How it works

Assessing an acutely unwell child is challenging and requires healthcare professionals to have the right information, skills and confidence to make safe decisions. This website can help you develop these.

Spotting the Sick Child is divided into different areas: 

Courses

This section is the main place for learning. It combines clinical videos with interactive assessment activities.

It starts with the Basic Child Assessment course which outlines a systematic approach to assessment. It is recommended that you complete this first.

Next is the Symptoms course which looks at seven common symptoms observed in acutely ill children:
•    Difficulty in breathing
•    Fever 
•    Rash
•    Fits
•    Dehydration
•    Abdominal pain
•    Head injury
with key background information, what to consider in history taking and examination and potential red flags.

The Patient Stories course gives you the opportunity to develop a structured approach to assessing these symptoms.

There are three Short Case courses – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced – depending on your level of professional responsibility. Each has a corresponding test which, if completed successfully, gives you access to a certificate that can be used for continuing professional development purposes.
 

Saved videos

This area helps you to quickly return to videos you want to revisit for revision, reflection or teaching. 

Add videos as you view course content to build your own collection.

Resources

This section provides a range of externally linked resources to support further learning and background reading.

If you have suggestions for inclusion, please contact us. 

Spotting the Sick Child was developed in 2004 to support professionals in recognising children with serious illness and  has been widely used in medical education. In 2010 it was brought online with interactive, evidence-based learning using real clinical scenarios and footage.

Now the website is housed at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the platform has been fully rebuilt with improved accessibility and a redesigned interface.

We hope you find Spotting the Sick Child a valuable tool in your professional practice. Please feel free to contact us with suggestions for future improvements.

How to use the site

In order to access Spotting the Sick Child you will need to register an account. There is no fee for registration. 

Please note that this website is intended for use by healthcare professionals, students and educators only. When completing the registration process you will need to confirm that your role is one of these.

You can manage your account information and security settings in the My account area in the top right corner.

Did you previously use the Spotting the Sick Child site (before 31 July 2026)?

Even if you have used Spotting the Sick Child before, you will need to register a new account. No previous completions will have carried over.

Whilst there have been changes in the structure of the website with the relaunch, all the clinical content and activities are still available.