Millions of children will be able to voice their hopes for a post-COVID world in a landmark review backed by footballer Marcus Rashford.

The Big Ask, launched by new children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza, is the biggest ever survey of children conducted in the UK.

The results of the online review, titled the Childhood Commission, will highlight the barriers youngsters face today and solutions to help them reach their full potential.

It will run online from 19 April to 19 May, with responses kept anonymous and questions tailored to different age groups.

Children will be asked about how content they are with aspects of their lives, as well as their views about the future.

The survey is inspired by William Beveridge’s report in the 1940s which helped constitute the welfare state.

Dame Rachel said: “It is time to give something back to children after the huge sacrifices they have made during the COVID pandemic.”

She hopes that parents, carers and teachers will encourage children to “take part in this big, exciting opportunity”.

The Big Ask will be made available to every school and via the Oak National Academy for those who are home schooled.

Footballer Marcus Rashford, who has championed measures against child food poverty, will also make an appearance in an online assembly as part of the initiative.

The review will be distributed to external organisations such as youth groups, charities, mental health services, children’s homes and youth justice settings.

There will also be focus groups specifically for children with disabilities and special educational needs, and for pre-school infants.

Dame Rachel will visit schools across the country to hear first hand the experiences of children in the pandemic and their hopes for the future.

She said: “What children tell us will be at the heart of my Childhood Commission and ‘Beveridge-style’ blueprint for government and others to tackle some of the generational problems that have held back too many children for decades.”

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