Children’s Commissioner’s response to Ofcom’s Guidance for service providers publishing pornographic content
 This is a written response by the Children’s Commissioner to Ofcom’s consultation, Guidance for service providers publishing pornographic content, on the draft guidance for service providers publishing pornographic content under the Online Safety Act 2023. The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has a statutory independent role to protect and promote the rights of […]
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: record numbers arriving once again in Kent
My unique responsibility as Children’s Commissioner, enshrined in law, is to protect children and give them a voice – and I have a particular duty of care towards those children who aren’t able to live with their birth families. That includes those arriving on these shores completely alone, having left their families to escape war, […]
Children’s Commissioner welcomes closure of Cookham Wood
In response to the decision by the Youth Custody Service (YCS) and the Ministry of Justice today to close down HMYOI Cookham Wood. Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said: I welcome today’s decision by the Youth Custody Service (YCS) and the Ministry of Justice today to close down HMYOI Cookham Wood. I […]
Reaction to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, from young Ambassadors
Today the Prime Minister has renewed his commitment to creating a smoke free generation by banning the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes. Introduced today, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will prevent anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 – in effect anyone who is 14 or younger now – from legally […]
Over a quarter of a million children still waiting for mental health support
Shocking new statistics show that more than a quarter of a million (270,300) children and young people are still waiting for mental health support after being referred to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) in 2022-23, the Children’s Commissioner for England has revealed today. New figures sourced from NHS England using the Children’s […]
Children’s mental health services 2022-23
Since I came into post in 2021, I have spoken to over a million children and young people across the country. The vast majority of children are happy, and feel supported by their family, school and wider community. However, there is a growing group of children who are struggling with their mental health. This generation […]
Tips on how to help a young carer, from a young carer
As Children’s Commissioner it is my mission to make England the best country for children to grow up. This means the ambitions of every child must be matched with the support they need around them to help them succeed.  I am determined that we achieve this vision for all children especially young carers as we […]
The Big Ambition for Children’s Social Care, reflections from a care leaver
Today I am sharing a blog post written by a care leaver in my team. Benita wanted to share some thoughts after attending The Big Ambition for Children’s Social Care roundtable. A few weeks ago the Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza co-hosted The Big Ambition for Children’s Social Care with her recently appointed Ambassadors. […]
‘Inspire Inclusion’ – International Women’s Day 2024
A Better World. That’s one of the founding pillars of my work as Children’s Commissioner, ever since launching the Big Ask three years ago. Thousands of children have told me they want a safer, fairer, more inclusive world for themselves and their families and friends – and I am continually impressed by their efforts to […]
Urgent change is needed in England’s young offenders institutions, says Children’s Commissioner
I am both shocked and appalled by the details in Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor’s report yesterday about a girl in a young offender institution (YOI) who had her clothes removed twice under restraint, by an all-male team of prison officers. The same inspection report that failed Wetherby on the grounds of safety and […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on strip searching of young offenders
In response to findings of intrusive and traumatic strip searching of girls living at Wetherby Young Offenders Institute by HMI Prisons, Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said: “As Children’s Commissioner, I am appalled by the findings in HMIP’s report. Strip searching is an intrusive and potentially traumatic power, as I’ve shown in […]
Children on Child in Need Plans: Huge regional variation uncovered for some of England’s most vulnerable children
As Children’s Commissioner, I have a statutory duty to promote and protect the rights of all children, but to have particular regard to children who are living away from home or receiving social care services. Children’s social care works with children who cannot live at home and who are taken into care, children at risk […]
Archived Content
Gaming the system
The overwhelming majority of children (93 percent) in the UK play video games. Yet despite its popularity, the culture of ‘gaming’- its rules and its rituals, the varying profiles of players, the risks they face – tends to be spoken of by adults, whether they be policymakers or parents, as if it were an alien […]
The state of child poverty and how we can tackle it
On the United Nations Day for Poverty Eradication we should never fail to be shocked that we are talking about child poverty when are one of the wealthiest countries on earth. Yet as all of us here know, the number of children living in poverty has been steadily increasing in recent years. There are around […]
EU children in Britain
If you are an EU citizen living in Britain, Brexit will affect your rights. This means you will need to apply for what the Government calls ‘settled status’ in Britain. What is settled status? Settled status is a special immigration category for EU nationals who have made Britain their home. Once you have settled status […]
Children’s Commissioner for England response to CQC report on the state of care
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, responding to the CQC annual report into the state of care
Almost one in five children left education at 18 last year without basic qualifications
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published research looking at the number of children who leave the education system at 18 without reaching Level 2 attainment (five GCSEs grade A* to C, or equivalent technical qualifications). These are children who will have spent 14 years in compulsory education, often having more than £100,000 of […]
Children’s manifesto calls on political parties to back six pledges to transform life chances for all kids
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published ‘Guess How Much We Love You: A Manifesto for Children’ ahead of any upcoming General Election.
A Manifesto for Children
The manifesto, published ahead of any upcoming General Election, calls on Britain’s political parties to include a six-point plan in their election manifestos to transform the life chances for disadvantaged children and to help all of England’s 12 million children to thrive. The manifesto sets out some of the key issues that children have told […]
Anne Longfield responds to Government Spending Review
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, responding to the Government’s Spending Review
Children’s experiences of online harm and what they want to do about it
In April this year the Government set out their plans for a world-first: a system of regulations that they argue will make the UK ‘the safest place in the world to be online’. The Online Harms White Paper, produced in collaboration between the Home Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), maps out […]
Bleak houses
Tackling the crisis of family homelessness in England