Family Review
Mothers At Home Matter is preparing a response to the Children’s Commissioner’s independent review of contemporary family life.
Please consider joining in by adding your voice so that as many families are represented as possible. There is the option to answer some short questions about what family means to you or to submit a more detailed answer.
In April 2021, The Children’s Commissioner launched ‘The Big Ask’ in which children were asked about their happiness, aspiration and worries for the future. Over 550,000 responses made this the largest survey of children in England. It was telling that many children wanted more time with their parents:
Here is further information from the Family Review:
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has been asked by Government to conduct an independent review into contemporary family life. This major Review was a recommendation of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Family forms a core pillar of the office’s work following ‘The Big Ask’, the largest-ever survey of children which showed just how important families are to children. Children explained how having a supportive family has a positive impact on their lives – from receiving emotional support, to being able to talk with family members about their worries and aspirations for the future.
Now, the Family Review will be exploring all aspects of modern family life, and how families understand themselves. This will allow us to look at how families can best be supported, with a particular focus on children’s perspectives on family life. The office will also explore whether public services understand the needs of families as a unit, rather than as a collection of individuals. The Review will bring together the best available evidence on the effectiveness of current Government support and community-led support networks.
As part of the Family Review, we are issuing a call for evidence to ensure we gather the latest and highest quality research and expertise to inform our work. We welcome all evidence within the scope of the review, including research on all areas of family support and evaluations of family services. The call for evidence will run for a period of six weeks. You can respond as an individual, or on behalf of an organisation. Evidence should be from the past five years and findings should be relevant to England or the UK more widely.