Children must be at heart of plan to close inequality gap - YEP Comment

And today, the former children’s commissioner for England has warned the Government’s vow to ‘level up’ the country cannot happen while young people are being left behind.

She calls for a framework of measures that puts the needs of children at its heart.

Those who are living in poverty are already on the backfoot when it comes to academic attainment. And every young person in a city, which prides itself on being child-friendly, deserves the best possible start in life.

This newspaper has featured the very real challenge that our most disadvantaged young people have faced when it comes to tackling the digital divide during lockdown.

For some, they didn’t have access to a computer to complete their school work.

We’ve heard pledge after pledge that levelling up is on the agenda - but we need to start seeing some tangible points to close the widening gap.

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