It gives me no satisfaction to write this synopsis of the recent UNICF Report (Report Card 7) but it is necessary. At some point administrators in the UK and USA need to examine their own mindsets and realize the policies they are implementing are negating the very freedoms that are necessary to rectify what can only be described as the present horrific situations. Will this occur? My experience of the last forty years in the UK and USA indicates that the mindsets are so inflexible that changes will not be implemented. The result is that the present damage to children will continue and that the UK and USA, as far as children's wellbeing is concerned, will remain the worst countries to raise children.

As most of you probably know I am English and certainly in the early 1970s I had no plans to leave the country I was born in and where I worked, until education became politicized (Margaret Thatcher as Minister of Education, initiated this process). I found the USA even worse - the system was, and still is, highly politicized and centralized.

There is a great deal of information available to clearly indicate that this politicization and centralization is exactly the wrong direction to take if the objective is to optimize children's wellbeing and learning. It would be uplifting to see the present UK and USA at the top rather than the bottom of such tables but if the present mindsets continue (as they are certain to do) then I will be describing, as I have done for the last thirty years, surveys and reports clearly indicating that the children in both countries are faring very badly when compared with the children from other OECD countries.

UNICF Child poverty in perspective (2007): An overview of child wellbeing in rich countries.

A comprehensive assessment of the lives and wellbeing of children and adolescents in the economically advanced nations.

The true measure of a nation’s standing is how well it attends to its children – their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization, and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born.

This Report Card 7 provides a comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children and young people in 21 nations of the industrialized world. Its purpose is to encourage monitoring, to permit comparison, and to stimulate the discussion and development of policies to improve children’s lives. The report specifically attempts to measure and compare child well-being under six different headings or dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people’s own subjective sense of well-being. In all, it draws upon 40 separate indicators relevant to children’s lives and children’s rights (see pages 42 to 45).

The UNICF Report examined the physical and emotional well-being of youngsters in the world's wealthiest nations. According to per capita GDP, the UK is the fifth world's wealthiest nation. However, British children are languishing at the bottom of the UNICF international league table. The UK was last in the survey of 21 nations, which included Europe as well as the United States, Canada and Japan. British children came last in three of the six categories analyzed, finding themselves in the bottom third for two others. In the second most successful category, education, the UK was ranked 17th, way behind the former eastern bloc countries Poland and the Czech Republic. The Netherlands topped the league, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Spain.

The overall quality of life for children in the United States was judged only narrowly better than in the UK, finishing 20th in the table. The research found that British children regard themselves as less happy, and that they drank more alcohol, took more drugs, and had more underage sex than children overseas. They suffered the worst poverty and were also more prone to failure at school, experienced violence and bullying than other children and suffered a greater number of unhappy relationships with both their families and peers.

The Report is the first study of childhood wellbeing across industrialised countries. It analysed 40 separate indicators based on existing data. Among the most depressing findings were that more than a fifth of UK youngsters rated their physical and mental health as poor - the worst among the rich countries surveyed. Girls reported lower levels of well-being than boys across all the nations surveyed with more than 27 per cent of 15-year-old females expressing dissatisfaction with their health compared to 16 per cent of boys of the same age. Overall, youngsters in the UK were more likely to feel left out, awkward and lonely, than nearly all their peers in other developed countries, the report said. Italy and Portugal topped the table with the UK, the US and Czech Republic propping up the bottom of the league when the quality of children's relationships was examined.

Among OECD counties, the UK had the second highest number of children living in single-parent families or with step-parents. Italy, Greece and Poland, traditional Catholic countries, enjoyed the most stable families. The authors said there was a well-established link between family breakdown, educational failure, poor health and reduced life chances. Less than half of Britain's 11-15-year-olds said they found their peers " kind and helpful." In terms of economic well-being, Britain was 18th in the table, with only the United States having more children living in a household where the income was less than 50 per cent of the national median. While the report acknowledged that children today enjoyed unprecedented levels of health and safety and Britain was judged the second safest country behind Sweden in terms of the number of youngsters dying from accidents, the UK once again came in the bottom third of the table for infant mortality and low birth weight. As far as education is concerned, the UK came last mainly because of its poor record in persuading pupils to stay on in education and training. However, when 15-year-olds' ability in reading, maths and science was assessed, the UK came ninth.

Categories - in alphabetical order

Education: Regarded by UNICF as vital to a child's future life chances, Britain ranked 21st - last, mainly due to its poor record in persuading pupils to stay on in education and training. However, when 15-year-olds' ability in reading, maths and science was assessed the UK came ninth.

Family and Friends: British children were found to have the worst relationships in the developed world (21st). The UK had the second highest number of children living in single-parent families or with step-parents. Less than two-thirds of British families said they ate together regularly. Britain also came bottom of the industrialised national table when relationships among 11-15-year-olds were examined.

Happiness: British children consider themselves the least content in the wealthy world. More than a fifth of UK youngsters said they rated their physical and mental health as poor - only Latvia, Russia and Lithuania fared worse. Girls reported lower levels of satisfaction than boys. UK youngsters were among the least likely to enjoy school or to rate their happiness levels as above average. Overall, they were the most likely to admit to feeling left out, awkward and lonely.

Health and Safety:  Children born in wealthy nations now enjoy unprecedented levels of health and safety. Britain found itself ranked second behind Sweden as the place where children are least likely to die in an accident. However, this good performance was marred by the UK's relatively high infant mortality and low birthweight rates. The UK also fared poorly when it came to the percentage of children aged 12 months to 23 months immunised against the major vaccine-preventable disease. It was ranked in the bottom third (17th).

Poverty and Inequality: Despite being the fifth largest economy, Britain was ranked 18th for material wellbeing, beating only Ireland, Hungary and Poland. When it came to the number of children living in households where income was less than 50% of the national median, the UK beat only the USA. British children were also among the most likely to have a jobless parent and in the bottom third for homes with fewer than 10 books (12th).

Sex, Drink and Drugs: The UK easily outstripped all other countries when it came to bad and risky behaviour. British children were more likely to have been drunk or had sex than those of any other country. The UK also had the second highest teenage fertility rate. British teenagers were much more likely to be involved in a fight in the past 12 months than other nationalities and more likely to have been bullied (18th).

Comments - Subjects in alphabetical order

Education: Richard Garner, Education Editor, The Independent, "The United Kingdom is well down the league table for educational well-being - languishing in 17th place out of 21 Western countries surveyed. Its biggest problem is the percentage of students aged 15 to 19 dropping out of education or training. More than 25 per cent of British 15- to 19-year-olds drop out, compared with just 5 per cent in Belgium - the best-performing country. UK teenagers have low expectations of education, with more than 30 per cent anticipating a job with low skills." Richard House, Lecturer in psychotherapy and counselling, "I also think the education system adds to children's unhappiness, in terms of testing. Children's love of learning gets compromised which can have a negative effect. Also, in the past 10 to 12 years, the school age has crept down to about four, and in countries higher up this research, children don't tend to start formal schooling until maybe around five or six."

Family and Friends: Richard House, Lecturer in psychotherapy and counselling, "In the UK, family life seems to have disintegrated and seems much more fragile than in other countries. All the research coming out of psychoanalysis and sociology concludes that if children don't live a reasonably stable family life, it can have major negative effects."

Jonathan Bradshaw, Professor of Social Policy, University of York, "Relationships with family and friends matter a great deal to children and are also important to long-term emotional and psychological development. The UK compares poorly in that area with other countries. That is partly because we have the second highest proportion of single-parent families of the countries examined and the second highest proportion of children living in step-families. Statistics suggest those factors can lead to a greater risk of dropping out of school, of leaving home early, of poorer health, of low skills and of low pay. (A synopsis of the effects of divorce on children available at http://members.cox.net/waldorfedu5/divorceChildrenShort.html) We have relatively low proportions of children who report eating their main meal with parents several times a week, although we don't do too badly on parents talking regularly to their children. Most distressingly, we have the lowest proportion reporting that their peers are kind and helpful - less than half say that is the case compared with more than 80 per cent in Switzerland.'

Happiness: Bob Reitemeier, the chief executive of The Children's Society, "We simply cannot ignore these shocking findings. Unicef's report is a wake-up call to the fact that, despite being a rich country, the UK is failing children and young people in a number of crucial ways."

Health and Safety: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent, "The findings demonstrate what visitors to Britain have long recognised - that, as a nation, we neglect our children. On the continent, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, children are celebrated. In Britain they are tolerated at best, hustled from school to home, out of sight and out of mind. This report shows how much there is still to do.".

Poverty and Inequality: Colette Marshall, the UK director of Save the Children, "It is shameful to see the UK languishing at the bottom of this table. This report shows clearly that despite the UK's wealth, we are failing to give children the best possible start in life."

Sex, Drink and Drugs: Martin Barnes, Chief executive of the charity Drugscope, "Looking at the research, the fact that we come so low down in the international league is depressing and alarming. We have seen a big increase in drug use during the past 20 years. Although there have been encouraging signs that it has started to stabilise and fall, this clearly shows there is no room for complacency. Class A drug use among young people is still relatively uncommon but the risk factors do increase in the late teens in this country. And although it is rare, we have come across cases of children aged 11 or 12 who are exposed to such drugs. Another big issue is the impact of parental drug and alcohol use. One factor leading young people to drugs is family and relationships. In terms of effective prevention, the Government last year emphasised family support and relationships in tackling the factors leading to drug abuse."

What children say about their lifestyle: 

"The richer we become as a society, the less mature young people need to be. Too many people expect the good things but don't want to take responsibility." Profound words from a teenager brought up in the heart of one of the UK's most deprived and poverty-stricken communities and who, according to the UN report on children's standards of living, is typical of a neglected generation. However, Ciaran McIntyre, 17, from Dumbarton, has been fortunate. He is one of almost 5,000 youngsters aged between 8 and 18 rescued from the streets in the past decade by the Tullochan Trust, which set up youth clubs to tackle problems of personal development, healthy living and employability in one of the poorest areas of the UK. If Britain is the worst place to be a child, West Dunbartonshire, as one of the three most deprived areas in Scotland, is among the worst of the worst. Vandalism, high unemployment, violent crime, drugs, truancy, drink and poverty are all apparent on the streets of Bonhill, Alexandria and surrounding areas.

"I'm not surprised Holland and Sweden are top of the list because of the opportunities young people get there. In those countries it is a big thing for families to do things together, but it isn't here. Adults don't care as much round here as they do in other places. It's a different culture here," Ciaran said. "The worst thing about living around here is the Neds [slang for hooligans]," said Ross Lyle, 11. "They go around spraying paint on walls, smashing things up and fighting all the time. I don't want to be like that." Despite the fact that most youngsters in the community have been affected in some way by drink, drugs and violence, many children who don't know any other lifestyle, readily say they are happy with their home, school and friends. "There is a lot of bullying, but we know we can always tell someone if it becomes a problem," said Eildh Mcindewar, 11. "A lot of kids who don't come to the club can't do that." When many of the primary school children go into secondary education, peer pressure takes over and they begin to roam the streets with gangs on the local estates. "Before this club started, everybody would just walk about the streets getting into trouble," said Lorna Dixon, 15. "Drink and drugs are really easy to get hold of. I don't know what it's like in other countries but it is pretty bad here," said Damian Scott, 15.

Almost all those who stay on the straight and narrow are convinced more needs to be done to encourage youngsters to see there is a future. " It's horrible but a lot of kids just cut about the streets breaking windows, getting drunk and starting fights," said Glenn Logan, 14. "It's the way kids are brought up. Sometimes their families don't care where they are or what they are doing. Grown-ups buy them booze just to get them to go away and sometimes the local shops switch off the security cameras and sell it to them to make money. A lot of the Neds drink to feel big. They see it on TV and want to show off to mates" "There are a lot of teenage pregnancies," says Joanne McFarlane, 15. "I know people at school who have had pregnancy scares. Everybody sees it on TV and thinks it is big to do it." UNICF said that, compared to Holland and Sweden which came out as top places to be a child, most British children feel unloved and unsupported by a society which regards them more as a burden rather than as a valuable investment. "There is not enough to do for teenagers when they leave school. There's no jobs and no prospects for most people," said Ciaran McIntyre. "Most people don't want to live like this but they just can't see a way out. There needs to be more help to give more people the confidence to get out there and prove to themselves they can make a better life."

Conclusion Education can never replace the home nor should it attempt to. With so many children coming from homes that, in one way or another, do not meet the needs of children, problems are going to continue until many adults conclude, hopefully sooner rather than later, that their children need to come first. The effects of breakdown of adult relationships on children can be mitigated if adults seek advice and help when problems first occur. Tragically, one of the prevailing attitudes is that the grass is greener on the other side. In many cases the adults find later that this is not the case and wished, when it is too late, they had sought professional help. No government can legislate for such situations. However, a government can encourage the institution of marriage with financial inducements and appropriate tax allowances. It is a strange world when it makes more financial sense not to marry because one is worse off than one would be if one remained single. Recently, a UK Member of Parliament, David Cameron, described the following with regard to breakdowns in adult relationships. He said that although 1 in 12 church marriages fail, the figure is 1 in 4 for civil marriages and 1 in 3 for partnerships. Among OECD counties, the UK had the second highest number of children living in single-parent families or with step-parents. Italy, Greece and Poland, traditional Catholic countries, enjoyed the most stable families.

Next to family life, education can give hope to many children and increase and optimize their wellbeing and learning. Recently, I contributed to one of the "Comments" items (Improving UK Education) in The Daily Telegraph by writing the following self-explanatory note: "A former teacher and university lecturer (teacher training) I left the UK in 1981 to teach at San Diego State University but found the California/USA system equally obsessed with test driven curricula. Moving to New Zealand I achieved everything I wanted to in under three years. Before I left the UK. I had tried, for 8 years, to give a presentation to UK administrators without success. Although I was able to do this in California the system was so politically highly centralized the response was more ritualistic politeness than anything else. In under two weeks in New Zealand I was able to give a presentation to the Chief Inspector for South Island. I thought that was that. Perhaps what I said made sense for a few days later I was telephoned by said lady who had arranged for me to give a presentation to the top brass in Wellington and briefly meet the minister.

I have no idea whether I had anything to do with it but some months later a Commission was set to examine the pre-tertiary administration system in New Zealand and to make recommendations to Parliament. I submitted a lengthy and detailed report on what I considered changes that were necessary (I assume other people, groups and organizations made similar submissions). I was delighted that the changes I believed were necessary were included in the Commission's report to Parliament and duly became law (no testing of young children, teachers given freedom and support, every school a community school, no school districts, schools able to choose which consultants and advisers they wish to obtain information from; music, art and drama as integral part of the curricula, etc., etc.). Since then I have returned to California and still write to administrators in the UK and USA, of course, without success or any prospect of it. After 38 years I did, at long last, elicit a response from the Ministry of Education but it gave me, as usual, no hope for the children of the UK. The future here in the USA is equally as dismal . In both countries, children, IMHO, are being damaged for life. There is enough evidence in other countries (Finland, New Zealand, Netherlands and others) to indicate what needs to be implemented but the usual excess of hubris, although quiet equally damaging, will unable people like myself ever making a contribution - ah well, such is life :)"

Gordon Brown recently stated that this passion is education and that he will listen, "I believe government only works when it is dedicated to serving the people. I will always try to put your concerns and aspirations at the heart of what I do. I will work hard for you. My passion is education…….To those who feel that the political system doesn't listen and doesn't care, to those who somehow feel powerless and have lost faith, to those who feel Westminster is a distant place and politics all too often a spectator sport, I will strive to earn your trust - to earn your trust not just in foreign policy, but in our schools and our hospitals and our public services and to respond to your concerns. I want to be a voice for communities far beyond Westminster, a voice for the parent, a voice for the patient and the public. The best preparation for governing is listening to the British people." and "to create a better mechanism for people to become more involved within a few weeks". " He vowed to back "stronger families and stronger communities". Mr Brown said he would make policy by listening to ordinary people rather than by reading Whitehall files. We shall see whether this is, as usual, empty rhetoric or whether changes will occur :)