Dame Rachel de Souza

Who Dame Rachel de Souza is

Dame Rachel de Souza DBE has served as Children's Commissioner for England since March 2021, holding a statutory independent role to promote and protect the rights of children, with particular regard to those living away from home or receiving children's social care. The Office of the Children's Commissioner is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Education, which acts with political independence from government. Before her appointment, de Souza was a teacher and headteacher for over 30 years, and co-founded and led the Inspiration Trust, a multi-academy trust of fourteen schools in East Anglia, which was twice ranked the top group of comprehensive schools in England by pupil progress at GCSE. She was appointed DBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to education. In her Commissioner role she has conducted large-scale surveys of children — including The Big Ask (557,077 responses in 2021) and The Big Ambition — to place children's voices at the heart of government policy on health, social care, and education. She has published annual reports on children's mental health services, called for urgent action on waiting times for children's mental health treatment, and argued that children's social care must receive equal ambition and attention alongside health and education reform.

References for this biography

1. 1.About the Children's Commissioner for England | Children's Commissioner for England — Current role, statutory remit, background as teacher and headteacher for over 30 years, and The Big Ask survey
2. 2.Children's Commissioner's response to the Jay Review | Children's Commissioner for England — Statutory independent role to protect and promote rights of children, particular regard to children receiving children's social care
3. 3.Children's Commissioner calls for urgent action to tackle waiting times and inequality in mental health care for children — Fourth annual report on children's mental health, key statistics, and call for children to be central to NHS 10 Year Plan
4. 4.Dame Rachel de Souza – Schools North East — Appointment in 2021, leadership of Inspiration Trust (twice ranked top comprehensive group by GCSE progress), DBE in 2014
5. 5.Children's Commissioner's Office Complaints Procedure — Organisation's head office address: 64 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QP
6. 6.Press | Children's Commissioner for England — Organisational press office phone number
7. 7.Dame Rachel de Souza (@Rachel_deSouza) / X — Verified personal X account, self-identified as Children's Commissioner for England
8. 8.Dame Rachel de Souza – Children's Commissioner for England | LinkedIn — LinkedIn profile confirmed as Dame Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner for England
9. 9.What Keeps Me Awake at Night: Dame Rachel de Souza – Care Talk — Quoted in health and social care press; advocacy for children's social care reform and children's voices in policymaking

Notable achievements

• Conducted The Big Ask in 2021, the largest-ever survey of children in England, receiving 557,077 responses from children aged 4–18 across every local authority. Source ↗
• Published a fourth annual report on children's mental health (2023–24), revealing nearly 60,000 children were referred to mental health services as 'in crisis' and calling for children to be placed at the heart of the NHS 10 Year Plan. Source ↗
• Co-founded the Inspiration Trust in 2012, leading it to be twice ranked the top group of comprehensive schools in England based on pupil progress at GCSE. Source ↗
• Appointed DBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to education. Source ↗

What Dame Rachel de Souza has said

• “This Bill is perhaps the most consequential this Parliament will consider. It has the potential to fundamentally alter our relationship to death, dying and medical care and I am grateful for the acknowledgement by Peers, by inviting me to give evidence, that it will affect children in myriad ways – despite being out of its immediate scope.”

  Children's Commissioner · Assisted dying · 30 Sept 2026 · Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on proposed amendment to the Assisted Dying Bill, extending the minimum age as drafted in this Bill from 18 to 25 ↗

• “Children are growing up in a world where screens are everywhere. Parents tell me they want clear, non-judgemental information about why limiting screen use is important, given in a way that reflects the realities of their daily lives.”

  Children's Commissioner · Children's health · 30 Sept 2026 · New screen time guidance for parents of under-5s ↗

• “It has been developed with input from parents and an expert panel led by Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and Professor Russell Viner, a paediatrician and specialist in children's health.”

  Children's Commissioner · Children's health · 30 Sept 2026 · New advice for parents on screen time for young children ↗

• “Young people get huge benefits from technology – but despite wanting to spend less time on screens they tell me they find it hard to put their devices down.”

  Children's Commissioner for England · Children's health · 30 Sept 2026 · New guidance on screen use for children aged 5–16 ↗

• “For too long, illegal children's homes have been allowed to operate in the shadows, where children are treated as a business opportunity, and huge amounts of public money are spent on placements that are not properly registered or inspected.”

  children's commissioner for England · Adult social care & reform · 29 Sept 2026 · Councils pay more than £125m a year placing vulnerable children in illegal care homes in England ↗

• “My previous research has uncovered [Princess's] story is far from an isolated case. This investigation continues to raise serious questions about the millions spent by local authorities on placements when they cannot guarantee that vulnerable children are receiving the safeguarding and quality of care they need.”

  Children's Commissioner for England · Adult social care & reform · 29 Sept 2026 · Princess’s story: the case that highlights scourge of illegal care provision ↗

• “I am in no doubt that we are facing a crisis in young people's mental health”

  Children's Commissioner · Mental health · 29 Sept 2026 · Government told ‘urgent’ action needed to tackle young people’s mental health crisis ↗

• “In March, Rachel de Souza, the children's commissioner for England, highlighted that some children, including with life-limiting illnesses, were spending months and sometimes years in hospital because of a lack of "safe or appropriate" alternatives elsewhere.”

  children's commissioner for England · Palliative & end of life care · 10 Sept 2026 · Gaps in NHS end-of-life care ‘denying ill children chance to die at home’ ↗

• “A ban should not be seen as a silver bullet. We have to go further so that all online services – not just social media platforms – that use harmful features and functionalities should be banned from access to all children, not just those under 16.”

  children's commissioner for England · Children's health · 10 Sept 2026 · Four in five under-16s in Australia using social media despite ban, study shows ↗

• “'There is no disguising the fact the figures in this report are stark,' she said. 'Roughly one in 10 children have an active referral to mental health services in England which clearly demonstrates the sheer scale of distress young people are facing today.'”

  Children's Commissioner · Children's health · 10 Sept 2026 · A million children referred for mental health support in a year ↗

• “Her research sounds the alarm on the largely invisible crisis happening in children and young people's community and mental health services, as well as the wider Send system.”

  Children's commissioner · Learning disability & autism · 8 Sept 2026 · Send reforms: Key issues for schools white paper ↗

• “I am in no doubt that we are facing a crisis in young people's mental health”

  Children's Commissioner · Mental health · 8 Sept 2026 · 'Crisis' as children's mental health referrals top a million ↗

• “Any social media ban must be enforced in such a way that it does not drive children to other, darker parts of the internet.”

  Children's Commissioner for England · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Mumsnet calls for under-16s social media ban with cigarette-style health warnings ↗

• “I have been warning about this practice for years, and I need leaders at every level to grip it urgently. Hundreds of children with complex needs each year are in placements operating without regulation or safeguards because there are simply not enough good, safe options to give them the quality of care they need.”

  Children's Commissioner · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Nearly fivefold increase in children in unregulated social care settings in England ↗

Recent social activity

• Well done to the children, teachers, families & Heads who have worked so hard - fantastic to see the PISA scores so strong - so many of us have worked for decades to make sure every child can get a brilliant education. Always more to do but v well done. https://t.co/6EPIhYSF4w

  x.com ↗

• Rattle conducting the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra playing Schumann - what a treat tonight @bbcproms - beautiful programme & Isabelle Faust violin solo 🎻 superb 🙌🙌 https://t.co/1RYhrlQAbQ

  x.com ↗

Where Dame Rachel de Souza has been quoted

1. Children's social care shortages blamed for hospital discharge 'crisis'cypnow.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
2. Statement from the Children’s Commissioner on proposed amendment to the Assisted Dying Bill, extending the minimum age as drafted in this Bill from 18 to 25childrenscommissioner.gov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. New screen time guidance for parents of under-5sgov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. New advice for parents on screen time for young childreneducationhub.blog.gov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. New guidance on screen use for children aged 5–16gov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
6. Councils pay more than £125m a year placing vulnerable children in illegal care homes in Englandtheguardian.com · 29 Sept 2026
7. Princess’s story: the case that highlights scourge of illegal care provisiontheguardian.com · 29 Sept 2026
8. Government told ‘urgent’ action needed to tackle young people’s mental health crisisindependent.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
9. Gaps in NHS end-of-life care ‘denying ill children chance to die at home’theguardian.com · 10 Sept 2026
10. Four in five under-16s in Australia using social media despite ban, study showstheguardian.com · 10 Sept 2026
11. A million children referred for mental health support in a yearpulsetoday.co.uk · 10 Sept 2026
12. Send reforms: Key issues for schools white paperlgcplus.com · 8 Sept 2026
13. 'Crisis' as children's mental health referrals top a millionlbc.co.uk · 8 Sept 2026
14. Mumsnet calls for under-16s social media ban with cigarette-style health warningstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
15. Nearly fivefold increase in children in unregulated social care settings in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/about-us/the-childrens-commissioner-for-england/
• Press office emailpress@childrenscommissioner.gov.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone02045 666 313published here ↗
• Xhttps://x.com/Rachel_deSouza
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/racheldesouza

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.