The purpose of this study was to determine the relation between deprivation category, triage score and A&E attendance for children under the age of 13. A retrospective study of all children attending an A&E department over one year was designed and all children attending the A&E department who had a postcode and a triage score were documented on attendance. Over the 12 months studied, there were 27,965 patients registered as attending A&E for the first time, that is, true ‘first attenders’. Of these 26,325 (94 per cent) had reliable triage categories allocated and documented. The postcode was used to determine the deprivation category and the triage scored the severity of illness or injury.