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This paper summarises the findings of three years of work by the Children’s Commissioner’s Office and provides context for two further reports the Commissioner is publishing today (‘Private provision in children’s social care’ and ‘Stability index 2020’). The report explains the failure of local and national government to take responsibility for these children, and sets […]

The care system contains many talented and tireless staff who provide excellent care, but the unfortunate reality is that the system still fails some children. The yearly Stability Index for children in care produced by this office shows that 1 in 10 children in care experience two or more home moves during a year, and […]

This analysis contains the 2020 update to the Stability Index: the Children’s Commissioner’s ongoing project measuring levels stability for children in care. This update focuses on the cohort of children who were in care on 31 March 2019. In previous years, this work has examined rates of stability for children in care across three domains: […]

All children have a fundamental right to get an education; the six months children spent out of school this year was the biggest disruption to that right since the second World War. Most children in England were unable to go to school for most, if not all, of lockdown, leading to the loss of roughly […]

Examining school attendance rates during and after lockdown

Focusing on the experiences of children living in mental health wards and how Covid-19 and lockdown has affected their hospital experience

Six months have passed since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in this country and we entered an unprecedented lockdown. During this time, I have made it my Office’s mission to highlight the risks to children caused by the pandemic and the measures to contain it, particularly the most vulnerable, and push for their interests to […]

A look at what children are worrying about both before, and during lockdown

Children in care living in semi-independent accommodation

A guide for children to tell them some of the changes they might see when they go back to school this September as well as providing tips on how to cope if they’re feeling worried or nervous and helpful resources to stay safe.

Last year, our report Bleak Houses found that there were around 210,000 homeless children in England. This included 120,000 children being housed by their council in temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation comes in many forms, but unfortunately it is often very poor quality. My team spoke to families living in homes that were cramped, noisy and […]

Given the risks of a second wave of Covid-19 infections leading to the need for further local lockdowns, or even a full national lockdown, this paper sets out the key actions needed to ensure that children are at the heart of planning for future lockdowns.