Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, emphasised the importance of strong families in the Catholic Union’s annual Craigmyle lecture.
She said strong families are the fabric of any healthy society but that “the government tends to see families for the collection of challenges they face, rather than the innate power they hold”.
In evidence gathered by her office, 78 per cent of young people said they would turn to family first with a problem.
The Catholic Union, along with other groups, has been making the case that stronger families are at the heart of tackling many of the challenges society is facing.
Dame Rachel told the audience of almost 100 people that “over the years I have come to believe there is one institution more powerful, more important, more transformational for children than a school – and that is the family.”
Speaking at the University of Notre Dame London campus, she said that “strong families are the fabric of any healthy society…” but that “the government tends to see families for the collection of challenges they face, rather than the innate power they hold.”
A practising Catholic, she spoke about the importance of her faith. “St Ignatius’ reform spirit deeply influenced me and inspires me still in all my work,” she said.
“Children have told me that they do not believe that it is solely the role of the state to provide for them. The Church has an important role in shaping the world we want to live in,” she said.
She used the lecture to announce the Big Ambition, a national survey of young people on what they think is important in the run-up to the next general election. It follows an earlier survey, the Big Ask.
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