PaedsPocketbook — 9-section UK paediatric nursing guide Get it — £19
For UK Children's Nursing Students & NQNs

The children's ward, in your pocket.

One A5 guide covering normal observations, spotting the sick child, PEWS, fluids, drug calculations, consent, development, safeguarding and the key scoring tools — sourced against current UK guidance.

01 · Normal Obs
Heart rate, RR & BP by age
03 · PEWS
Score to escalation level
04 · Fluids
Dehydration & shock signs
9 colour-coded sections NICE-aligned A5 · print & carry 34 pages

Instant PDF download · One-time payment, no subscription

📘 9 sections, one guide 🔍 Sourced & referenced 🧭 Built for placement, not just exams 🇬🇧 UK guidance throughout
What's inside

Nine sections. One guide.

Click any section to see a real content preview from that page of the guide.

01

Normal observations by age

Heart rate, RR, BP, temperature and SpO2 by age band.

From the guide: A heart rate that's alarming in a 10-year-old is unremarkable in a newborn — there is no single "normal number" in children the way there often is in adults. Under 1 year: HR 110–160 bpm · RR 30–40 · systolic BP 70–90 mmHg.
02

Spotting the sick child

ABCDE assessment, AVPU, CRT, and the carer question.

From the guide: Children compensate. By the time BP falls, they may already be in decompensated shock. Grunting is the body trying to maintain positive end-expiratory pressure — a sign of severe distress, never a noise to "watch."
03

PEWS & escalation

National PEWS scoring, four bands, three trigger pathways.

The golden rule: Respond at the highest level triggered by any single criterion — not the average. 1–4 LOW · 5–8 MEDIUM (30 min) · 9–12 HIGH (15 min) · ≥13 EMERGENCY (immediate).
04

Fluids & dehydration

NICE-aligned assessment, ORT, shock, Holliday-Segar.

Worked example: 24 kg child, clinically dehydrated, not shocked. Maintenance: 1,580 ml/day. Deficit (50 ml/kg): 1,200 ml. Total over 24 h: 2,780 ml.
05

Drug calculations

The four errors behind most real incidents, fully worked.

From the guide: A UK paediatric hospital audit found 8% of medication incidents involved a tenfold dosing error — almost always a decimal or unit slip, not a maths mistake. Part B (verify) is the step most often skipped.
06

Communication & consent

Gillick vs Fraser, consent by age, developmental stages.

Key distinction: Gillick competence applies to any treatment. Fraser guidelines apply only to contraceptive or sexual health advice for under-16s. Confusing them loses important detail when documenting a decision.
07

Development quick-reference

Limit ages across gross motor, fine motor and social domains.

Red flags at any age: Regression or loss of a previously-acquired skill — always significant, regardless of age. Hand preference before ~12 months. A parent saying something feels wrong is itself a reason to act.
08

Safeguarding essentials

Four categories of abuse, warning signs, what to do.

From the guide: You don't need to be certain abuse is happening to act — you need a concern, raised early, through the right channel. If your concern isn't being acted on, it remains your responsibility to take further action.
09

Scores & tools quick-reference

AVPU, CRT, dehydration, pain assessment and ISBAR.

ISBAR tip: "I don't know exactly what's wrong, but I'm concerned because..." followed by your specific observations is a complete, legitimate escalation call. What you've seen matters more than having a diagnosis.
This is a revision and clinical orientation aid — it doesn't replace your trust's own charts, policies, or your mentor's judgement. PEWS charts and reference ranges vary between trusts and sources; the guide says so plainly rather than presenting one version as universal fact.
Not ready to buy yet?

Try the Fluids & Dehydration cheat sheet — free

A free taste of the full guide's style and structure: NICE-aligned dehydration signs, oral rehydration and the Holliday-Segar maintenance calculation, condensed onto a printable cheat sheet. No card details, just your email.

Why trust it

Built to be checked, not just believed

No fabricated stats, no invented modules — just content traced back to current UK guidance.

📚

Sourced against current guidance

Content is checked against NICE guidance, National PEWS documentation, BNFc-aligned dosing and current safeguarding guidance — referenced, not assumed.

🇬🇧

UK paediatric specific

Written for UK children's nursing students and NQNs — National PEWS, NICE pathways, the Children Act and Gillick/Fraser frameworks, not a generic or US-aligned guide.

🤝

Honest about its limits

This guide doesn't cover individual drug dosing, neonatal intensive care, or full resuscitation algorithms — and says so. It's a revision aid, not a clinical decision tool.

Good fit if you're...

  • A children's nursing student preparing for placement
  • A newly qualified nurse (NQN) consolidating paediatric fundamentals
  • Revising PEWS, fluids, drug calculations or safeguarding for exams
  • Looking for one consistent, sourced reference rather than scattered notes

Not the right fit if you need...

  • Individual drug dosing — always check the current BNF for Children
  • Neonatal intensive care content
  • Full resuscitation algorithms — these need supervised APLS/EPALS training
  • A replacement for your trust's own PEWS chart or policies
Pricing

One guide. One price.

PaedsPocketbook
£19

One-time payment · Instant download

  • Full 9-section A5 PDF (34 pages)
  • Print-ready for placement, or read on screen
  • Sourced against current UK guidance, with self-check questions throughout
  • Lifetime access to your copy — no subscription
Get instant access — £19

Digital download, delivered instantly — all sales final. Not sure yet? Try the free section first ↑

FAQ

Questions, answered plainly

The free guidance is real and you should still read it — NICE, RCPCH and your trust's own resources are the actual source material. What PaedsPocketbook does is bring the parts that matter most on placement into one consistent, sourced, A5 reference, instead of piecing it together from a dozen different PDFs at 11pm before a shift.

It's a digital download delivered instantly, so all sales are final. That's exactly why the free cheat sheet exists — download it first to see the structure, sourcing style and tone before deciding.

No. PaedsPocketbook is an independent revision aid and is not endorsed, produced or approved by NICE, the RCPCH, the NMC, the BNF for Children, or any NHS organisation.

No. Not every UK trust uses the same PEWS chart, and exact cut-offs vary. This guide teaches the structure and logic of escalation — always use the specific chart in use on your placement.

No. Section 05 teaches the calculation method using a worked example, but medicine-specific dosing should always be checked against the current BNF for Children.

It's a 34-page A5 PDF, delivered instantly to your email after purchase. Print it, or keep it on your phone or tablet for placement. No subscription — it's yours to keep.