Health
I want all children to grow up feeling happy, healthy and well, with access to support quickly and locally when they need it.
Health is a core pillar of my work following ‘The Big Ask’. The majority of children aged 9 to 17 (80%) told me they were happy or okay with their mental health. But 20% of children were unhappy, making it a top issue for children today. This figure is also higher amongst older teenage girls.
Children also spoke about wanting good physical health, and younger children in particular spoke about wanting to live healthy lifestyles.
[Mental health] is such a taboo subject, I […] don’t know how to get help, simply because it’s so hard to bring up. I’ve spoken to other people in person and online about this, and a lot of them feel the same way.
Girl, 14,
The Big Ask
Latest Reports
The Children’s Plan: The Children’s Commissioner’s School Census
8 September 2025
Read The Children’s Plan: The Children’s Commissioner’s School Census in full. Read the Summary version. For the first time as Children’s Commissioner, I have used my statutory powers to ask all schools, and colleges, a set of questions. A census in response to what children told me they wanted and needed to attend, engage, attain, […]
Report
Growing up in a low-income family: Children’s experiences
8 July 2025
This report should not have to exist. Shining a light on children’s experiences of poverty in 2025, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, should not be necessary. And yet, the findings in this work highlight real hardship; an almost-Dickensian level of poverty facing some children in England today. After four years as […]
Report
Children’s mental health services 2023-24
18 May 2025
As Children’s Commissioner, it is my job to make sure we never lose sight of the biggest challenges affecting children – mental health is one of the most significant. Each year, I publish this report to shine a spotlight on the state of children’s mental health services in England.  This is the fourth report of […]
Report
Children’s views on assisted dying
7 May 2025
As Children’s Commissioner, it is my greatest privilege to listen to children and to amplify their voices on the issues that matter most to them — both those that affect them directly, and those that may appear, at first glance, to lie beyond their immediate experience. At the heart of my role, as defined in […]
Report
School phone policies in England: Findings from the Children’s Commissioner’s School and College Survey
10 April 2025
Over the last four years, I have spoken to a million young people and thousands of parents about the most pressing issues facing children growing up in England today. One issue that comes up time and again – from children, parents, and professionals alike – is online safety. While digital technology provides young people with […]
Report
My Plan for the year, 2025-26
3 April 2025
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. As Children’s Commissioner for England, it is my job to listen to you and take your voices to decision makers. In my survey, The Big Ambition, only one […]
Report
Business Plan, 2025-26
The year ahead – 2025-26 – will be my penultimate year as Children’s Commissioner for England. It will also mark 20 years since the establishment of this office – a milestone that offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made and a reminder about the many urgent challenges that remain. More than […]
Report
Waiting times for assessment and support for autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditionsÂ
15 October 2024
In 2024, we would never imagine that children in this country are being told they cannot access their education because there is no suitable school for them. We would not expect that some children are non-verbal and wearing nappies well into the primary school years, because they haven’t been able to get the help they […]
Report
The Big Ambition: Ambitions, Findings and Solutions
25 March 2024
As Children’s Commissioner it is my job to promote and protect the rights of children, and to make sure their voices are heard. That’s why in September 2023, I launched The Big Ambition to hear directly from children, young people, and parents across the country. I wanted to hear about what they wanted for the […]
Report
My work so far…
Mental health
In The Big Ask there were 26,000 responses from children in receipt of mental health support. My office conducted visits to children in mental health hospitals as part of the qualitative research for The Big Ask.
In March 2023, my office published the annual briefing on children’s mental health. This found that the average waiting time between a child being referred and starting treatment had increased.
My office also produced short flyers for primary school pupils and secondary school students to help children to talk about their feelings and find out how to get support if needed.
My office has been working to ensure the Government’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Green Paper leads to fundamental change for the support available to children with SEND in school, including those with mental health needs.
In July 2022, my office published a new report based on young people’s views, ‘A Head Start: Early Support for Children’s Mental Health’. This sets out the office’s vision for children’s mental health, as a response to the Government’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan consultation.
As part of the Family Review, my team visited a number of mental health inpatient units to talk to children and understand how inpatient care supports family life. These visits are also being used to inform my work on improving the draft Mental Health Bill and ensuring children’s voices are at the centre of reforms to inpatient mental health care.
My office has also been delivering a programme of work exploring the harmful impact of the online world on children. We spoke to 120 children and young people aged 8 to 21 to understand and inform the role of parents in tackling sexual violence online.
