Young Wales Newsletter November 2023 www.childreninwales.org.uk
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Welcome
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Celebrating children’s rights and participation for Universal Children’s Day 2023
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Co-production in practice – the Budget Improvement Plan group in Young Wales
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Young Wales welcomes new volunteers
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Young Wales Residential in North Wales
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Young Carers
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Is our Democracy Healthy? It is Time to Have Your Say
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Young Inspectors – Educators or Assessors?
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A quote from Eve Lewis McLeod
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Child poverty survey results
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Young Wales Festival
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Celebrating Children’s Rights and Participation for Universal Children’s Day 2023 Young Wales’ November newsletter focuses on celebrating Universal Children’s Day, and sharing good practice from organisations that work with children and young people and how they prioritise children’s rights and participation. Universal Children’s Day this year will be celebrated on 20 November 2023, and marks the day that the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Child in 1959, and the day they adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. At Children in Wales, we celebrate Universal Children’s Day by organising our annual Young Wales Festival. This year will be an even greater celebration as we celebrate Children in Wales’ 30th anniversary.
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Celebrating children’s rights and participation for Universal Children’s Day 2023 Girija Deshmukh
What a great way to celebrate the Universal Children’s Day 2023, when Cardiff has been recognised as the 1st Child Friendly City in the UK by UNICEF. This news reminds me of a quote by an Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, “The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm and courage of the young people”. According to me, Children’s Rights and participation is not only to engage them into giving ideas and suggestions but also actively listening to their thoughts, views and visions and making them a part of the decision-making process. It is vital to understand that just as others, young people are also the experts of their own lives. They have the ability and
awareness to make an impact in the society for making it a better place to live. The only thing which lacks is the platform for their voice to be heard. Co-creation/Co-production is one of the means that can help achieve better participation of children and young people. Providing them with an opportunity to lead can make them more confident to become the advocates for a better change. Young people have the passion and energy to make positive things happen. Yes, it is not that easy, but the community carpet is not complete without weaving the threads of young people together. The world needs more and more change-makers. Its rightly said by writer Jose Rizal that “the youth is the hope of our future”.
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Co-production in practice – the Budget Improvement Plan group in Young Wales
Our fantastic group of young people are co-producing a version of the Budget Improvement Plan with Welsh Government. This document shows how Welsh Government develops, analyses and shares their Budget. It explains their short- and medium-term plans for their Budget processes. It is an important document for everyone in Wales, but Welsh Government were aware that it is not accessible to young people. They asked to work with us in Young Wales to develop an animation and a leaflet, created with young people for young people. The young people in this group have been working with the Central Design team in Welsh Government to create the resources. There has been a continual feedback loop between young people and these designers. The young people came up with the original idea for the format of the video (a video game) and drew the original sketches for each of the characters.
The designers then created an initial draft of the beginning of the animation and took this to the young people. Their ideas were then taken on board in the development of this resource. In September, we showed a ‘teaser trailer’ of the animation video to Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government, and Committee Chairs Peredur Owen Griffiths MS and Jane Bryant MS. We are now working to develop the resources further using the young people’s ideas and we look forward to sharing them in the new year.
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Young Wales welcomes new volunteers We are thrilled to share some exciting news about our recent volunteer recruitment. Young Wales recently held an induction training to warmly welcome our newest volunteers and the response has been outstanding. Between the months of August and October, we have proudly added over 70 passionate and dedicated individuals to our volunteer sign up. This incredible surge in sign-ups is a testament to the growing importance of our work in amplifying the voices of young people, rooted in the principles of Article 12 of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Our Young Wales volunteers have opportunities of working and meeting with Welsh Government officials. This interaction ensures that the perspectives of our young volunteers are not just heard but actively considered in pivotal decision-making processes.
Our volunteer recruitment is inclusive and open all year-round, offering opportunities to young people living in Wales between the ages of 11 and 25. If you would like to join our Volunteer programme, please complete the registration form. https://forms.office.com/e/L0a1etADvf
Or if you would like more information, please contact: volunteer@childreninwales.org.uk
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s e l a W g n You
l a i t n e d Resi rth Wales in No
In the half term holidays, Young Wales will be hosting our 3rd residential of the year. With more than 40 enthusiastic young volunteers signed up for an action-packed weekend, the residential promises to be an inspiring and transformative experience. From the 2nd – 4th of November, our young volunteers will gather at Glanllyn in North Wales to work in their boards and groups, passionately addressing issues that are affecting young people.
This residential also serves as a platform for preparing for the eagerly anticipated Young Wales festival. The volunteers will also be taking part in fun activities such as bowling, raft building, disco, quiz and so much more! If you would like to be involved in our next residential in February half term, please contact rachel.clement@childreninwales.org.uk for more details.
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Young Carers Mico Zenati-Parsons
A Young Carer or as The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 “Child Carer” are those under the age of 18 who provide or intend to provide unpaid care for an adult or disabled child in need of support. Wales has the highest proportion of Young Carers in the United Kingdom, the 2011 Census recorded a figure of 7544 us under the age of 16 Being a Young Carer is tough this is because we are pushed to the side like a burden, there is a failure to take into account of the practical and emotional pressures that I have experienced, by bullying, fear of being stigmatised, having additional pressures on our time undertaking caring responsibilities at home and how this has affected my ability to study. It is not only the stuff that I do but also the emotional stress I feel if my mum becomes ill.
So what can be done, the Welsh Government knows what to do, thousands of hours have been spent on writing hundreds of reports outlining how teachers and local authorities MUST identify Young Carers, it’s accepted that we may need extra support, the Welsh Government has paid for the Young Carers ID cards, they were the first Government to have a Children’s Commissioner and the first to accept the UN Convention for the rights of the child. In my experience, however I’ve seen none of this and I have been a Young Carer all my life. It was not until I became aware of both the Children’s commission and Young Wales, both of which I am now a panel member of, that I knew any of these things existed.
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I know what’s gone wrong, here is my lived experience. In August 2023 I was invited to attend a Young Carers event in Builth Wells. At the event there were representatives of local authorities throughout Wales including my own. I informed these people that I had not been aware of anything about Young Carers. They asked me what school I went to and I told them, and my local authority representative, She said “ We make sure every school has a Carers Champion” in which I told them “ No we don’t” she then responded in saying “Yes you do and you can go and ask your school because we check every month” There are two problems with the statement, firstly article 12 of the UN conventions of the rights of the child CLEARLY states a child should be listened to and secondly it should’ve
occurred to her as it is her job that if I haven’t received any information then the school hasn’t identified me as a Young Carer despite the fact that my mum who is in a wheelchair has a attended every parents evening since before I started and this identification of me being a Young Carer is a legal obligation as stated in the Wellbeing Act 2014. In conclusion, it takes more effort than merely reading a report to understand ANY issue, people and their lived experiences are important. The Welsh Government has spent Millions of pounds writing the guidelines but if they are not implemented properly it’s a gigantic waste of time.
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Is our Democracy Healthy? It is Time to Have Your Say
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Improve awareness and engagement between communities and their community councils, and
Community and town councils are democratically elected and operate at the most local level of democracy. There are over 730 community and town councils in Wales and just under 8,000 councillors. They deliver a range of services on behalf of communities. In the May 2022 local elections, only 38% of people voted. 85% of community and town council seats were uncontested or unfilled.
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Increase the number, and diversity, of candidates standing for election to community and town councils.
One issue is the lack of involvement and inclusion of young people in the work of community and town councils.
A Task and Finish group has been established by Welsh Government with core aims to identify options for actions for community and town councils, sector representative bodies and government to:
A written statement about the group from Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government can be found here: Written Statement: Democratic Health of Community and Town Councils (26 April 2023) | GOV.WALES
This group needs the help of young people to improve democracy in our councils and has issued a survey to understand how young people feel about local democracy and community and town councils.
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This survey provides an opportunity for young people to become aware and understand this level of democracy and to have a voice. The survey can be completed by individuals aged 16+. By participating in the survey, young people can actively contribute to shaping the future of their communities and allow their perspective to be considered. Young people’s contributions can help build stronger, more inclusive communities. Group member Tilley Rees who is a student at University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a volunteer with Young Wales encourages all Young People aged 16-25 to have their say by completing the questionnaire on the links below. https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/6P6PGO/ ENGLISH https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/ s/6P6PGO/?lang=838811 - WELSH Further to this you can access the public survey and more information here: https://www.gov.wales/awarenessengagement-and-representation-communityand-town-councils-call-evidence-html
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Young Inspectors – Educators or Assessors? Russell Baker, Young Wales
As an ex-teacher the mere mention of the word inspection still produces a reaction of panic. Long hours preparing for something that is, dare I say it, a distraction from the core function of teaching and learning. But it shouldn’t and doesn’t need to be like that. School inspectors have the best interests of the children at heart and, similarly, Young Inspectors have the best of intentions. Young Inspectors are there to add a different perspective and to add to the ideas, knowledge and experience of those being “inspected.” It is important to celebrate all the good work which is being done and an inspection can highlight this whilst in parallel ask questions and make suggestions so that we can build on what is already in place. Young Inspectors are there to support us to understand and to make and implement policies that celebrate children’s rights; to help us make a difference to the children and young people we work with. They help us to identify areas that can be adapted to positively support children and young people to access their rights and participate effectively.
Young Inspectors have been integral to the review of the National Participation Standards and Kitemark review. They have been equal parties, their views and ideas have carried much weight and sway because they are routed in children’s rights and shaped by experiences. The current proposal under consideration contains many ideas which have come directly from the young people involved in the process, and is better due to their involvement. The aim of young inspectors is to ensure young people are getting the best possible service. How can that be achieved? Is it through education or assessment? The answer is a bit of both; there needs to be an assessment to establish where an organisation is and to celebrate achievements, but it is what comes next that is important. A trained team of inspectors with diverse experiences will always be able to ask questions and make suggestions that will lead us to consider the service provided. They are an asset and resource to use to help on the road to ensuring that children’s rights are respected and celebrated.
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The Universal Children’s Day in 2023 is an auspicious moment to celebrate the rights and participation of children across the globe. It serves as a powerful reminder of the significance of nurturing and empowering our youngest generation. By upholding children’s rights and actively involving them in decision-making processes, we create a society that values their unique perspectives and contributions. Let us seize this opportunity to amplify children’s voices, protect their well-being, and build a brighter future where every child thrives and flourishes with utmost confidence. Eve Lewis McLeod
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Child poverty survey results Every year, in April and May, Children in Wales carries out a survey about poverty. We ask children and young people living in Wales to share their views, opinions and experiences about poverty. This year, 270 children and young people completed the survey. They were aged from around 10 years old up to 25 years old. They came from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. Many of the children and young people said that it was not fair that children lived in poverty. They saw that children were bullied because of it, especially in school.
Children and young people said that living in poverty was hard. Children often did not have enough food to eat and lots of children were hungry. They also said that the cost of electricity was too high and this meant that some families couldn’t afford to use electricity every day. This made their homes cold and dark and they couldn’t use the internet at home or do their school work. They said that children and young people were bullied because of this and that this was just not fair. They wanted all children and young people to be treated with kindness and respect.
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The children and young people who took part in the survey said that being bullied affected mental health. They said that those who were bullied were often sad, anxious and felt lonely. Sometimes it was so bad, that they didn’t want to go into school as they would be bullied because they couldn’t afford the right school uniform. This meant that they were not getting the same opportunities to learn as their classmates. Children and young people thought this was unfair. They want children, young people and adults to treat everybody and each other equally. They said that we all deserve respect and to be treated with kindness, whatever our circumstances.
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l a v i t s Fe
hildren In C f o s r a e y ay and 30 D ’s n e r d il h g World C
Celebratin
Children in Wales, will be hosting our annual Young Wales Festival that celebrates Universal Children’s Day. This year will be an even bigger celebration as we acknowledge Children in Wales’s 30th anniversary. The festival will be held on Saturday 18th November at Swansea Bay Campus. The festival promises to be a day filled with vibrant activities and opportunities to explore over 26 interactive stalls designed to engage,
Wales
inform and inspire young minds. There will be creative and motivational workshops and lots of entertainment. Young Wales will be hosting round table discussions with representatives from Welsh Government looking at issues like Climate change, education and mental health. The festival will be a day for young people to come together, celebrate their voices and enjoy an unforgettable experience.
21 Windsor Place, Cardiff CF10 3BY 029 2034 2434 @ChildreninWales info@childreninwales.org.uk childreninwales.org.uk