Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the expansion of free school meals
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “No child should go hungry, or worry about where their next meal is coming from. This a hugely welcome move that will come as a relief to many struggling families and has the potential to improve children’s outcomes, school attendance and wellbeing. “I will continue to urge […]
Press Notice: Children’s Commissioner calls for urgent action to tackle waiting times and inequality in mental health care for children
The Children’s Commissioner’s annual report on the state of children’s mental health services highlights huge inequalities when it comes to accessing support, with some young people waiting up to 17 times longer than others depending on where they live. In her fourth annual report, Dame Rachel de Souza sets out children’s experiences with mental health […]
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on ‘Victims in their own right?’, a report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “I welcome this report which echoes my own work in calling for children to be recognised not as witnesses to domestic abuse but as victims in their own right. Too often the voices of child victims are ignored or sidelined, but their experiences must be given the same […]
Celebrating International Women’s Day: views from my Young Ambassadors
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerate Action’. On this day of marking women and girls’ contributions to society, while also reflecting on the collective action still needed to create a more inclusive and equal world, I’ve asked some of my Young Ambassadors to share one thing they would change to make […]
The educational journeys of children in secure settings
Since becoming Children’s Commissioner nearly four years ago, I’ve made it my mission to listen to young people in some of the most challenging circumstances, facing the most uncertain futures. Children living in secure settings are at the sharpest end of this definition. Their numbers are small, with around 400 at any one time located […]
Press Notice: Children in youth custody ‘failed before they arrive’, trapping them in a cycle of disadvantage
A new report from the Children’s Commissioner has revealed children in prison have been failed by multiple services long before they arrive in custody, and their time in the justice system worsens their disadvantages and limits future opportunities. Dame Rachel de Souza’s report examines children’s experiences before and during their time in youth custody, identifying […]
Children’s involvement in the 2024 riots
Last July, the country was rocked by the murders of three little girls in Southport. Bebe King, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe who were killed while taking part in a dance class during their summer holiday; a scene of simple childhood innocence destroyed by terrifying violence. The initial response from the community […]
Help at Hand care leavers training to professionals
Please note the training sessions described in this blog started in November 2024 and finished in February 2025. Help at Hand is the Children’s Commissioner’s advice and assistance service for children who are in care, leaving care, working with social services or living away from home. 2024 has been a big year for Help at […]
Back to school 2024
This week is important to many children around the country, with the start of the new academic year. Whether a child is going to school for the first time, starting a new school, making the transition to secondary school from primary, or returning after the summer for another year, the first week back is an […]
The Big Ambition for the Election: My vision
Over the last three years as Children’s Commissioner, I have heard from more than one million children. I have made it my mission to listen deeply to their views, voices and experiences and reflect these truthfully to policy makers and politicians. Too many of the children I speak to, but especially those whose voices are […]
Walk to School Week: what have children told us about walking to school?
It was clear from children’s responses to The Big Ambition that they want their walks to and from school to be clean, green, safe, and pleasant – but often, they are not. This week is Walk to School Week (May 20 to 24), which encourages children to travel actively to school each day, ideally by […]
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. […]
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 […]
