A chance at childhood

This report focuses on three areas that are common to all young people: life at school, life at home, and life in their community. Their views and ideas focused on what young people should reasonably expect in life and what is enough to have a decent life. 

In this report, young people’s perspectives and experiences have been expressed using their own words, as far as is possible, including through direct quotes.

Many of the experiences the young people shared with us in this report aren’t new. That in itself should be alarming and bring into focus the need for young people’s voices to be at the heart of government policy.

The Child Poverty Strategy needs to:

• Capture the perspectives and experience of young people who are best qualified to understand their lives and what they need
• Be comprehensive, recognising the complexity of young people’s lives and addressing the knock-on effect of the issue across childhoods and futures
• Remain ambitious, receiving the support and investment necessary to tackle the depth, scale, and complexity of the problem

We all need to hear these insights, and commit ourselves to fight for the change we need, so that every child has a good childhood, free from poverty, and where they’re able to thrive, not just survive.

 - Mark Russell