Huge regional variation in support from children’s social services for some of England’s most vulnerable children
Over 100,000 of England’s most vulnerable children who are on social service plans are getting a postcode lottery of support with huge regional variations dictating the level of protection they get, previously unseen data from the Children’s Commissioner has revealed. In worst case scenarios, these inconsistencies and lack of consistent early intervention can prevent children […]
New statistics show a huge increase in the number of children completely missing education
Almost 120,000 children of compulsory school age were recorded as missing education at some point in 2022/23 which is up by almost 25% from the year before, according to new statistics published today. The figures from the Department of Education also showed a surge in the number of children home educated in the same year. […]
Auditory Verbal therapy: supporting deaf children to thrive at school and beyond
Anita Grover, Chief Executive at Auditory Verbal UK Meet 11-year-old Louis from Cambridge. His parents were first told he had hearing loss at 18 months old. They wanted to do everything they could to ensure he had the same opportunities in life as hearing children. Keen for Louis to learn to listen and talk, they […]
The Big Ambition for Online roundtable: reflections from youth Ambassadors
As part of The Big Ambition, I co-hosted the latest roundtable with some of my recently appointed Ambassadors focusing on online safety. The roundtable brought together representatives from Google, Meta, TikTok, Ukie – the UK video games trade body – and X to discuss the theme: “What more could platforms do to keep children safe […]
Children’s Commissioner’s response to Ofcom’s ‘Protecting people from illegal harms online’
This is a written response by the Children’s Commissioner to Ofcom’s consultation, Protecting people from illegal harms online, on the draft codes of practice relating to illegal 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 children in […]
Lost in Transition: The destinations of children who leave the state education system
When I became Children’s Commissioner, one of the first things I did was to conduct a nationwide inquiry into the educational experiences of children leaving state education. These children had fallen off the radar during the pandemic. Local authorities confided that they did not know where they had gone or how to support them to […]
Lost in Transition, too many children falling through the cracks after leaving state education
When I became Children’s Commissioner, one of the first things I did was to conduct a nationwide inquiry into the educational experiences of children leaving state education. These children had fallen off the radar during the pandemic. Local authorities confided that they did not know where they had gone or how to support them to […]
The Big Ambition for Youth Work Roundtable, Ambassadors share their thoughts
Last week I co-hosted The Big Ambition for Youth Work Roundtable with my recently appointed Ambassadors, Aaliya, Emmanuel and Penelope. The roundtable brought together experts and leaders from across the youth sector to discuss the theme: “How could the next government make children’s lives better through youth work and positive activities?”. The roundtable stimulated so […]
Children value outside spaces to play in their local communities
The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises ‘the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.’ Children tell me all the time about the importance of play […]
Apprenticeships are for everyone, a personal experience and advice from one of our Ambassadors
Rylie applied to become a Children’s Commissioner Ambassador because she wants to improve the education system so that it empowers future leaders and inspires and prepares young minds for success in the world of work. Join Rylie – a Children’s Commissioner Ambassador and Apprentice Build Manager at Willmott Dixon – on a journey into the […]
Supporting children’s mental health this Children’s Mental Health week
Dr Julia Clements, Principal Educational Psychologist, Place2Be This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, organised by leading charity Place2Be. The week, which was founded in 2015, aims to equip, empower and give a voice to children across the UK. Each year, Place2Be create resources and share advice to help schools and families to have important […]
Self-care: A care leavers journey
This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, this year’s theme is ‘My Voice Matters’. My Voice Matters is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves. Today I am sharing a blog post written by a care leaver in my team. Benita wanted to share how […]
Archived Content
Pass the parcel: children posted around the care system
“I feel like a parcel getting moved around all the time, getting opened up and sent back and moved on to somewhere else.” Teenage girl, in care over 100 miles from home There are over 30,000 looked after children living ‘out of area’ in England. This is 41% of all children in care and has […]
Thousands of children in care passed around the system like parcels and living miles away from family and friends
Shining a light on the experiences of children in care who are moved ‘out of area’ – away from their home boroughs where family and friends live.
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Marking 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with call on political parties to put the spotlight on children during election campaign
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, is calling on the political parties fighting the General Election to put the spotlight on children’s issues, as she joins the Children’s Commissioners for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in publishing an assessment of the UK’s progress on children’s rights. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the UN […]
UK Children’s Commissioners’ UNCRC mid-term review
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a landmark agreement by governments around the world on the rights of children. As Children’s Commissioners it is central to our mission to make sure that those rights are made a reality for all children. The United Nations […]
Response to the Home and Foreign Secretaries regarding British children in Syria
Earlier this year Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, wrote to the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary regarding the safety and welfare of British children who have become involved in the conflict in Syria. The following is the Children Commissioner for England’s latest response to Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office […]
Nurture with nature: Why environmental engagement is imperative for children
We know that the health of the environment is one of children’s greatest concerns, as outlined in Issue 1 of our Children’s Insights reports. The word ‘environment’ is likely to stir a very different reaction amongst children than it used to. Many children face the incompatible situation of a lifestyle divorced from nature, and mounting […]
EU children in Britain
This page was published in 2019 and may contain out of date information. Know your rights to stay 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 […]
Children’s insights
This is the first issue in our regular series of insights into the views and experiences of children in England.
Changes to gambling laws needed as our report into online gaming reveals children’s gambling fears
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has published a report, “Gaming the system’’ which looks at the experiences of children who play games online. The Children’s Commissioner’s Office commissioned the research company Revealing Reality to speak to groups of children who play online games like FIFA, Fortnite and Roblox about what they love and what […]