ASCL comment on former Children’s Commissioner’s plan to boost children's life chances

25/06/2024
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, responds to a report from the Centre for Young Lives, setting out a ten-point plan to boost children's life chances for the next government.
 
“This is an excellent set of proposals which would put children at the heart of policymaking and which we would urge the new government to consider carefully. It is very clear that many children are suffering from poor mental health – driven by a range of factors including the trauma of extensive poverty, families struggling to cope without enough support, and the effects of social media and online technology which can easily become obsessive and corrosive. A mental health recovery programme and a review into what is essentially the uncontrolled social experiment of smartphones and social media is long overdue. We fully support other measures such as the extension of pupil premium, and free school meals, reform of Ofsted, and properly funded and supported wraparound care and activities in schools.”