Encouraging children and young people to have their say

Article 12 of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989 states that children and young people have the right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them and that they have a right to have their opinions taken into account.

The Scottish Child Law Centre has produced a leaflet Young People & Confidentiality which provides an excellent summary of a child/young person’s right to confidentiality. Although written for children and young people, organisations can request copies of this leaflet from:

The Scottish Child Law Centre
54 East Crosscauseway
Edinburgh
EH8 9HD

Tel: 0131 667 6333

Section 2.4 of the publication Creating Safety: Child Protection Guidelines for the Arts (Children in Scotland and the Scottish Arts Council) states that “enabling children and young people to express themselves is an important aspect of their involvement in the arts… and will not only assist in their enjoyment of the activities [but] provide another route to ensure their protection..”

The Scottish Executive’s Framework for Standards highlight the importance of children and their parents/carers having their say:

Standard 3(4) states that:
“ Professionals and agencies [should] have systems in place to ensure that each child and their parents know how to question decisions and make complaints, and that those complaints are investigated and responded to”.