Press Notice: Alternative provision becoming ‘shadow SEND system’, warns Children’s Commissioner, as new data shows thousands of children with additional needs are educated in unregistered settings
Almost 25,000 children are being educated in unregistered alternative provision (AP) settings with no national oversight or standards, more than half of whom have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Children’s Commissioner’s new report has revealed. The number of children being placed in unregistered AP settings has almost doubled over the past five years, […]
Register, Regulate and Raise Standards: The Children’s Commissioner’s view on unregulated alternative provision
As Children’s Commissioner I strongly believe that every child has the right to an excellent education no matter who they are or where they live. Young people have also told me how important a good education is to them. Over the last four years I have heard from a million children through my surveys, The […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on NHS 10-Year Plan
The foundations for a healthy life are laid in childhood, so an ambition of creating the healthiest generation of children yet is an important step towards tackling the deep inequalities in their healthcare. I have long called for a child’s ‘red book’ to be digitised, so this is a really welcome move. Taken with plans […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on IOPC gross misconduct ruling in Child Q case
The case of Child Q remains one of the most shocking and profoundly disturbing incidents involving the treatment of a child by police in recent memory. As I have repeatedly said, the strip searching of Child Q at school, without the presence of her parents or a trusted adult, while on her period should never […]
Children’s Commissioner launches Youth Voices Forum
“Listen to the voices of children and young people and involve them in decision-making processes.” – Girl, 17. As Children’s Commissioner, one of my greatest privileges is listening to children from across the country, to hear about their lives and to champion their voices. Over the last four years I have heard from a million […]
The Big Conversation Podcast – Episode 10 – Ali Oliver, CEO, Youth Sport Trust
The Big Conversation: In conversation with the Children’s Commissioner and her youth Ambassadors is my podcast series where I share the voices and views of England’s children. The podcast draws on the themes in The Big Ambition and will focus on the most important issues that are impacting young people’s lives, with solutions developed with […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Bill House of Lords amendment 160 ‘Sara’s Law’
“Sara Sharif died when she became invisible to local services. All the warning signs were missed – a history of domestic abuse, bruises on her body, being removed from school – because her circumstances did not warrant help or support from professionals in Surrey, despite having been known to the local authority since birth. “As […]
The Big Conversation Podcast: Jon Yates, Executive Director, Youth Endowment Fund
“It is important to have interventions throughout a person’s life if they are at risk of committing violence – and for children, these interventions need to give them a sense they matter.” A key theme to emerge from children in The Big Ambition was the desire to feel safe and confident in public spaces. Feeling […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on national inquiry into grooming gangs
“The girls at the heart of this scandal have been failed by every professional in their lives. They, and the institutions that were intended to protect them, ignored their voices and sidelined their experiences. They must be held accountable for turning a blind eye to a sustained campaign of violence against young girls by predatory […]
“We need you to protect us” – some hard truths about children’s access to pornography
The way children understand the world is being shaped by what they see online. They have access to news and entertainment and social networks that can expand their opportunities in really positive ways – but many children tell me that this increased connectivity is actually making them feel more isolated. Since becoming Children’s Commissioner my […]
Children call for a say in debate: Assisted Dying Bill ‘touches our generation in important ways’
Children in England have shared their fears about the unforeseen consequences of the UK’s assisted dying bill, after the Children’s Commissioner met with clinicians in Canada about their plans to expand end of life legislation to include ‘mature minors’. Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza recently returned from a visit to Toronto, where she spoke […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner in response to Spending Review measures
“Investing in children and the services that support them is crucial if we are to break the link between background and opportunity that holds back too many young people. The measures announced in today’s Spending Review – money for projects supporting the most vulnerable children, a boost in social housing and an expansion of free […]
Archived Content
Improving the living situation of children living in secure accommodation
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commisioner for England, has written to Vicky Ford MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, Lucy Frazer QC MP, Minister of State, Ministry of Justice and Nadine Dorries MP, Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health regarding concerns about children in living in secure accommodation, particularly those […]
Children in custody during lockdown
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, the Children’s Commissioner’s Office has investigated and highlighted concerns about the treatment of children in secure settings. Our briefing in May used data collected from the Youth Custody Service (YCS) alongside a series of interviews with children to shine a light on conditions for children in custody during […]
Help at Hand annual report 2020
Our 2020 annual report for Help at Hand, our advice line for children in care.
Response to the DfE’s announcement on unregulated accommodation for children in care
Anne Longfield, responding to the DfE’s announcement on unregulated accommodation for children in care, said: “The Government’s ban on unregulated provision for under-16s in care is very welcome, but needs to go further and include all under-18s. There are too many teenage children in care living in completely unsuitable and sometimes dangerous accommodation, including hostels […]
Five things you need to know about SEN in schools
How children’s needs are met (or go unmet) in schools, and the implications of these for the SEND Review and other reforms
Building back better
When I became Children’s Commissioner for England six years ago, I set out an ambitious vision for a nation where childhood is understood and celebrated and where the voice of all children is listened to at the heart of Government. I had in mind a particular group of children who, in my experience of working […]
Building back better – Anne Longfield’s final speech as Children’s Commissioner
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, has delivered her final speech in post with a challenge to the Prime Minister to show he is serious about children by putting them at the heart of his post-Covid plans. Her speech warned that the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘level up’ will be ‘just a slogan unless […]
Speech
Characteristics of children entering care for the first time as teenagers
Last year, research from my office showed that even before the pandemic, there were 120,000 highly vulnerable children in England who were falling through the gaps in education and social care. This group of children – equivalent to 1 in 25 13-17 year olds – all had significant additional needs and vulnerabilities but were not […]
Spend over £25,000: 2020 – 2021
We publish details of all spending over £25,000 on a quarterly basis. 1 April 2020 – 30 June 2020 Nil 1 July 2020 – 30 September 2020 Transaction date Merchant name Transaction amount Entity Details 14/08/2020 National Audit Office £33,600.00 OCC External Audit Services 1 October 2020 – 31 December 2020 Nil 1 January 2021 […]
Still not safe
The public health response to youth violence
