Children’s Social Care Reform
Keeping children safe is the most important thing any society can do, and my responsibility towards children in care and those with a social worker is the one I hold most dear. The children’s social care system is one of the most important mechanisms the country has for keeping children safe, and there is urgent […]
Back to School
Good morning, everyone! Today is a very important day, it’s the first day of a brand-new academic year. I want to take this chance to welcome back every child across the country who is going back to school this week. Whether you’re going to school for the first ever time, starting your journey at a […]
Spotlight on: children with SEND & Mental Health missing from education
The latest attendance marks a worrying pattern – school absences are getting worse rather than better and children’s engagement with school has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. The most recent figures suggest that around one in five children were persistently absent last year, up from one in ten in 2019. I wanted to understand what […]
Spotlight on: looked after children missing from education
Since starting as Children’s Commissioner, I have made it my mission to find England’s missing children and to put together a plan to get them back to school. Children who are regularly absent or missing education altogether are much more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds or to be vulnerable. Schools play a vital role […]
Staying safe this summer
Summer is a special time where children get to take a well-deserved break from school – even if some are looking ahead to results day nervously! It’s a really important time when children get to be children. That means seeing more of family and friends, spending time in their local area and in their communities, […]
Defining disadvantage
As the Children’s Commissioner for England, my ambition for society is one where all children have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Over the past year my office has particularly focused on representing the needs of the most vulnerable children. ‘Disadvantaged’ is a term used to describe children facing barriers to success, however defining […]
Annual report 2022-23
Introduction by Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England When I took up post as Children’s Commissioner, over two years ago now, I wanted to make sure that every child in England felt listened to. But more than that, I wanted the adults around them to mirror the ambition they have for themselves by […]
Business plan 2023-24
Looking to a new business year, I have been reflecting on children and young people’s lives over the last couple of years and thinking about everything they have told me since I have become Children’s Commissioner. When I started in role, the impact of Covid and children’s lives returning to normal was at the forefront […]
‘Invisible’ children in care are missing school every day, unique new data shows
Children’s Commissioner for England turns the spotlight on the most vulnerable children missing from education, part of her work to urgently improve school attendance 25th May 2023: Vulnerable children in care are missing from school and at risk of becoming ‘invisible’ to the services there to support them, without any of the vital opportunities education […]
Press release
Looked after children who are not in school
Attending school, and all that comes with that experience, is something that many of us will have taken for granted over the course of our lives. I want every child to be excited about getting up for school in the morning, making new friends, learning new things and establishing formative relationships with their teachers. School […]
New support to tackle absence announced – statement in response from the Children’s Commissioner
Getting children back into school and attending consistently is an absolute priority for me. I want this for 100% of children, which means everyone has to play a role in making it happen and digging deep into the reasons why it is currently not happening. Those reasons are complex – children might have special educational […]
Statement
New support to tackle absence announced – statement in response from the Children’s Commissioner
Getting children back into school and attending consistently is an absolute priority for me. I want this for 100% of children, which means everyone has to play a role in making it happen and digging deep into the reasons why it is currently not happening. Those reasons are complex – children might have special educational […]
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 […]
