Just one in five children feel politicians are listening to them, England's Children’s Commissioner reveals
Amrit Virdi
Monday, March 25, 2024
Only 22% of children feel that their concerns are being listened to by politicians with just 10% feeling their views are important to those running the country, a survey by the Children’s Commissioner for England has revealed.
The survey of 367,000 children and adults, titled The Big Ambition, comes ahead of an impending election.
In a report based on the findings, Dame Rachel de Souza outlines 33 ambitions to “transform childhood”, which include access to high-quality mental health and wellbeing support, and the closing of all young offender institutions.
Other ambitions include every care-experienced child receiving continuous care, access to high-quality youth provision in all local areas, and giving every child who is a victim of crime specialist care and support.
De Souza said: “Disappointingly only one in five children 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.”
Findings also show that 68% of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and adults on their behalf, agreed they can access good healthcare, compared with 84% of children without SEND.
Just 49% of children felt happy with the way they look and 32% of responses by and for children in a secure setting agreed that they had great teachers who support them, compared with 77% for all children.
Only half of respondents agreed that children knew about their options for career pathways after school.
Additionally, there was a notable variation in children feeling safe from crime depending on where they lived, with 61% in Croydon feeling safe compared with 79% in Richmond upon Thames.
This report comes after de Souza recently revealed that almost a quarter of a million children are waiting for mental health support after an analysis of NHS figures.
