Getting it right for every child 1st February 2012

Summary re. GIRFEC implementation and work of the Vol. Sector Lead

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1) Change of Reporting: This is the first report directly to the Network, since GIRFEC implementation work, formerly supported through the work of the SARG (single agency reference group) will now, along with the work of the CSMG reps., be supported through a re-joining with the regular Network meetings, on a bi-monthly basis, beginning with the February 2012 meeting.

2) Children’s Services Management Groups

Re the role of supporting the engagement and participation of the voluntary sector in the work of the 8 CSMGs, (6 geographical and 2 city centre) reps. will come from a broad range of agencies, larger and smaller.

All of these roles are being or have been ratified by local voluntary sector forums. It is expected that this voluntary sector engagement in the CSMG partnership structure will strengthen the Network’s opportunities to address developments in the local communities.

See Appendix A for list of representatives and contact details.

3) GIRFEC on the EVOC Website: there isalready a good overview of the work of Getting it right for every child implementationand these pages will shortly be upgraded to include further information with maps of the CSMG areas

4) Children and Young People’s Rights

a) See the attached Appendix B which gives an overview of the information from January’s conference on the rights of children and young people. This explored current developments and looked at where things stand in terms of Getting it Right, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the current Scottish legal framework. Anyone who wishes further information and/or access to conference speakers’ presentations can contact Marilyn ( ).

b) Re. work on children’s rights and the development of a Charter for children and young people, a very child/parent friendly Well-being Poster, which takes the form of a height chart, is nearly at completion. It is planned that it will be available across the partnership for distribution and posting up in partnership locations and in families’ homes.

5) The Getting it right Coaching Scheme.

As part of the monitoring of this pilot which offered free coaching to those engaged in Getting it right, an evaluation is planned, both quantitative and also with case studies to assess how helpful it has been for individuals taking part.

Appendix A

Current List of CSMG representatives

Edinburgh East: Susan Heron from Venchie, Craigmillar

Edinburgh South: Sandy Corlett, Children

Edinburgh South West: Danny Holligan, Barnardos

Edinburgh West: Margot MacKenzie of Homestart

Edinburgh North West (Forth): Marilyn Keilloh, Stepping Stones

Edinburgh North East (Leith):Steve Gowenlock, Multi Cultural Family Base sharing the role with Trishna Singh of Sikh Sanjog

Edinburgh City Wide,Additional Support Needs: Sophie Pilgrim (Kindred) sharing the role with Fiona Hird (Fabb)

Appendix B

Summary Document on Children’s Rights developments

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“Building on the Rights of Children and Young People: Where do we go from here?” Information and updates following the Holyrood Conference (27th January 2012)

Marilyn Nicholl, Vol Sector Lead with Getting it right for every child in Edinburgh Implementation Team

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Underpinning the conference was the recognition of the need to win ‘hearts and minds’ on the question of children’s rights in order to best develop the potential for change.

Acknowledgement given by several speakers that both the Early Years Framework and Getting it right for every child address the rights to well being which are the subject of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

1) Context of the breadth of the problem of addressing children’s rights: how children are living in Scotland

Tam Baillie as Children’s Commissioner emphasized that we face future stored up issues as emerging adults use compensatory ways of dealing with things in later life.

  • 55,000 children are raised with substance mis-using parents
  • 65,000 children with alcohol mis-using parents
  • Over 100,000 in situations with domestic abuse
  • Over 100,000 are young carers
  • Around 9 % of all Scottish children live in “severe poverty”
  • UK came bottom of international league in terms of ‘well-being’

Re. Consultation (completed in Dec. 2011) on the Rights of Children and Young People bill – a huge response to proposals. The Scottish Government will issue a report on this consultation process in spring 2012 and introduce legislation early in the summer.

Currently it is intended that there will be a duty to ‘give due regard’ to UNCRC in implementing all functions – discussion of the difficulties of this, in terms of it ‘having teeth’.

Scottish commissioner led children/YP consultation ‘A Right Blether’ had 74,000 responses. Plans to consult with even lower age group (2 – 5 year old) with ‘a right wee blether’

2) Additional context on UNCRC with significant statistical information on the current awareness of children (Juliet Harris, from ‘Together’)

Article 12 –Respect for the view of a child“Every child has the right to say what they think in all matters affecting them, and to have their views taken seriously.”

24% of children in Scotland believe that politicians listen to them

And yet 30% believe they do not listen to them at all (1)

Article 42 -Knowledge of rights“Governments should make the UNCRC known to adults and children. Adults should help children learn about their rights, too.”

21% of 11-16 year-olds living in Scotland hardly know anything about the UNCRC

32% haven’t heard of it at all

(1)(2) YouthlinkScotland (2009), Being Young in Scotland

The Right Blether Campaign will have made a difference, it is hoped, to these latest (but which are 2009) statistics.

3)Interplay between Human Rights legislation and UNCRC. (Prof Alan Miller - Chair of Human Rights Commission)

Whilst UN Convention remains ‘not incorporated’ there is no ‘right to remedy’ and this affects accountability.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Act does give ‘right to remedy’ and may be being currently under-utilised. For example: Article 3 – the right not be subject to inhumane treatment –gives effect to the values of UNCRC; Article 8 – right to family and private life – emphasizes ‘physical and psychological integrity’.

4) The picture internationally (Sam Whyte, UNICEF UK)

There is Constitutional recognition of children’s rights in the majority of European countries.

Two-thirds of 60 countries studied by UNICEF have incorporated children’s rights in their

domestic legal systems. This legislation carries same weight as other laws with legal requirements on duty-bearers (states)

5) Political and Social Context:The broader context politically in the UK is that the current government is attempting to step away from European Rights.

The hope in Scotland is that our standard may be lifted to European levels, not regressing as part of broader UK moves.

There are 600 Rights Respecting Schools in Scotland

Still a tendency, however, to continue to situate the problem ‘ in the child’.

6) The UNCRC and Education services – one Local Authority example - from Fife (Ken Greer)

Children’s’ Rights in Fife

  • Work in Progress
  • Multi-agency rights strategy group and annual Action Plan since 2010
  • Head teacher and staff training
  • Engaging newspaper editors, politicians and Fife partnership group
  • Rights respecting schools: 184 schools: 5 schools achievedlevel 2; 17, level 1 and 78 undertaking the accreditation process

Schools need to feel themselves accountable for delivering citizenship education, not as an option, but as a Public Good. Classroom is also where culture develops. The real three Rs: roles, responsibilities and relationships within a confederacy of collegiality, and a focus on modeling and living UNCRC

To implement the UNCRC Fife will:

  • Raise awareness and promote the UNCRC in Fife Communities
  • Promote a positive image of children and young people in Fife
  • Ensure children and young people influence decisions which affect them
  • Build the capacity of practitioners to promote and protect children’s rights

There is a determination to ensure that education services fit with UNCRC,making space in and beyond the classroom, with GIRFEC and SHANARRI at the centre. Awareness of schools not just reflecting but shaping society. The importance of Modeling (Showing), not ‘telling’ - so that CfE enhances positive citizenship

7)Right to Health (Gerald McLaughlin NHS)

NHS defines health as a state of well being not just the absence of illness or infirmity

  • NHS doing well with certain aspects of well being : screening and immunization, safe birth, low accident stats.
  • But need to work on nutrition (obesity and breast feeding) and mental well being

In looking at the new 5 year strategy and the need to address inequalities, there is to be a focus on embedding GIRFEC, on Youth Health, on adult services which take better account of children, on Integration, on Equality assessment

Principal areas of concern which are barriers to the right to health:

Poverty

Children affected by parental substance misuse

Looked after children

Teenage parents

Current focus is away from projects and towards mainstreaming.

Early Years Task Group looks at strategic direction.

8) Children’s Rights and key legal concepts (Fiona Jones, Cl@n childlaw)

The new bill will establish in law the responsibility of ministers to have due regard to the UNCRC. Focus here is on proportionality and relevance.

There will be a need to ‘consider’ , not to have to ‘comply’.

The imposition of a duty “to have due regard” would not enable the UNCRC to be directly actionable in the Scottish Courts.

9) Implementing children’s rights through advances in working practices

Workshops addressed the question of engagement and how we can better integrate services and ensure they are underpinned by a children’s rights focus. Examples:

Peer education; Challenging stereotypes – e.g. youth work with bridging to Police; alternative forms of engagement – the value of using discussion groups, film, music, artwork, drama etc.

10) Integrating services: the language of Working Together/Partnership working

(Professor Kay Tisdall)

Need for a well-defined understanding of the terminology and vocabulary which form the basis of working together. Definitions offered:

  • interagency working: more than one agency working together in a planned and formal way, rather than simply through informal networking.
  • multi-agency working: services are provided by more than one agency working together and drawing on pooled resources or budgets
  • joint working: professionals from more than one agency working directly together on a project
  • integration: agencies working together within a single, often new, organisational structure

Danish research discussed re. the value and valuing of key workers. Important in terms of central to the advancement of the work, but often ‘low status’ so problems getting the resources.

Tools for Disagreement: the need for awareness and to have the language tools for disagreement, so that multiple perspectives can be accommodated and competing views addressed. Working together to be further explored not as a systems issue but a learning process.