Media centre

As Children’s Commissioner for England, it is my mission to make sure every child is protected from harm and has their rights upheld. I am therefore deeply concerned about the Illegal Migration Bill, as it is opaque on what it means for children and their rights.   Any child arriving in the UK must first and […]

Good morning everyone – thank you for inviting me today. I am delighted to be speaking to you all for the second year in a row. Virtual School Heads are immensely important, and I want to thank all of you for your commitment to making sure children receive the best possible education. As Children’s Commissioner […]

The Department for Education (DfE) has today published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan (hereafter the Plan). The Plan sets out how DfE intends to deliver ‘a single national system that delivers consistently for every child and young person with SEND and in alternative provision’. The review of the SEND system […]

Today (27th February), it has been announced that the legal age of marriage in England and Wales has risen to eighteen. This is to protect vulnerable children from the damaging impact of forced marriage. The Children’s Commissioner has previously called for a change in the law to end child marriage and therefore welcomes today’s announcement. […]

Hello, let me start by saying how delighted I am to be in a room full of people as passionate about outcomes for children and young people as I am! My name is Rachel De Souza and it is my job as the Children’s commissioner to champion the voices of children and young people. Making […]

The Children’s Commissioner’s office strongly refutes criticisms made in a Guardian article today: The Children’s Commissioner has spent the last 30 years working in the most disadvantaged areas improving children’s outcomes. She is wholly focused on continuing to advocate for vulnerable children, especially those in or involved with the care system. She and her office […]

Every child in care, or involved with children’s services, deserves safety, love and security. Today the Government sets out its implementation strategy for the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. This strategy rightly acknowledges that things are currently not good enough for vulnerable children, with too many missing out on the right help. As a […]

Good morning everyone and thank you so much for that introduction and to Waddesdon School and all the schools who performed today, you are amazing. Now there’s a bit of a theme going on today. I was taught by nuns too, Gillian. My nuns were at St Bede’s Comprehensive, Scunthorpe, I’ll never forget them, they’ve […]

The Children’s Commissioner has issued the following statement in response to news that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) have been disappearing from their accommodation.  I am deeply concerned by the risks facing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children placed in hotels from those determined to exploit them. We must treat them as the vulnerable children they are and support […]

I am pleased to see the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report on the draft Victims Bill, specifically the confirmation that they will amend the Bill to include children born as the result of rape within the definition of a victim, as well as children who have witnessed domestic abuse. This […]

Responding to today’s speech by Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, setting out his ambitions for all pupils in England to study some form of maths until aged 18, Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said: “Having a good grasp on numbers is helpful at all stages of life and can open the door to […]

The Children’s Commissioner has today given a speech at Reach Academy in Feltham to launch Part 2 of her independent Family Review.  Thank you so much for having me, it’s a pleasure to be here and to speak to all of you today. The work you do here at Reach Feltham is fantastic and it’s […]