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I wanted to know how children felt about the issues most affecting them, to amplify their voices outside their communities, and to deliver improved life chances for this generation and beyond.

Dame Rachel de Souza sitting at the dinner table with a group of your children eating soup

To do this, my office conducted ‘The Big Ask’ survey. This was answered by half a million children across England, making it the biggest survey of its kind.

The Big Ask told us what children want and need urgently and longer term. A striking aspect of the data collected was that across age, gender, ethnicity, family income levels, location, and vulnerable groups, what children want is remarkably consistent. They want a good home life, a good education, a job, enough money, friends, to feel well, to be treated fairly and to look after the environment.

Our priority areas

Key statistics

557,077
responses from children in England (aged 4-7)
80%
of children were happy with their family life
84%
of children said they were okay with life at school or college
80%
of children were happy or okay with their mental health