Anne Longfield | |
---|---|
Children's Commissioner for England | |
In office 2015–2021 | |
Preceded by | Maggie Atkinson |
Succeeded by | Rachel de Souza |
Personal details | |
Born | 1960 (age 62–63) |
Nationality | British |
Spouse | Richard Reeve |
Children | 1 |
Residence(s) | Ilkley,West Yorkshire |
Education | Prince Henry's Grammar School,Otley Newcastle University |
Anne Elizabeth Longfield CBE (born 1960) is a campaigner for children who formerly served as the Children's Commissioner for England. [1] She was formerly chief executive of the charity 4Children. She was appointed the Children's Commissioner for England in March 2015 and was succeeded at the end of February 2021 by Dame Rachel de Souza. [2]
Longfield was born to mother Jean,who was from a farming family,and father Vincent,an engineer who worked on Concorde. She grew up on a farm on The Chevin near Otley,West Yorkshire,and was educated at Prince Henry's Grammar School,Otley and Newcastle University,where she studied history. [3] [2]
Longfield started working in the children's sector in the 1980s as a researcher with Save the Children. [4] She subsequently served as Chief Executive of Kids Clubs Network. [2] Prior to her appointment as Children's Commissioner,Longfield was Chief Executive of 4Children,a leading national children's charity,which delivered early years support,school support and youth services. She held this role for over 20 years. [5] Whilst there she oversaw the huge and rapid expansion of the charity - from employing six people to 1,500 members of staff [4] - and left just before its financial collapse. During her time with 4Children,she worked with Labour minister Harriet Harman on developing Sure Start,and spent a year on secondment at the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit to assist with the programme's delivery. [4]
Over her time in office the Longfield worked on issues affecting children's mental health,put forward proposals for giving children more power over their digital lives,published research on the experience of children in care,and launched a long-term study and data index on vulnerable children invisible to the state. [6] Under these main areas of research she has made many public interventions,and published a large number of detailed reports exploring,explaining and advocating various solutions to specific aspects of these subjects. She has seen a number of them put into place by Government.
Longfield has made many appearances in print and on broadcast media,and has made representations to local and national Government. She has created a digital platform for Children in Care,IMO. Her helpline “Help at Hand [7] ”,which aims to address problems raised by children in care,helps around a thousand children a year.
In 2020 her office responded to the coronavirus pandemic by producing materials to explain the virus and lockdown to children and highlighting the impact of the crisis on children - especially vulnerable children. She campaigned since May 2020 for all schools to be open in September,saying that,in any further restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19,schools should be “last to close and first to re-open [8] ".
Longfield was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to children. [9]
Longfield is concerned about what she sees as the effect of benefit cuts on vulnerable children in low income families. Longfield stated that universal credit and wider welfare reforms disproportionately affect single parents. Longfield stated,“There is a great risk here that the government looks like it’s going back to an outdated…viewpoint which is demonising both single parents but also families claiming benefit,and working mothers.” [10]
She has argued for large digital platforms that are used by children to have greater responsibility and response to complaints from child users and has called for legislation in England to tackle perceived reluctance on such platforms to do so. [11]
She has stated that waiting times and coverage of children's mental health services are too long,and insufficient for need. [12]
She has called for review and overhaul of children's services across England and a much more “joined up approach [13] ”to providing services that prevent the need for greater intervention at a later stage in a child's life.
She believes there should be a register of children home educated in England. [14]
She has called for greater co-ordination of police,the justice system,NHSE and children's services to tackle gang involvement,violent knife crime and the distribution of illegal drugs known as “county lines”. She has said “No child should ever end up as a headline about gangland murder or organized exploitation simply because nobody in the system thought it was their job to keep them safe. [15] ”
In 2015,shortly after starting her new role as children's Commissioner,Longfield was criticised for removing her Deputy,Sue Berelowitz,with an enhanced severance package,and then immediately hiring her back as a consultant. It transpired that this had taken place without securing the required approval from government ministers and was therefore an abuse of her powers. The arrangement was subsequently cancelled as a result of media attention and the organisation ordered her to repay to HM Treasury £10,000 of misused public funds. [16]
After 20 years of living in London,Longfield and her husband Richard Reeve,a graphic designer,moved to her native West Yorkshire in 2003,settling in Ilkley. The couple have a son,Oliver,who has embarked on a career as a chef. [2]
Catherine,Princess of Wales is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William,Prince of Wales,heir apparent to the British throne,making Catherine the likely next queen consort.
Prince Henry's Grammar School,also known as Prince Henry's or PHGS,is a secondary school and sixth form established in 1607 in the market town of Otley,West Yorkshire,England. The school teaches boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 18 and has around 1,400 pupils and 84 teachers. It retains a high position within regional league tables. In 2016 Prince Henry's had the third highest results for GCSEs in Leeds. Also in 2016 PHGS was the best state school in Leeds for A Level results. The school has repeatedly received a 'good' rating from Ofsted with outstanding features,however has in the past received criticism for the state of the old school building. Despite the name,Prince Henry's is now a state-funded academy school.
Kamlesh Kumar Patel,Lord Patel of Bradford,is a member of the House of Lords. Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours,he was created a life peer as Baron Patel of Bradford,of Bradford in the County of West Yorkshire on 8 June 2006.
Turning Point is a health and social care organisation that works across mental health,learning disability,substance misuse,primary care,the criminal justice system and employment. In 2017,Turning Point won the contract to deliver sexual health services in 3 London boroughs and Autism Plus joined the Turning Point group. Many of Turning Point services are regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
The Office of theChildren's Commissioner for England is a non-departmental public body in England responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of children as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,as well as other human rights legislation,such as the Human Rights Act 1998. The Children's Commissioner was established under the Children Act 2004 to "represent the views and interests of children",and the office was further strengthened by the Children and Families Act 2014 providing a legal mandate to promote and protect the rights of children. According to the Commissioner's website,the role's purpose is to facilitate long-term improvements for all children,and in particular for the most vulnerable,and involves “being the eyes and ears of children within the system and the country as a whole",as well as acting with political independence from government,children's agencies and the voluntary and private sectors. The Children's Commissioner also has a duty to speak on behalf of all children in the United Kingdom on non-devolved issues,which include immigration,and youth justice in Wales.
4Children was a charity in the United Kingdom focusing on children and families. Formerly the National Out of School Alliance and then the Kids' Club Network,the organisation was formed in 1983 to promote and develop a concept of after-school provision following research conducted by the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centre (BASSAC).
Carole Easton OBE is chief executive of Young Women's Trust,a charity supporting and representing disadvantaged young women. She is a previous Chair of Young Minds,a charity committed to improving the emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people,and Chief Executive at Young Women’s Trust,a charity supporting and representing young women at risk of lifelong financial and emotional insecurity. Easton is also Trustee at Depaul UK,the youth homelessness charity.
Anne Hollonds is the current Australian National Children's Commissioner. She was appointed to this position in November 2020. Prior to this role she was the Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. For more than 23 years Anne has been a Chief Executive Officer of government and non-government organisations focussed on policy,service delivery and research in health,education and social services,including the Benevolent Society and Relationships Australia NSW.
Hollybank was one of the first registered schools for disabled children to be built in the North of England. It is a registered charity and care home,specialising in caring for children with multiple and profound disabilities. Hollybank Trust was established in 1954 in Lindley,a suburb of Huddersfield in Yorkshire. Huddersfield is known for its central role at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,for being the birthplace of rugby league and birthplace of the former British Prime Minister,Harold Wilson. According to its website it employs over 500 full and part-time staff at locations across Yorkshire,in Mirfield,Halifax,Holmfirth,Barnsley and South Kirkby. Local Paralympian athlete Paul Cartwright,is ambassador for the Hollybank School,which he attended as a boy. Paul represented Great Britain at the 1984 Stoke Mandeville Paralympic Games in 100m,200m,400m sprint,and the marathon.
The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 6 June 2016 in New Zealand and 10 June in the United Kingdom.
The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours for the United Kingdom were announced on 16 June;the honours for New Zealand were announced on 5 June and for Australia on 12 June.
Judith Vivienne Blake,Baroness Blake of Leeds is a British Labour politician serving as a life peer in the House of Lords since 2021. She serves on the opposition front bench as a Shadow Spokesperson for Housing,Communities and Local Government and an Opposition Whip.
The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette on 30 December 2017. Australia,an independent Realm,has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year,the 2018 Australia Day Honours,coincide with Australia Day on 26 January. New Zealand,also an independent Realm,has its own system of honours.
Alison Natalie Kay Lowe is a British Labour politician and deputy mayor of West Yorkshire for Policing and Crime. She was the first black woman Leeds city councillor,serving from 1990 to 2019,and has served as the chief executive of Touchstone,a mental health charity based in Leeds,from 2004 to 2021.
Mermaids is a British charity and advocacy organisation that supports gender variant and transgender youth. It also provides inclusion and diversity training. Mermaids was founded in 1995 by a group of parents of gender nonconforming children and became a charitable incorporated organisation in 2015.
Monica Lakhanpaul MBBS MRCPH (UK) DM FRCPCH MFPH FRSA is a British Indian academic,researcher,clinician,broadcaster,science communicator and poet.
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The honours for New Zealand were announced on 1 June,and for Australia on 8 June.
The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and those for 2021 were announced on 30 December 2020.
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The honours for New Zealand were announced on 7 June.
The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and those for 2023 were announced on 30 December 2022.