Welcome back – attendance and the importance of the first week of term
Welcome back! I hope you had a relaxing and well-deserved rest. As you prepare for the new term, I want to emphasise the importance of getting all children in school and ready to learn, every day. In The Big Ask, the largest survey ever of children in England, children told me that getting a good […]
Using school attendance data proactively rather than reactively
My Attendance Audit so far has included surveying all local authorities, carrying out a deep-dive in 10 local authorities to get to the root of school absence and a detailed investigation of the daily attendance patterns in autumn 2021. My report based on the deep-dive of local authorities, ‘Voices of England’s missing children’ found that […]
The importance of the first week back at school – a guide for attendance officers
In ‘The Big Ask’, the largest ever survey of children in England, which I launched last year, children were clear that they like school, and that getting a good education is really important to them. Vulnerable children, such as those with SEND or those with a social worker were even more likely than their peers […]
How speaking to parents and carers about their children’s attendance illustrates the interconnectedness of family life
As work continues on the Family Review, we are again reflecting on our recent Attendance Audit. This project was a series of deep dives in 10 local authorities to understand the experiences of children who are not attending school or are out of education altogether. In the Audit, the office has heard how children’s family […]
As the summer half term starts, the Children’s Commissioner shares deep dive into The Big Ask findings on attendance
Welcome back! It’s the beginning of a new half-term and, arguably, one of the most important. For many children this will be the last half-term with friends before secondary school, further education, or higher education. It’s a time for revision, exams, and preparing a fun summer ahead. For teachers, and all professionals working to support […]
What our attendance work tells us about children and their families
As work progresses on our Family Review, the voices of many of the children we have been speaking to as part of our attendance work exemplify how children’s families are central to their lives. When talking to children about their school attendance, what becomes very clear is that children do not exist as individuals, they […]
Talking about Attendance
Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England visited Newman Catholic College in North London to talk to a group of pupils who have had difficulties with attendance in the past and who have started tackling being in school with the help of the school and it’s staff. She discusses what the problems were, what […]
Children’s Commissioner presents initial findings of Attendance Audit to Attendance Action Alliance
My first task as Children’s Commissioner was to listen to England’s children as we emerged from the Covid pandemic, to hear their views about life today and their aspirations for the future. The Big Ask was the largest ever consultation with children, with over half a million children responding. They told me that they liked […]
Where are England’s Children? Interim findings from the Children’s Commissioner’s Attendance Audit
To investigate where children across the country that may be missing out on education are, we have surveyed all 151 English LA’s. This report shares our interim findings.
Dame Rachel de Souza DBE outlines why school attendance is not just vital for helping children recover from the pandemic, it’s what they said they wanted in The Big Ask survey
Today, I want to do two things. First – to celebrate the great national achievement that has seen school corridors and classrooms return to something like normality this term. This is something teachers, parents, pupils and all those involved in the vaccination programme should be truly proud of. Secondly, I want to recognise that attendance […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the Milburn review of young people and work
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Young people want a good job and that should be our starting point. I’ve heard from hundreds of thousands of children – they are ambitious, they want to do well, they want to work. I’m pleased their voices and their ambition have been included in this review. “Young […]
The Children’s Wellbeing and School Act passes into law
As Children’s Commissioner for England, my goal is to make sure every child grows up safe, happy, healthy, and with the best possible chances in life. Across my work I have heard from a million children about what they need to thrive. The passing of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act represents a significant moment. It brings together reforms across safeguarding, schools, children’s […]
Archived Content
School attendance since September
In March 2020 schools across England closed for nearly all pupils. Those allowed to attend rarely did, and even a partial re-opening of schools in July saw a peak school attendance of just 17.5%. By the time schools re-opened in September, 575 million days of school had been missed by children in England. The impact […]
School return: Covid-19 and school attendance
Examining school attendance rates during and after lockdown
Roadmap to reopening schools
Policy briefing Ever since last August, the Children’s Commissioner has said “Schools must be the last to close and the first to reopen.” This is now a well-used phrase as parents, teachers, scientists, politicians and the media all recognise the massive impact that the lockdowns are having on children’s education, and even more importantly, on […]
Requesting details on Government plans to minimise learning loss during lockdown and support for reopening of schools
The Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has today (6th January) sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson, following the start of the new national lockdown, to request further details on the Government’s plans to minimise learning loss during the national lockdown and support schools to reopen as soon as possible. The […]
Lockdown school closures mean we need to act now to save children’s education and wellbeing
Since the start of the pandemic, I have pushed again and again for schools to be the last to close and the first to open in any lockdown. Yet something that seemed unthinkable only a month ago – a national closure of schools – is now happening as a result of the new, more transmissible […]
Amid the coronavirus uncertainty, millions of children are back in school
Now is a good time to reflect on the progress that has been made as children have returned to school after so many months out of the classroom. Schools, teachers and children themselves have worked so hard to adapt to a new normal, from one-way hallways to staggered drop-offs, from classroom bubbles to shorter lunch […]
Children’s Commissioner warns 420,000 children in England are at risk of eviction unless Government acts
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, is today warning that hundreds of thousands of children will return to school in two weeks with the threat of housing eviction hanging over their families, unless the Government changes its mind and extends its ban on evictions. Her intervention comes as the Children’s Commissioner’s Office publishes a new […]
Children and schools must come before pubs and shops in planning for future Covid-19 lockdowns
Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, has published a new briefing setting out the key actions needed to ensure children are at the heart of planning for any future coronavirus lockdowns, including making sure all children are back in school in September. The Children’s Commissioner argues that if any local or national lockdown takes place, schools […]
Children’s Commissioner for England creates local area profiles of child vulnerability during Covid-19
Analysis of the extent of child vulnerability around the country, much of which is hidden from sight under lockdown.
How young people are gaining valuable life skills with the police
The relationship between the police and teenagers can be fraught and complex. We often hear from some children that they don’t trust the police. They tell us they feel there is a “them against us” attitude. But at the same time, they also tell us they would like more police visibility to make them feel […]
