Unaccompanied children in need of care
As Children’s Commissioner, I have a duty to promote and protect the rights of all children. But I have a particular duty, and feel a profound responsibility, towards those who are not living with their own families. This includes the children who have arrived here unaccompanied, fleeing war and persecution in their home countries. The […]
Connecting the dots – the importance of sharing data on children and families
As Children’s Commissioner, I have seen how important good and consistent data sharing is for improving children’s outcomes in life. But sadly, too often children fall through the gaps due to a lack of knowledge sharing between children’s services. This was most apparent earlier this year, when I conducted regional roundtables in areas with […]
Children’s Commissioner’s briefing on the Victims and Prisoner’s Bill
The Children’s Commissioner strongly welcomes the Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is a critical opportunity tostrengthen children’s rights to safety and justice. Child victims are among the most vulnerable – too oftenexcluded from a justice process designed with adults in mind, and overlooked when it comes to specialist supportto recover. While it is the ultimate […]
The importance of health and well-being to children and young people
Children want to grow up feeling happy, healthy and well. In my last big survey, The Big Ask, in 2021, children spoke about wanting good physical health, and younger children in particular spoke about wanting to live healthy lives. I am now going round the country again asking them what they want politicians to prioritise […]
Why homeless 16 and 17 year olds don’t get the care they need
Last week I published my report ‘Homeless 16- and 17-year-olds in need of care’ where I set out that every child deserves a safe and loving home – either with their own family or, if that is not possible, in a stable, caring alternative. As Children’s Commissioner, I have heard from children across the country, […]
New statistics on looked-after children
Most commonly, children are taken in care because they are experiencing or are at risk of abuse or neglect. These children share the same hopes and dreams as their peers. I want all children in care to be supported to achieve these in the same way as any other children – a loving, stable home, […]
Celebrating World Children’s Day
Today is World’s Children’s Day, a chance to celebrate children across the country and to raise awareness about the importance of upholding children’s rights. We should all take this moment to reflect on how we are upholding children’s rights and why it is paramount that we do so. Children themselves recognise the need for the […]
Child Rights Adviser
Salary: HEO £35,733 – £39,369 per annum Hours: Full-time Contract Type: Fixed-term until 31 March 2024 Do you want to make a tangible difference to the lives of children across England? Can you use your skills to be a catalyst for creating meaningful change? Are you ready to join a committed team dedicated to giving […]
Finance Manager
Salary: SEO £43,300 – £47,939 (SEO Accountant £49,901 – £54,861 available for CCAB qualified accountant) Hours: Full-time Do you want to make a tangible difference to the lives of children across England? Can you use your skills to be a catalyst for creating meaningful change? Are you ready to join a committed team dedicated to […]
Homeless 16- and 17-year olds in need of care
Every child deserves a safe and loving home – either with their own family or, if that is not possible, in a stable, caring alternative. As Children’s Commissioner, I have heard from children across the country, including in my recent independent Family Review about just how central a loving home is for every child to […]
Help at Hand annual report 2023
As the Children’s Commissioner for England, my statutory duty, as set out in the Children Act 2004, is to promote and protect the rights of all children, with particular regard to children who are living away from home or receiving social care services. In 2014, under section 2D of Act, the Commissioner’s powers were extended […]
Protecting children from serious violence
‘I think in certain areas we ain’t provided with lots to do and that makes kids fend for their own type of fun and most of us just end up hanging out on the street. This causes knife crime and stuff like that’ – Girl, aged 14 (The Big Ask). Recent months have been heavy […]
Archived Content
Pass the parcel: children posted around the care system
“I feel like a parcel getting moved around all the time, getting opened up and sent back and moved on to somewhere else.” Teenage girl, in care over 100 miles from home There are over 30,000 looked after children living ‘out of area’ in England. This is 41% of all children in care and has […]
Thousands of children in care passed around the system like parcels and living miles away from family and friends
Shining a light on the experiences of children in care who are moved ‘out of area’ – away from their home boroughs where family and friends live.
Receive our vacancies by email
Sign up to receive our latest vacancies by email We will send you an email each Friday if we publish any new vacancies during that week. If we don’t publish any new vacancies, you won’t get an email. Email address Email preferences As well as receiving our latest vacancies, you can also receive our regular […]
Marking 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with call on political parties to put the spotlight on children during election campaign
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, is calling on the political parties fighting the General Election to put the spotlight on children’s issues, as she joins the Children’s Commissioners for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in publishing an assessment of the UK’s progress on children’s rights. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the UN […]
UK Children’s Commissioners’ UNCRC mid-term review
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a landmark agreement by governments around the world on the rights of children. As Children’s Commissioners it is central to our mission to make sure that those rights are made a reality for all children. The United Nations […]
Response to the Home and Foreign Secretaries regarding British children in Syria
Earlier this year Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, wrote to the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary regarding the safety and welfare of British children who have become involved in the conflict in Syria. The following is the Children Commissioner for England’s latest response to Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office […]
Nurture with nature: Why environmental engagement is imperative for children
We know that the health of the environment is one of children’s greatest concerns, as outlined in Issue 1 of our Children’s Insights reports. The word ‘environment’ is likely to stir a very different reaction amongst children than it used to. Many children face the incompatible situation of a lifestyle divorced from nature, and mounting […]
EU children in Britain
This page was published in 2019 and may contain out of date information. Know your rights to stay in Britain If you are an EU citizen living in Britain, Brexit will affect your rights. This means you will need to apply for what the Government calls ‘settled status’ in Britain. What is settled status? Settled […]
Children’s insights
This is the first issue in our regular series of insights into the views and experiences of children in England.
Changes to gambling laws needed as our report into online gaming reveals children’s gambling fears
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published a report, “Gaming the system’’ which looks at the experiences of children who play games online. The Children’s Commissioner’s Office commissioned the research company Revealing Reality to speak to groups of children who play online games like FIFA, Fortnite and Roblox about what they love and what […]
