As Children’s Commissioner it is my duty to promote and protect the rights of all children, with particular regard to children who are living away from home or receiving social care services. My priority is to listen to children across the country, to hear about their lives and champion their voices.
Our priority areas
School Survey
The biggest ever survey of schools and colleges in England is underway, to capture up-to-date information about children’s experiences of school – to drive improvements in how they receive support. It will be open until December 20, 2024.
The Big Ambition
We launched the Big Ambition to hear from children in the lead up to the next General Election on their lives, and what they want from the government to improve them. Findings from the survey were published and launched in Parliament in March 2024, adding to the work of the office over the past three years to bring the voices and experiences of a million children to politicians.
Latest News
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Sara Sharif: Children’s Commissioner responds to sentencing17 December 2024Statement -
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools BillStatement
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Press Notice: Hundreds of millions spent by councils placing vulnerable children in illegal children’s homes16 December 2024Statement -
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on the murder of Sara Sharif11 December 2024Statement
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‘Speech Your Mind’ awards ceremony – a real win for children’s voices4 December 2024News and blogs -
Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on new abuse footage at Whitefield School27 November 2024Statement
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Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on Child Safeguarding Review Panel report on victims of sexual abuse26 November 2024Statement
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How the School Survey will help shape the future of education22 November 2024News and blogs -
Confederation of Schools Trust Annual Conference: Reflections from youth Ambassadors20 November 2024News and blogs
Latest Reports
Illegal Children’s Homes
Every night across England hundreds of children are going to sleep in illegal homes where they are often isolated and left without appropriate care. Most of these are run by private organisations which have the least amount of oversight and scrutiny, leaving children at an increased risk of harm. There is no process for checking […]
Deaths of children in need
This report contains new findings on the deaths of children in need. ‘Child in need’ is an umbrella term including looked after children, children on a child protection plan, and children on a child in need plan. This report examines the characteristics of children and young people who die having had social care involvement, and […]
Hierarchy of needs for care experienced young people
The Children’s Commissioner’s Care Experienced Advisory Board have created a hierarchy of needs based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It is a visual guide to help professionals working with care experienced young people understand their needs and support them. The different levels of the pyramid consider the basic requirements that care experienced young people need […]
Children with complex needs who are deprived of liberty: Interviews with children to understand their experiences of being deprived of their liberty
Thousands of children in the United Kingdom are currently deprived of their liberty. They are confined in young offender institutions, mental health wards, or secure children’s homes, but a growing proportion are being deprived of their liberty outside a secure setting, through the use of High Court deprivation of liberty orders. These orders, which are […]
Children’s voices on mathematics
As Children’s Commissioner one of my main ambitions is that every child has access to a brilliant education: one that helps them to achieve their goals, no matter how ambitious. To make this possible they need access to a broad range of subjects, with a particular focus on the core subjects of English, maths and […]
What is this plan for? The purpose and content of children in need plans
There is a group of just over 400,000 children living in England who are defined as ’children in need’, because they have been identified as needing meaningful intervention from the state to support their development, prevent problems in their home lives from escalating or to help if they are disabled. Around a quarter of these […]
Supporting care experienced students: A handbook for professionals working in higher education
As Children’s Commissioner, I have had the privilege to hear from many brilliant and inspiring care experienced young people about their lives now and hopes for the future. Care experienced young people are rightly ambitious for their futures and have told me what support they need to help them meet their own goals. To help […]
“I’ve seen horrible things”: Children’s experiences of the online world
The online world has evolved significantly since I started as Children’s Commissioner in 2021. A technological revolution followed the COVID-19 pandemic – featuring the launch of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools into the public realm and the increasing presence of social media platforms in the lives of children. As we mark the first anniversary of […]
Waiting times for assessment and support for autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions
In 2024, we would never imagine that children in this country are being told they cannot access their education because there is no suitable school for them. We would not expect that some children are non-verbal and wearing nappies well into the primary school years, because they haven’t been able to get the help they […]
