The Big Ambition for Youth Work
Childhood is precious. Every child deserves the opportunity for play and leisure time, alongside a great education – the two things are key to developing the skills to succeed in adult life. As Children’s Commissioner, children tell me all the time about the importance of play and activities, especially access to safe outdoor spaces. […]
The Big Ambition for Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum
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 […]
The Big Ambition for Children’s Social Care
Children in care and those receiving support from children’s social care share the same hopes and dreams as their peers: they want to be supported to reach their aspirations in the same way as any other children. Like all children, they want a loving, stable home, a brilliant education and grown-ups who love them into […]
Thousands of child abuse victims forced to navigate criminal justice system without support
Thousands of child victims of domestic or sexual abuse are being forced to navigate complicated and often traumatic criminal justice processes alone, without being offered specialist support. New figures from the Children’s Commissioner for England show that the vast majority (92%)[1] of cases involving child victims of sexual violence or domestic abuse are receiving no […]
Child victims’ access to advocacy
In a world designed by – and mainly for – adults, children’s voices are very often not heard. It is for this reason that the role of the Children’s Commissioner was established in 2004 – to ensure children’s needs and best interests are advocated for at a national level. The Children Act 2004 gives the […]
The Big Ambition for Education
As Children’s Commissioner, I have spoken to hundreds of thousands of children, parents, and carers, hearing about their experiences of school, and the barriers that sometimes prevent them from getting a good education. After a period where schools were closed for most children, children and young people repeatedly spoke about their desire to return to […]
Deputy Director, Projects and Delivery
Salary: Grade 6, from £68,743 per annum 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 giving children and young people a voice on […]
The Big Ambition for Health
The physical and mental health of our children and young people is of paramount importance as it lays the foundation for their overall wellbeing and sets them up for future success. As Children’s Commissioner, I want all children to grow up feeling happy, healthy and well, with access to support quickly and locally when they […]
Policy Adviser
Salary: HEO £35,733 – £39,369 per annum 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 giving children and young people a voice on […]
Policy Adviser (FTC)
Salary: HEO £35,733 – £39,369 per annum 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 giving children and young people a voice on […]
The Big Ambition for Families
Family is central to all of our lives, particularly children. The concept of family comes in many forms. For nearly every child we’ve spoken to it includes people outside of our traditional ‘immediate family’. This is an important distinction – because it isn’t how a family is made up that makes the biggest difference, it’s […]
The Big Ambition: Children’s views on school
As a headteacher and former trust leader, with over 30 years of experience in education, I have proudly been involved in the movement to raise standards in schools and to improve the educational outcomes for children across England. I have seen how children’s lives have been transformed by the improvements to schools over the last […]
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.
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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 […]
