‘The Big Ask’ runs for the next four weeks and will ask children, including those of pre-school age, across England to set out their priorities for improving childhood after the pandemic.
The results of the survey will form the cornerstone of children's commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza's ‘Childhood Commission’ due to be published later this year.
Dame Rachel is referring to the consultation as an ‘ambitious Beveridge-style report’ likening it to the 1940s Government report drafted by William Beveridge which proposed widespread social welfare reforms. It formed the basis of post-war reforms including the creation of the National Health Service and expansion of National Insurance.
Through the ‘once in a generation review of the future of childhood’, the Childhood Commission aims to identify the barriers preventing children from reaching their full potential, propose solutions and come up with targets by which improvements can be monitored.
Launching the campaign, Dame Rachel (right) said, ‘It is time to give something back to children after the huge sacrifices they have made during the Covid pandemic. “The Big Ask” will ask millions of children in England to tell us what life is like for them, what their hopes and ambitions are, and what is holding them back.’
To ensure that the experiences of babies and pre-school children are captured, the children’s commissioner will be running focus groups with different communities and groups of children, which will include talking to parents and carers.
The survey will also be made available to all schools in England, accompanied by an online assembly introduced by England international footballer and social equality campaigner Marcus Rashford.
There will be focus groups for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities or other complex needs.
As part of ‘The Big Ask’, the children’s commissioner will be visiting schools around England to speak with children about their experiences of the pandemic and to hear about their hopes for the future.
‘I hope that every parent and carer, every teacher and anyone who works with children will encourage children to take part in this big, exciting opportunity,’ she added.
‘I want “The Big Ask” to be the biggest survey of children ever carried out in this country so that we can better understand what children want from the people in power and those who make decisions about their lives.
‘What children tell us will be at the heart of my Childhood Commission and “Beveridge-style” blueprint for Government and others to tackle some of the generational problems that have held back too many children for decades.’
More information
‘The Big Ask’ survey can be accessed at: www.thebigask.uk from today until 19 May 2021.
There are four versions of the survey aimed at children in different age groups: four to five, six to eight, nine to 12 and 13 to 17 years old.