Latest News

The DPH Child Poverty report summary for children & young people

To the children and young people who helped make this report possible,

We want to say a huge thank you for taking part in the activities last summer that helped shape the 2025 Director of Public Health Report for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly about growing up in poverty. Your honesty and courage to share what life is really like is powerful.

Because of you, the report is already starting to make a difference. Leaders and organisations are listening and are making changes to help make things fairer for children and young people. For example, we are improving our systems to make sure that children who should get Free School Meals don’t miss out. Your voices were so powerful that the report even made it all the way to Parliament in London, where our Director of Public Health shared what you told us!

We know there’s still more to do. We are setting up a local Child Poverty Taskforce – a group of leaders from different organisations across Cornwall who bring their different skills and ideas together to solve problems. This Taskforce will keep working hard to make things better.

We’ve attached a summary of the report written for you. It explains what we heard, what will happen next and your call to action.

If you ever need help and support, here are some places you can turn to:

• HeadStart Kernow Start Now – your space to learn about feelings, mental health, and ways to handle tricky times
• Kooth – free, safe anonymous, online support
• Childline – whatever issue you are going through, however big or small, Childline are here to listen and help. Call 0800 1111, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You might also be able to get Free School Meals and join Time2Move activities during the holidays. Ask your parent or carer if they’ve signed up – it could really help.

Thank you for helping make a real difference for children and young people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The Public Health Team and RJ Working