The best place to raise children in England revealed – and it may surprise you

But your kids will love it

For many parents hunting for a new home, there is one crucial deciding factor when deciding where to settle down - schools. A good school and local community are all part of choosing the best place to raise children.

Related: More Brits would rather live by an Aldi than a good school – but do you agree?

New research has revealed that if you are looking for the best place to raise children in England then you might want to start looking for a house in North Lincolnshire.

Best place to raise children

A study conducted by Oxford Home Schooling found that the local authority of North Lincolnshire, in Yorkshire and the Humber was the best place for young families to live.

room with shelves on wall grey fireplace and wooden chair

(Image credit: Chris Snook)

The ranking was based on the percentage of schools rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by Ofsted, the percentage of school places available and the affordability of housing based on average wages and property prices.

86 per cent of the schools across North Lincolnshire were scored highly by Ofsted. The schools are not oversubscribed – one in seven of the student places available were not filled last.

It also scored highly as an affordable place to live, an important factor when it comes to being able to afford a house with plenty of room for your kids to run around in.

Overall Yorkshire and the Humber appears to be the ideal place to raise children. Five local authorities from the region featured in the top 10 best places to raise children.

kitchen room with white tiled walls and kitchen chimney

(Image credit: Fiona Walker-Arnott)

In contrast, shockingly London was found to be one of the worst areas to raise children. Half of the 10 worst places for young families to live are in London.

Lewisham topped the list as the worst place to raise children. The schools are oversubscribed with the number of students applying for school places 35 per cent higher than those available.

However, less than two-thirds of the schools were rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding'. It will also cost a pretty penny to live there with houses averaging nearly £400,000 and wages just 9 per cent of this.

Related: PwC reveals that living near a bad school could knock up to £14,000 off your house price

How far would you move to find the best place to raise your children?

Rebecca Knight
Deputy Editor, Digital

Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.