Measures to protect children's rights commended
Steps taken to secure children’s rights in Midlothian were commended by councillors at the full Council meeting today (Tuesday).
Helping young people succeed
Approving the Midlothian Children’s Rights Report 2020-2023, councillors agreed actions taken to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child will help make sure young people have every opportunity to succeed.
Listening to young people
Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for education and children’s services, Councillor Ellen Scott said: “It’s heartening to hear of the comprehensive local measures taken to listen to, and act on, the opinions and needs of our young people.
Influencing decisions about them
“Children are dependent on adults and don’t have as much power but their human rights are every bit as important and they must have a say in influencing decisions affecting their lives and access to local resources within their communities.”
Key achievements
The 40-page report, outlines key achievements including:
- Working with young people to help stop youth homelessness
- Successfully rolling out a £10.5 million project giving every P1- S6 learner with an iPad or Chromebook for equal opportunities to improve learning
- Making more families eligible for funding to pay for a place in a nursery or other setting for their 2-year-old child
- Establishing a Building Back Better team to address learning gaps as a result of the impact of the pandemic
- Having Rights Respecting School Co-ordinators in all schools. A total of 25 schools are registered as Rights Respecting Schools. Six have achieved a Bronze award, eight have achieved a Silver and three schools have Gold awards.
- Supporting 228 young carers in Midlothian as well as offering young carers’ assessments
- Consulting with pupils at Newbattle and Lasswade high schools on library services. A total of 3904 young people responded, more than 90% of whom used the school libraries. Their views are now shaping services. Changes include offering more teen fiction.
- Launching a Midlothian Professional Learning Academy in August 2022 offering universal and bespoke learning opportunities for staff across the Children, Young People and Partnerships Directorate. By March 2023, 27 sessions had taken place provoking discussion around taking a rights-based approach to service delivery and practice.
Well worth reading
Cllr Scott added: “I’d urge young people and anyone involved in their care to read this fantastic report. From improving support and resources for kinship carers to mindfulness programmes for 5-14-year-olds, the breadth of measures changing lives for the better is phenomenal.”
Next steps
Next steps will include establishing a Strategic Children’s Rights Group to promote and uphold the rights of children and young people in Midlothian. A child-friendly version of our Midlothian Children's Rights Report will also be produced.
Conference speakers
Meanwhile, a Midlothian Council conference for education professionals in October called - ‘Taking a Rights Based Approach’ - will hear views directly from young people on how best to realise their rights.