{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"The Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, teamed up with Cumbrian Scouts on Thursday 14 May for a hike along Hadrian\u2019s Wall as part of The Big Future survey.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/b4yibozh/childrens-commissioner-on-walk-with-scouts.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1500,"altText":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, walks with a group of Scouts.","caption":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, teamed up with Cumbrian Scouts for a hike along Hadrian\u2019s Wall","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EDame Rachel, an avid supporter of Scouts invited Scouts to make their voices heard in a major survey: \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Future\u0022\u003EThe Big Future.\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe wanted to hear their thoughts and ideas directly to make children\u2019s lives better in the future. They hiked to Housesteads Roman Fort along Hadrian\u2019s Wall, going past the Sycamore Gap memorial and Crag Lough.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs well as finding out about the challenges they face, she wanted to hear their views about engaging with the democratic process \u2013 ahead of some major changes. For the first time, hundreds of thousands of young people will be eligible to vote in the next general election at age 16.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I am determined to hear from children across England,\u2019 she said, \u2018and to ensure their voices are front and centre at a moment that will shape a generation.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/ocxhthig/childrens-commissioner-with-group-of-scouts.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1500,"altText":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, with a group of Scouts","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EEncouraging more outdoor adventures\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe hopes that hundreds of thousands young people will respond to the survey, including the Cumbrian Scouts. Her visit also celebrates getting more young people outdoors and exploring their local environments. Like Scouts, she feels it\u2019s more important than ever that we encourage our young people to get outdoors, engage with their community and learn new skills.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u2019re honoured by this visit by Dame Rachel,\u2019 said Eddie Ward, County Lead Volunteer for Cumbria. \u2018It\u2019s such a valuable opportunity for young people to have their say in this important survey. We\u2019re even more pleased to be hiking with her in the great outdoors with Cumbria Explorer Scouts, along one of the UK\u2019s most iconic landmarks.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EListening to young people across the UK\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is just one of a series of visits around the country as part of Dame Rachel\u2019s \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Future\u0022\u003Enationwide survey\u003C/a\u003E. She is travelling around the country to hear directly from children in a variety of groups and settings. She will present young people\u2019s ideas to politicians and policy makers about how to make their lives better in the future.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/oa4dy5vr/childrens-commissioner-talks-to-scouts.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1500,"altText":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, talks to a group of Scouts.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EEncouraging more young people to have their say\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Future\u0022\u003EThe Big Future survey\u003C/a\u003E is open until Friday 23 October 2026. It takes about five minutes for young people complete the survey, depending on how quickly they read, and how much they want to write. Some children may take longer and need more help. Please encourage them to take part if you can.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It means a lot that Dame Rachel wants to listen to young people properly,\u2019 said Ellie Hodgson, 15, of Mission Explorer Scout Unit, \u2018not just talk at us. Scouts has helped me grow in confidence and speak up about things I care about, so this feels like a really important opportunity.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDame Rachel, who started her role in March 2021, has already completed the two largest-ever surveys of children \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/about-us/the-big-ask/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Ask\u0022\u003EThe Big Ask\u003C/a\u003E in 2021 with over half-a-million responses and \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-ambition/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Ambition\u0022\u003EThe Big Ambition\u003C/a\u003E in 2024.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/blog/taking-the-big-future-on-the-road-carlisle/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Dame Rachel\u0027s blog about her visit with Scouts\u0022\u003ERead Dame Rachel\u2019s blog about her visit\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"callToAction","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","buttonText":"Learn more about The Big Future survey","buttonLink":{"name":"The Big Future","id":null,"url":"https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/","newWindow":false,"target":"_blank"},"colour":{"value":"003982","label":"003982"},"alignment":null},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/h2mnohxo/childrens-commissioner-with-volunteer-and-scouts.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1500,"altText":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, smiles while standing next to a volunteer","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"15 May 2026","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"The Big Future","url":"https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/","newWindow":true}],"id":89650,"nodeName":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England joins Scouts for walk and talk to shape The Big Future","title":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England joins Scouts for walk and talk to shape The Big Future","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/b4yibozh/childrens-commissioner-on-walk-with-scouts.jpeg?cc=0.13369824561403512,0.2116908264779596,0.028435087719298292,0.15990917352204045\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dce4471daf9750","caption":"Childrens Commissioner On Walk With Scouts","type":"jpeg","size":1340702,"width":2000,"height":1500,"altText":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, walks with a group of Scouts."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Children\u2019s Commissioner for England joins Scouts for walk and talk to shape The Big Future","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"The Children\u2019s Commissioner for England teamed up with Cumbrian Scouts for a hike along Hadrian\u2019s Wall as part of The Big Future survey.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC84OTY1MCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2026/may/childrens-commissioner-joins-scouts-to-shape-the-big-future/"}