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| My mission is to nurture true joys of childhood, says commissioner | My mission is to nurture true joys of childhood, says commissioner |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Anne Longfield has steel, charm, enthusiasm and a record of having bold ideas that, against the odds, she turns into reality. At fringe meetings at party political conferences during the early 1990s, she would be lucky, she says, if 10 people turned up, attracted by the free wine and sandwiches, to discuss the then obscure issue of childcare. | |
| But by 1998, Longfield – who was working with Harriet Harman, now Labour’s deputy leader, and others – heard Gordon Brown, then the Labour chancellor, announce that childcare was at the heart of any modern economy. In 1990, there were only 56,000 nursery places in the UK. Today, even after the cuts, there are 1.8m. | But by 1998, Longfield – who was working with Harriet Harman, now Labour’s deputy leader, and others – heard Gordon Brown, then the Labour chancellor, announce that childcare was at the heart of any modern economy. In 1990, there were only 56,000 nursery places in the UK. Today, even after the cuts, there are 1.8m. |
| “I know what can be achieved when a small group of people put their minds to understanding what might make a real difference,” she says. | “I know what can be achieved when a small group of people put their minds to understanding what might make a real difference,” she says. |
| This month, she became children’s commissioner for England, and has given herself the six years of her contract, the lifetime of the next parliament, to take on her biggest challenge so far – to act as a catalyst for the redesign of how children and young people are helped to flourish. | |
| In the days before she gave the Observer this interview, her first in her new post, the size of that challenge became plain. David Cameron announced that the “industrial scale” of child sexual exploitation is a “national emergency”. In scandal after scandal, children have been neither seen nor heard. Mental health services for young people are in crisis. Ofsted, the regulator, says that three out of four children’s services departments are “not good enough”. | In the days before she gave the Observer this interview, her first in her new post, the size of that challenge became plain. David Cameron announced that the “industrial scale” of child sexual exploitation is a “national emergency”. In scandal after scandal, children have been neither seen nor heard. Mental health services for young people are in crisis. Ofsted, the regulator, says that three out of four children’s services departments are “not good enough”. |
| The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that the poorest families have paid the heaviest penalty under the coalition’s cuts and tax changes, and on current trends Britain – one of the richest countries in the world – will see a steep rise in children living in poverty, to four million this year. Almost one in three children – most of them living with a parent in work – experiences conditions that blight their life chances, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, and that costs the public purse £29bn a year. | |
| In 2010, all the major political parties signed up to the target of reducing child poverty to less than 5% by 2020. Instead, the figure is nearing 33%, with five years still to go. | |
| “In Britain in particular, bringing up children is seen as a very personal and private matter,” Longfield says. “But there is a societal gain from a public investment in having all children doing well. In economic terms, it is not only fair and just; it is essential for us to compete globally.” | “In Britain in particular, bringing up children is seen as a very personal and private matter,” Longfield says. “But there is a societal gain from a public investment in having all children doing well. In economic terms, it is not only fair and just; it is essential for us to compete globally.” |
| The children’s commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are appointed to promote and protect children’s rights. They work to the UN convention on the rights of the child. The role of the English commissioner, responsible for 12 million children and young people, was strengthened last year. Longfield now reports to parliament and can, for instance, order a “robust” investigation where she sees fit. | The children’s commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are appointed to promote and protect children’s rights. They work to the UN convention on the rights of the child. The role of the English commissioner, responsible for 12 million children and young people, was strengthened last year. Longfield now reports to parliament and can, for instance, order a “robust” investigation where she sees fit. |
| “Childhood is changing,” she says. “Family structures have altered dramatically. Social media and continual pressure are reshaping young people’s lives. A teenager can play online games with ‘friends’ from six countries in his or her bedroom, and not feel confident enough to say hello to the boy next door. | “Childhood is changing,” she says. “Family structures have altered dramatically. Social media and continual pressure are reshaping young people’s lives. A teenager can play online games with ‘friends’ from six countries in his or her bedroom, and not feel confident enough to say hello to the boy next door. |
| “As a country we don’t know what childhood means today. We have debates when things go wrong, but where is the discussion about how, as a society, we ensure that we deliver the best of childhoods for our children?” | “As a country we don’t know what childhood means today. We have debates when things go wrong, but where is the discussion about how, as a society, we ensure that we deliver the best of childhoods for our children?” |
| She points out that nine million women didn’t vote in the 2010 general election: the politicians’ lack of bold proposals on the family (and, yes, women have an interest in other areas too) has to be a missed opportunity. | |
| “All the parties say they want children to grow up in the best country in the world yet, in an election, the young, without votes, are rendered invisible,” she says. “A new administration has the perfect opportunity to set out an ambitious five-year programme. That means radical reform on a scale none of the political parties has yet acknowledged. | |
| “The current system is cumbersome, inefficient and wasteful. We can do more with less. Children’s interests, for instance, are spread across several departments in central and local government. Children need a joined-up, holistic approach, with clear objectives and proper monitoring to track progress. Until that happens, the system will continue to fail.” | “The current system is cumbersome, inefficient and wasteful. We can do more with less. Children’s interests, for instance, are spread across several departments in central and local government. Children need a joined-up, holistic approach, with clear objectives and proper monitoring to track progress. Until that happens, the system will continue to fail.” |
| On Tuesday, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights publishes its report on children’s rights. Next year, the UN convention on the rights of the child publishes its scrutiny of the UK’s progress on children and young people since its last report in 2008. These are important levers for change. Critics say England’s children’s commissioner lacks both independence from government and clout. However, Longfield is a consummate political strategist. | |
| A history graduate from Newcastle, she came to London in the 1980s to work as a researcher for the charity Save the Children. “Teenagers who lived three miles away had never visited central London, so we hired buses to take them and open up their horizons. Later, we provided the childcare that mothers needed to hold down jobs. It made me realise how much can be achieved when people get the help they really need.” | A history graduate from Newcastle, she came to London in the 1980s to work as a researcher for the charity Save the Children. “Teenagers who lived three miles away had never visited central London, so we hired buses to take them and open up their horizons. Later, we provided the childcare that mothers needed to hold down jobs. It made me realise how much can be achieved when people get the help they really need.” |
| In her former role as chief executive of the charity 4Children, she expanded the organisation from six people and two telephone lines to a staff of 1,500, running 100 children’s centres and 200 services, including after-school clubs. | In her former role as chief executive of the charity 4Children, she expanded the organisation from six people and two telephone lines to a staff of 1,500, running 100 children’s centres and 200 services, including after-school clubs. |
| “Over the years, from every corner of the land, I’ve heard constant frustration from families that they are held back. They can’t get jobs that fit with family life. They can’t get help with problems when they occur. | |
| “Then, when things become really difficult, social services and professionals take over, strip families of control and leave them feeling overwhelmed and powerless. That has to change.” | |
| In 2001, Longfield and Harman revealed their goal of 10,000 children’s centres and family support in the form of what became the controversial Sure Start programme. Three years later, the Labour government began opening the first of 3,500 children’s centres. Longfield was seconded to the prime minister’s strategy unit in the Cabinet Office for a year to help in the delivery. | |
| “It was called a reality check,” she says drily. “I know the nuts and bolts of every part of the programme and remain as convinced now as on day one that children’s centres and Sure Start can transform lives and communities. ” | “It was called a reality check,” she says drily. “I know the nuts and bolts of every part of the programme and remain as convinced now as on day one that children’s centres and Sure Start can transform lives and communities. ” |
| Under the coalition, 500 children’s centres have closed, Sure Start has been scaled back and nurseries have folded or merged – while childcare costs have soared to a third of disposable family income. According to the charity Gingerbread, almost half of all single parents have borrowed in the past two years to meet childcare costs. | |
| “Even the most committed local authorities are wondering how they are going to operate with the heavy cuts still to come,” Longfield says. “That’s why it’s crucial that we stop and think about how we support children in this country.” | |
| Longfield’s plan is to create an innovative programme, Ambitious for Children, which will target England’s 100 poorest boroughs and improve outcomes in a range of areas for children and young people – including education, health, housing and skills – in the lifetime of one parliament. | Longfield’s plan is to create an innovative programme, Ambitious for Children, which will target England’s 100 poorest boroughs and improve outcomes in a range of areas for children and young people – including education, health, housing and skills – in the lifetime of one parliament. |
| “If it can work for the poorest children, it can benefit all children.” | “If it can work for the poorest children, it can benefit all children.” |
| Longfield wants party leaders to commit to five pledges: creating a cabinet post of minister for children; reducing child poverty; improving the educational attainment of children in care; shifting resources from crisis management to prevention; and early intervention with the under-fives. | Longfield wants party leaders to commit to five pledges: creating a cabinet post of minister for children; reducing child poverty; improving the educational attainment of children in care; shifting resources from crisis management to prevention; and early intervention with the under-fives. |
| “I am determined to ensure a real change in outcomes by 2020 for all children in England,” Longfield says. “The timing has never been more important. Child sexual exploitation fills the headlines, but there are many tens of thousands of children from all classes who are not served well. This is a wake-up call. We disregard it at our peril. | “I am determined to ensure a real change in outcomes by 2020 for all children in England,” Longfield says. “The timing has never been more important. Child sexual exploitation fills the headlines, but there are many tens of thousands of children from all classes who are not served well. This is a wake-up call. We disregard it at our peril. |
| “I’ve got six years in my job to change the chance we offer children in this country. I am an optimist. I think we can do it.” | “I’ve got six years in my job to change the chance we offer children in this country. I am an optimist. I think we can do it.” |
| THE GOOD NEWS … AND THE BAD | THE GOOD NEWS … AND THE BAD |
| ■ Only a small minority of children aged 11 to 15 drink or take drugs. | ■ Only a small minority of children aged 11 to 15 drink or take drugs. |
| ■ In England in 2007-08, only 65.3% attained five GCSEs A*-C. By 2011-12 this had risen to 81.8% and is still rising. | ■ In England in 2007-08, only 65.3% attained five GCSEs A*-C. By 2011-12 this had risen to 81.8% and is still rising. |
| ■ Teenage pregnancy is at its lowest rate since records began in 1969. | ■ Teenage pregnancy is at its lowest rate since records began in 1969. |
| ■ Childhood obesity rates have been stable since 2010. | ■ Childhood obesity rates have been stable since 2010. |
| ■ The UK has one of the lowest smoking rates among children in the world. | ■ The UK has one of the lowest smoking rates among children in the world. |
| ■ Sixty-five children and young adults died in detention over the past four years. | ■ Sixty-five children and young adults died in detention over the past four years. |
| ■ One in 10 children and young people aged between five and 16 suffers from a diagnosable mental health disorder. | |
| ■ Between 2008 and 2014, inflation rose 19%, the minimum cost of living rose 28%, and childcare costs rose by 42%. The average family spends a third of its disposable income on childcare. | ■ Between 2008 and 2014, inflation rose 19%, the minimum cost of living rose 28%, and childcare costs rose by 42%. The average family spends a third of its disposable income on childcare. |
| ■ In 2014, 2,130 families were living in B&B accommodation, twice the figure of 2011. | ■ In 2014, 2,130 families were living in B&B accommodation, twice the figure of 2011. |
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