Nursery World - Children's commissioner Anne Longfield takes ministers to task in final speech

‘The Prime Minister’s promise to “level up” is just a slogan unless it focuses on children,’ challenged Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield in her outgoing speech today [Wednesday].

Anne Longfield: 'Too often the people in charge of the systems children need simply don’t see them and try to understand their world'

She called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to show how serious he is about children by putting them at the heart of his post-Covid plans.

In the speech, Ms Longfield reflected on her six years as Children’s Commissioner and looked ahead to the challenges to childhood brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. She highlighted that the pandemic will have made the lives of many children, especially vulnerable children, worse.

‘It’s impossible to overstate how damaging the last year has been for many children – particularly those who were already disadvantaged,’ she said.

‘Covid is the biggest challenge to our society in 70 years. But also an opportunity to reflect and rebuild. “Building back better” must mean rethinking our priorities and the way we care for children. We must be honest about the scale of the challenge and face the tough questions about the gaps that we know exist.

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