Overview

  1. Manchester Comes Out on Top
  2. Go Green in Nottingham and Aberdeen
  3. Newcastle has Outstanding Schools
  4. Who Came Out Worst?
  5. Celebrating Babies Born In Lockdown
  6. Children’s Jewellery Inspiration

The past 18 months have been tough for everyone, but especially hard for new parents and young families. Over 600,000 babies were born during lockdown and simple things like attending baby classes or bonding with family and friends all had to be experienced online. 

Here at Hatton Jewellers we wanted to make life that little bit easier for parents so we have carried out new research to discover the top cities in the UK for young families. 

We researched the 30 largest cities across the UK by population and ranked them against a series of factors. We measured the number of baby classes available in the area, the number of nurseries, local Ofsted school ratings and the number of parks and nature attractions per 100,000 people to find out which cities are the most family friendly. 

We then ranked the cities according to their score to reveal the top 15 cities! Read on to discover the full results, as well as finding out how you can nominate someone to win an exclusive piece of children’s jewellery.

Top 15 Cities Map

Manchester Comes Out on Top

Not only did Manchester score in the top 5 for the most children’s activity classes per 100,000 people, it also scored top of the leaderboard for the most nurseries (111 to be exact) within 5 miles of the city. With 18 baby massage classes, 16 mother and toddler classes and 46 baby development classes, there’s a whole host of options available to help keep your little one occupied.

Go Green in Nottingham and Aberdeen 

Nature parks and attractions are a big bonus when it comes to living in a city. Nottingham came in a close second place to Manchester, with its array of nature attractions. From adventure-filled forests to nature parks and attractive gardens, there’s a whole range of green spaces perfect for burning off that abundance of energy. Aberdeen was hot on the heels of Nottingham thanks to its wealth of green spaces and attractions. 

While Salford scored the lowest when it comes to green space, it did score top points for the most children’s activity classes per 100,000 people. From baby massage to mother and toddler groups, there is plenty for you to get involved with. 

Newcastle has Outstanding Schools

When looking at the top areas for schools in England, Newcastle Upon Tyne had 20 Ofsted rated Outstanding primary schools, meaning it was top of the leaderboard in that category per 100,000 people within 3 miles of the city centre. Leicester followed closely behind in second place, boasting 17 outstanding primary schools.

Who Came Out Worst? 

Out of the 30 most populated cities in the UK, Hull landed at the bottom of the list overall. While it was 10th in the country for most Ofsted-rated Outstanding primary schools per 100,000 people, its poor scores for the number of children’s activity classes, nurseries and variety of nature parks and outdoor attractions meant it scored low in many of our rankings. 

Alongside this, the hustle and bustle and highly populated areas of London leave it close to the bottom of the list. It scored poorly on the majority of children’s classes, especially with baby development classes; it had the lowest number per 100,000 compared to the other most populated cities in the UK. While London scored highly for the 548 nurseries within 5 miles of the centre, it scored at the bottom of the list for Ofsted-rated Outstanding primary schools. 

City Baby Massage Rank Messy Play Rank Mother & Toddler Classes Rank Baby Development Classes Rank Baby Swimming Rank Number of Nuseries Rank Number of Nature Attractions Rank Final Ranking (out of 210)
Manchester 3 5 3 3 6 1 20 41
Nottingham 9 8 20 8 5 10 1 61
Wolverhampton 12 4 2 2 7 19 22 68
Leicester 7 23 6 10 11 4 19 80
Southampton 19 11 21 15 2 7 6 81
Derby 2 20 11 7 14 8 14 76
York 11 16 4 16 8 13 4 72
Portsmouth 18 9 12 20 3 2 8 72
Salford 1 1 1 1 1 27 30 62
Liverpool 13 18 8 6 15 15 9 84
Cardiff 4 24 14 9 26 5 7 89
Wakefield 5 10 7 4 9 22 27 84
Bristol 23 17 10 14 12 9 11 96
Newcastle upon Tyne 6 2 18 22 19 24 17 108
Coventry 16 15 5 5 13 11 25 90
Brighton 17 6 13 18 4 20 18 96
Bradford 10 7 9 12 10 17 29 94
Glasgow 15 26 16 13 28 23 15 136
Leeds 14 14 17 17 16 14 23 115
Swansea 20 27 22 19 21 25 5 139
Birmingham 24 13 15 11 24 12 21 120
Sunderland 8 3 19 23 20 28 26 127
Belfast 21 12 29 24 25 26 10 147
Plymouth 29 30 26 27 23 16 3 154
Edinburgh 22 19 23 26 17 21 13 141
Aberdeen 25 28 24 28 29 30 2 166
Sheffield 27 22 27 21 18 18 12 145
Stoke-on-Trent 30 21 30 29 30 6 16 162
Hull 26 29 25 25 22 29 24 180
London 28 25 28 30 27 3 28 169

Celebrating Babies Born In Lockdown 

We want to celebrate all those babies born during lockdown with an exclusive children’s jewellery giveaway. For the chance to win a children’s diamond encrusted belcher bracelet worth over £700, head to our Facebook or Instagram leaving a comment with the name of someone who has had a baby during lockdown. Terms and conditions apply. 

Children’s Jewellery Inspiration 

If you welcomed a new little one to the family during lockdown or are looking for the perfect new baby gift for a friend then what better gift than a piece of jewellery? Children’s jewellery makes a memorable present and keepsake for years to come, for example, a christening bracelet such as a gold baby bangle could make the perfect gift. 

Here at Hatton Jewellers we have a range of children’s jewellery, from delicate gold bracelets and bangles to expandable identity bracelets which can be personalised and engraved. 

Data Sources

The data was collected in May 2021, using UK Cities, Gov UK, Class4Kids, Tripadvisor and Childcare.co.uk.