2024-25 | 45.8% | 57% | 143rd of 152 |
| Eligible children who had the MMR jab, 2024-25 | 68.8% | 83% | 138th of 150 |
| Year 6 children who are underweight, 2024/25 | 2.5% | 1.6% | 135th |
| Schools offering breakfast, summer 2024 | 80% | 94% | 135th of 151 |
| Children in care with a mid-year school move, 2025 | 11.3% | 8% | 132nd |
The care placement figure is the weakest in London bar one. Only Westminster, at 89.2%, placed a higher share of its looked-after children outside its own area. The measure counts any placement beyond the council’s boundary, however close to home it is.
MMR uptake is low across London, not just here. The report says the ten councils with the lowest childhood vaccination rates in England are all London boroughs. Richmond is not among those ten, but at 68.8% it is well behind neighbouring Kingston (79%).
The dataset also records the council’s answers to 25 yes-or-no questions about services. Richmond answered no to four, fewer than the average council (about five). Those four were:
- an early support hub or mental health drop-in for children and young people
- access to Child Independent Sexual Violence Advisors
- targeted support or a youth group for home educated children
- targeted support or a youth group for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children
These are the council’s own answers to the Commissioner in 2025. Some of these services may be run by other bodies.
How the neighbours did
Richmond’s children’s services are run by Achieving for Children, which also runs Kingston’s. The two boroughs are scored separately, and Richmond finished 40 points ahead.
- Wandsworth, which shares a council staff structure with Richmond but not its children’s services, came 28th with 649.
- Merton, to the east, came second in England with 714, the top score in London.
- Kingston upon Thames came 17th with 667.
- Hounslow, across the river, came 148th with 460, the second lowest in England.
Hounslow’s low score comes largely from the yes-or-no service questions, where it answered no to 17, the most in England. Leave those answers out and score only the data measures, and Hounslow sits in the lower half of the table rather than near the bottom.
What it means for you
- If your child has not had both MMR doses, the jab is free from your GP practice at any age. The borough’s uptake is 14 points below the England figure.
- If you cannot find an NHS dentist for your child, NHS dental care is free for under 18s. The NHS find a dentist service lists practices taking new patients.
- If you want to read the full table for Richmond, every measure is in the Commissioner’s downloadable dataset. Filter the first column for Richmond upon Thames.
For school places and term dates, see our Richmond school term dates page.
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