Children services leaders have called for a national plan for childhood to transform the health, emotional wellbeing and life chances of a generation of youngsters scarred by austerity and the pandemic.

In a withering assessment of the government's record over the past few years, they said ministers had presided over deepening child poverty, crumbling schools and an exploding health and wellbeing crisis in young people, with low-income families worst affected.

The government's failure to prioritise the post-pandemic needs of children in England was a massive missed opportunity that would leave many thousands of youngsters left behind, the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) said.

Its warning comes amid rising public concern about children across a range of indicators, from mental health and delayed early years development in COVID-19 babies to declining school attendance and rising numbers of kids entering care.

This month, children doctors said Britain was experiencing a growing children's mental health crisis and failing to tackle growing child obesity and tooth decay, while former prime minister Gordon Brown described young people as the forgotten victims of a poverty epidemic.