The Big Ambition
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, published The Big Ambition, compiling the voices, views and experiences of children about their lives and aspirations.
Findings in The Big Ambition cover 10 themes of family, education, children’s social care, youth work, online safety, health, safety from crime, jobs and skills, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and thoughts on ‘a better world’. It found that:
1 in 5
children in England believe their views are important to the adults who run the country, while only 10% of teenagers believe they have the power to influence the issues they care about
49%
of children agreed with the statement ‘You feel happy with the way you look’. 60% of boys agreed, compared to 40% of girls
84%
of responses by and on behalf of children with a social worker agreed they had somewhere to call home, compared to 95% of children without a social worker
83%
of children agree their family gets to spend quality time together, but only 69% knew about money and life skills
73%
of children with SEND, and adults responding on their behalf, agreed their family has everything it needs, compared to 90% of children without SEND
60%
of children agreed they enjoyed school or college – but this rises to 75% when asked about whether they have great teachers who support them
80%
of six -to 11-year-olds agreed they felt safe and protected in their local area, compared to 66% of 12- to-18-year-olds
72%
agreed they had fun activities to do near where they live – this decreases with age, peaking at age nine (82%) and falling to just over half of 17-year-olds (54%)
Dame Rachel de Souza Children’s Commissioner for England
Children in this country constantly amaze me with their insight and awareness. This is a generation of children faced with ever-evolving technology, stiff competition for jobs and university places, a postcode lottery in access to good healthcare, parents struggling with rising costs and lives played out over social media – but rather than becoming despondent or pessimistic, they are charged with energy and a passion for making change.
Yet – disappointingly – only one in five feel listened to by the adults in power. Without the proper structures in place to consult with them, it means when it comes to elections, manifestos, promises from their local MPs or councillors, their opinions are too easily ignored. They are talked about, rather than to – they are not truly heard.
Childhood is precious and should be protected. My vision for children is one where they believe in their ability to drive change without bearing the weight of adult responsibilities. This report, which marks the halfway point of my term, is a call to action to all politicians and policy makers in this general election year: listen to children and act on what they are telling you.
Ambitions, Findings and Solutions
The Big Ambition was launched formally in Parliament on March 25th, 2024 alongside the Commissioner’s 16 youth Ambassadors. It offers a positive vision to improve and protect childhood by setting 33 practical ambitions aimed at overcoming the challenges children told the Commissioner they face: from staying safe online and challenging harmful myths around body image, to lessons in how to manage their money and more enriching activities that divert away from crime.
Research
The Big Ambition was a large-scale consultation of children in England carried out between September 2023 and January 2024, engaging 367,000 children and adults, and receiving responses from 253,000. Children aged 6 to 17, young people aged 18 still in school or college, and adults on behalf of children answered a broad set of questions about their lives. Results cover 10 themes of family, education, children’s social care, youth work, online safety, health, safety from crime, jobs and skills, unaccompanied children seeking asylum, and thoughts on ‘a better world’, based on the ‘pillars’ of the Commissioner’s work established in The Big Ask.
Other Big Ambition Downloads
Executive Summary
A PDF summary of all three 33 ambitions and the key findings under each theme.
The Story of a Million Children
Over three years, the Children’s Commissioner has gathered close to a million responses from children on how they feel, and what their experience of growing up in this country is like. This is the story of what children have said.
Lesson plans
For schools, there are lesson slides and lesson plans available for download using the links.
Two lesson plans are included for each age group: a 40-minute long format lesson plan and a shorter 20-minute lesson plan. The lesson plans aim to help children understand how they can have their voices heard and participate in The Big Ambition survey.
Primary school:
Secondary school:
Social media
If you are posting content about The Big Ambition, please use the hashtag #TheBigAmbition. We will be sharing posts from schools, individuals, and organisations.
You may also wish to tag the official Children’s Commissioner channels:
- Instagram: @ChildrensCommissioner
- Twitter (X): @ChildrensComm
- Facebook: @ChildrensComm (Children’s Commissioner for England)
- LinkedIn: Children’s Commissioner for England
Things to do – resources for children and young people
On this page you can find things to have a look at and activities to do based on different areas of your life.
