Editorial: Britain's Unicef ranking for children's wellbeing is better than last, but not good enough
It's cheering to note improvement, but on one area of the survey we remain last
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The merits of international league tables can be debated, but the Unicef survey of 2007, which placed Britain 21st out of 21 developed countries for the wellbeing of its children, provoked great heart-searching in the UK, much of it justified. So it is cheering that the follow-up survey, released yesterday, finds improvements – albeit modest ones. In one area, though, we remain last – this time 29th out of 29 – for the proportion of young people in further education. The percentage of under-19s not in education, employment or training is higher than anywhere else.
Now, the figures relate to 2009-10, so are already out of date. They should also improve when education becomes compulsory in England up to the age of 18 in 2015. But the lack of apprenticeships and other training for less academic young people remains a black spot that has still to be adequately addressed.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments