The Festival shared the issues one million children have told the Commissioner are vital to make England the best place to be a child. It explored the joy of childhood, from the importance of early years to the skills needed in adulthood, through debate, art and music.
I launched The Big Conversation survey to hear the voices and views from children and young people across England to share what children really want with politicians and decision makers so they can listen and then act.
I’ve designed a version of my Business Plan aimed specifically for children and young people, sharing the projects and themes that my office will be working on.
The interactive maps show in statistics the voices, views and experiences of children from The Big Ambition survey. You can use the maps to understand the lives and aspirations of children across England.
The map shows the percentage of children and young people who agreed with each of the 20 statements asked in The Big Ambition.
| From 8:00 |
| 8:30am |
| 9:30am |
| 10:00 – 10:50 |
| 11:00 – 11:50 |
| 12:15 – 13:00 |
| 13:00 go to workshops |
| 13:15 – 14:00 |
| 14:15 – 15:00 |
| From 15:15 |
| 15:15 – 15:25 |
| 15:25 – 16:00 |
| 16:00 |
| Delegates arrive |
| Breakfast reception with keynote speeches, Young V&A Town Square Tristram Hunt, V&A Director Hughie Higginson, Sky FYI young reporter Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner |
| Breakfast reception guests leave, youth delegates move downstairs |
| Panel 1: Building the Foundations: the early years as a foundation for childhood, Community Room Chair: Dr Helen Charman, Director of Young V&A Frank Cottrell Boyce, Children’s Laureate Jamel C. Campbell, early years educator and author Rachel Bagshaw, Artistic Director of Unicorn Theatre Youth Ambassadors: Maya and Rebecca |
| Panel 2: Facing the Future: shoring up the foundations through the teenage years, Community Room Chair: Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner Dwayne Fields, Chief Scout Phoenix Brown, TV personality Kwajo Tweneboa, housing campaigner Youth Ambassadors: Aaliya and Emmanuel |
| Lunch |
| Afternoon workshops begin Three separate workshops, each running for 45 minutes. |
| Workshop A – Imagining Creative Futures, Play Studio Led by Young V&A, A collaborative workshop invites festival participants to prototype ideas for spaces and places that support children and young people to feel creative, and where they can share ideas through creativity. Workshop B – Engaging Young Voices, CCo led, Imagine Studio Led by Joe Lane, Deputy Director, Children’s Commissioner for England, the workshop will explore how to engage young voices in decision making, how to embed the UNCRC to ensure that England is the best place to be a child. Workshop C – Democracy Café, Community Room Led by My Life My Say, a youth-led, non-partisan movement on a mission to encourage young people to participate in democracy and get every single young person voting. Their workshop will focus on increasing young people’s access to democracy and ensuring young people are at the heart of the National Youth Strategy. |
| Workshop A – Imagining Creative Futures, Play Studio Workshop B – Engaging Young Voices, Imagine Studio Workshop C – Democracy Café, Community Room |
| Closing Town Square activity |
| Closing remarks from Children’s Commissioner, Town Square |
| Final performances |
| Festival ends |
