Fife Children’s Rights Charter
Co-created with Fife children and young people, our Fife Children and young people’s Rights Charter details the rights every local child is entitled to thanks to the UN Convention on Rights of a Child (UNCRC).
The incorporation of the UNCRC means that all public services and those working directly with or in contact with children and young people have a legal duty to uphold children’s rights in how services are designed, delivered and reviewed.
In Fife, we’re building on work already underway to embed children’s rights in a consistent, practical and meaningful way across public and third sector services.
Our co-production approach to our Charter, led by the Children’s Services Partnership, has delivered key messages for children and young people. The result reflects the partnership’s commitment to embedding children’s rights into everyday practice for everyone.
What’s in the Charter – key messages
Our children and young people co-creators picked out some of the most poignant themes from the UNCRC to include in our Charter and have given their personal insight to what those themes mean to them.
Children and young people in Fife have the right to be:
- themselves
- listened to
- respected
- supported
- safe and protected
- play and be active
- included
- learn
Call to Action - What you and your team can do
Upholding children’s rights is everyone’s responsibility. Services are asked to display the Charter in buildings and spaces where children, young people and families attend.
This includes:
- reception and waiting areas
- meeting and interview rooms
- youth, community, and voluntary sector settings
Displaying the Charter is a simple but important step. It helps to:
- make children’s rights visible and explicit
- signal to children and young people that their rights are recognised and respected
- reinforce a shared rights-based culture across services in Fife
Services must support staff knowledge and confidence by promoting learning opportunities to understand how we must ensure children’s rights are upheld. This may be through team meeting / developments session or accessing learning resources such as TURAS Children’s Rights e-learning, which provides a clear and accessible introduction to children’s rights and the UNCRC.
Click the image below to access the Charter Poster Document
This project co-produced by, Fife Council, NHS Fife, Barnardo's and Fife Voluntary Action.
