Anne Longfield | Schools Week

Ban primary exclusions, and 5 more recommendations from ex-children’s tsar

Anne Longfield’s Commission on Young Lives calls for end to ‘exclusions culture’

Schools should be ‘first to open, last to close’ in future lockdowns, says children’s commissioner

Schools should be “first to open, last to close” in any future coronavirus lockdowns, the children’s commissioner for England has said. Anne Longfield’s office has published a briefing paper called Putting children first in future lockdowns, in which she insists education should be “prioritised over other sectors” if the country locks down again. If a […]

Re-engage vulnerable teens to prevent ‘lost generation’, says children’s commissioner

Schools must work with councils and the police to prevent the creation of a “lost generation” of teenagers, the children’s commissioner has said, after a report found 1 in 25 young people are at risk of “falling through the gaps”. Anne Longfield said public bodies should focus resources on re-engaging teenagers most at risk of […]

Government faces legal challenge over emergency SEND powers

The government is facing a legal challenge after temporarily “relaxing” the duty of councils to provide support for SEND pupils during the coronavirus outbreak. A notice at the end of April told councils they would only need to show “reasonable endeavours” to fulfill their duty in pupils’ education, health and care plans (EHCPs) during May. […]

Children’s commissioner launches ‘growing up north’ — a project to collect data on the northern education gap

The children’s commissioner Anne Longfield will lead a project aimed at addressing educational inequality in the north of England Over the next year, Longfield will be joined by a panel of politicians, academics, sports, charities and cultural leaders for her growing up north project, which will gather data on children in the region to examine […]