Alex Burghart, the current Head of Policy and former Acting Director of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, has been appointed the new Director of Strategy and Advocacy for the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield.
Alex, who has led the CSJ’s work on a huge range of issues including children, education and social care will take up the role on 1 March. Children’s life chances, mental health and child neglect are just some of the issues that will be a priority in the first few months.
Anne Longfield, who took up the post of Children’s Commissioner for England in March 2015, said:
“I am delighted that Alex will be joining me to help deliver real change and improvements for children. Alex has an extensive track record of policy making and shaping over the last decade, from ground-breaking work leading to the Munro review of child protection, to recent work on social care and education.
“We will be working hard to win local and national support for proposals and priorities in my five-year plan, Ambitious for Children. Together we are seeking to change the odds and radically improve life chances for vulnerable children in England.”
Alex Burghart said:
“I am extremely grateful to have been offered this role. I have long admired Anne Longfield’s work for children and young people and I am looking forward to helping her make a difference. There is great potential for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner to ensure that we continue to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children in our country.”