The Big Answer – Children’s Commissioner responds to Young People

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza, on taking up her post in March this year launched ‘The Big Ask’ survey for children and young people to give her their views. Over half a million did and ‘The Big Answer’ report is the collection of these responses.

Throughout the pandemic much has been recorded about the impact on children and young people and from their responses De Souza surmises “They are a survivor generation – a sleeves up, pragmatic generation, with civic minded aspirations.”

The survey reached a large and diverse group of children, 6% of the whole population aged 5-16. The breakdown below shows the extent of this range:

• Over 97,000 students with additional learning needs
• 5,200 children attending special schools
• 3,800 children in care
• 2,300 children from a Gypsy or Irish Traveller background

Some of the key findings for 9 to 17-year-olds:

• 71% are happy with their lives overall
• 52% think they will have a better life than their parents
• 80% were happy with their mental health
• Girls were nearly twice as likely to be unhappy as boys with their mental health (23% v 13%)
• 58% of children with SEND said that having a good education is a priority
• Having a job was the top future aspiration for young people with SEND

Within the section on education the requirement was clear that
“Rebalancing the education system to make it as fair and nurturing as possible was a clear priority in every facet of school life. This included assessment – exam stress was a common concern – and a number of other issues: 
SEND: ‘it takes a long time to be diagnosed so you just feel stupid for a long time which makes you unhappy’ Boy, 12.”

Within the education section of the report the following pledges are presented: 
“What we are describing here is a system in which we make the following commitments to children: 

• We have high expectations, and we believe you can get there. 
• We will give you every chance of meeting expectations, and we will not let you fall behind. This offer is both pastoral and academic. 
• If there are barriers to your success in education, you will be given the support you need. 
• ‘High expectations’ and ‘success’ do not necessarily have to mean A levels and university. 
• If the best route to a career means a different form of training or employment – an apprenticeship, an entry level job – you should be given the information and the support to make a success of that.”

The children have spoken, let’s hope they are not simply listened to but that action is also taken to address their needs.