“Many children grow up with injustice; the education system doesn’t really listen to children and neither do our mental health. Too often children feel they have to ‘prove’ themselves when seeking support, rather than being listened to first and foremost.” Poppy, Children’s Commissioner Ambassador
These were just some of the issues that were raised by my Youth Ambassador, Poppy, at our Big Conversation event at the Labour Party Conference. Poppy’s not alone when it comes to raising these issues.
Since becoming Children’s Commissioner I have made it my mission to listen to children and reflect their voices and views to the government.
I’ve now heard from a million children and many of them shared Poppy’s concerns.
One of the most striking findings in fact from The Big Ambition survey was about children being listened to – or not, as the case may be.
The survey results found that only one in five children and young people said that the politicians who run the country listen to what they have to say.
That’s exactly why, alongside my Youth Ambassadors Emmanuel, Poppy and Rebecca, I hosted an event at last week’s Labour Party Conference to drive home the importance of listening to children and ensuring their voices are at the heart of government policy. Joining us on the panel were Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the Children’s Laureate; Stephen Morgan MP, the Minister for Early Education; and Natasha Irons MP, Chair of the APPG for Youth Affairs.
Speaking to children and analysising the results of The Big Ask and The Big Ambition I know this is a generation that has had a lot to deal with – mental health issues, the impact of the cost of living crisis, Covid, online safety, knife crime and the threat of war – but it’s clear this is a generation that is full of hope and ambition. They just need us to listen to them and include them in policy making so they can achieve their goals.
Emmanuel, Rebecca and Poppy shared their views, experiences and concerns with the audience of The Big Conversation event, and it was evident for some of the delegates in the audience that what my Ambassadors were saying was new to them.
Emmanuel spoke frankly about an incident in which schools and colleges in South Leeds went into a ‘security lockdown’ after a false threat of gun violence, which turned out to be a prank. He spoke about the impact this had on students, their families and of course the adults tasked with making decisions in the midst of the chaos.
Poppy talked about the challenges many of her peers faced when seeking support – she said all too often children feel they have to ‘prove’ themselves, when in the first instance they want to be listened to and heard. Meanwhile, Rebecca shared her first-hand experience of the care system, and the negative experiences she had with foster carers who were clearly not in fostering for the right reasons. Her call to ensure children were never left to feel like a burden and that carers are providing foster placements for the right reasons received a thunderous round of applause – and I entirely back her, we should ensure that every child has a loving place to call home.
The panel discussed issues impacting children’s lives including the value of social cohesion and the impact of the online world. Frank Cottrell-Boyce elaborated on this sentiment highlight that “children are massively overprotected in the real world and under protected in the digital world”.
He also spoke of the recent violence seen on many of the streets over the summer, which was particularly poignant given Liverpool’s proximity to Southport, where much of the violence originated. Frank said too much negative attention is placed on the aftermath of events, but highlighted that aftermath is an agricultural term for what grows following a harvest.
He believes in the “power of aftermath being positive”, a sentiment many would agree with seeing how communities around the country rallied together following the violence and destruction in summer.

It was clear there was much to be optimistic about; Natasha Irons stated her desire for a national action plan to provide universal help and support for children and young people.
While Stephen Morgan spoke of his pride in the Government’s commitment to bring in votes for 16-year-olds stating: “if you can join the armed forces, pay tax and contribute to society you should be able to have your say”.
Online safety was an area of deep discussion, with Ambassador Poppy suggesting the Government should create a trusted site for young people to get accurate information to combat misinformation.
Replying to this, Frank Cottrell-Boyce stated we’re ‘pushing’ young people onto phones and screens with much of school communications and homework now online. He said there were clear advantages to being online, it allowed children to connect with one another over Covid lockdowns, but it’s ‘changed’ the way we build community.
I’ve often spoken about this when asked if I favour banning phones for children. I always say that children learn from what we do, not say – we can ban phones for children, but they see the adults around them glued to their phones, we collectively need to learn to unplug from our phones and better connect with each other.
Former ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton was one of the audience members to put a question to the panel, he was particularly interested in hearing from my Ambassadors about what they would add or change to the national curriculum, given the current review.
Poppy stressed subjects need to be taught differently for different students, and the education system cannot be a one size fits all. She also said people should be taught self-defense as too many people feel vulnerable.
Rebecca said BSL should be offered as a language option in more schools, allowing for more inclusive communications, while Emmanuel wanted greater diversity in curriculum wanting teaching to better celebrate achievements and cultures from around Britain and the world generally.
All the contributions during The Big Conversation panel event were insightful, but we must focus on the fact the Government has a small window to change the direction of children’s services, so they meet children’s needs and ambitions. The panel discussion stressed the urgency.
It looks like the building blocks are being put in place. I have been supportive of the Government’s approach around the Child Poverty Taskforce, Curriculum Review, changes at Ofsted, Children and Wellbeing Bill, but we need to get the structural reform like the unique child identifier to drive change across children’s lives.
All of this work needs to have children’s voices at the heart of it. I understand the scale of the challenges ahead and will work with the new administration to ensure children’s voices are heard and prioritised at the heart of government policy.