Towards a new settlement on meeting the needs of children, particularly the most vulnerable
For in-person attendance, register here: forms.office.com/e/ZqsQjn8i4U
For online attendance via Zoom, register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwuduyorzgtGtaz9AjQpr1F4bJAw7Xrk_5J

In this public lecture, Anne Longfield will set out a vision for how to best meet the needs of the nation’s children, particularly in terms of what it would take to reduce vulnerability and risk of harm or reduced life chances. This will include analysis of the last decade and issues such as pandemic, austerity and poverty that have so heavily influenced children’s lives. Building on a career advising Governments on and and delivering policy and practice for children, and looking ahead to a likely new administration, the lecture will consider requirements for policy making that better meets the needs of children. It will consider wider issues such as poverty and social care and then ask what might be the requirements for the education system and for teachers and schools.

Biography
Anne Longfield CBE is Chair of the Commission on Young Lives, an independent commission to develop proposals for a new national system to prevent crisis in vulnerable young people and support them to succeed in life. Anne has spent the last three decades working to improve the life chances of children, particularly the most vulnerable. From March 2015 to February 2021, she was Children’s Commissioner for England.
She previously led a national children’s charity and has also worked on the delivery of the Sure Start programme in the Cabinet Office.
Anne is a passionate champion for children, influencing and shaping the national debate and policy agenda for children and their families. She spent many years campaigning for better childcare, often at a time when many saw the issue as obscure or niche. As Children’s Commissioner, Anne spent six years championing the rights and interests of children with those in power who make decisions about children’s lives, acting as children’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the corridors of power in Whitehall and Westminster. Anne was Special Advisor to the Lords Public Services Committee during their inquiry into public services and vulnerable children, and the Independent Chair of the NHS Children and Young People Learning Disability and Autism Board. Anne is chair of the newly-formed What Works in SEND, a non-executive director of the Bradford Children and Family Trust, and board member of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
Date: 29 January 2024, 17:00 (Monday, 3rd week, Hilary 2024)
Venue: 15 Norham Gardens, 15 Norham Gardens OX2 6PY
Venue Details: Seminar Room A and online
Speaker: Anne Longfield CBE (Chair of the Commission on Young Lives)
Organising department: Department of Education
Organiser: Professor Leon Feinstein (University of Oxford)
Part of: Public Seminar Series 2023/24
Booking required?: Required
Audience: Public
Editor: Hannah Freeman