The UNCRC covers all aspects of a child's life and sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to

The Scottish Government is continuing with plans to incorporate the UNCRC into Scots Law. UNCRC Incorporation means that children and their families will have recourse to the law if their rights are breached by public bodies.

However, there are many benefits to a rights based approach and Indeed, many organisations and schools in Scotland have already adopted a rights based approach and are doing great work to ensure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. It’s important that we build on this good practice.

Having a rights based approach to our services promotes improved relationships, ethos and attainment and achievement. In their 2017 report on the ‘State of Children’s Rights in Scotland’, Together (an alliance of children’s charities that work to improve the awareness, understanding and implementation of the UNCRC ) identified a rights based approach as being:

'a principled and practical framework for working with children and young people, grounded in the UNCRC and other international rights conventions. It is about placing the UNCRC at the heart of planning and service delivery and integrating children and young people’s rights into every aspect of decision making, policy and practice.'

Rights based approaches mean that the articles of the convention underpin the ethos of an organisation, and that all policies and practice are developed through consideration of the UNCRC.

The UNCRC consists of 54 articles, Articles 1-42 are Provisions, and the remainder are around Implementation and monitoring. There are 4 articles that are known as ‘General Principles’ and these underpin all other rights – these are article 2 – without discrimination; Article 3 – best interests of the child; Article 6 – survival & development; Article 12 – respect for the views of the child

We need to consider how we ensure that:

• All colleagues are fully aware and have an appropriate level of understanding and knowledge of the UNCRC, and feel supported and confident to reference it in their interactions with children, young people and their families.
• Colleagues are supported and empowered to uphold the rights of children through strong leadership and collaboration
• All colleagues have clearly defined, consistent protocols around ensuring they fully involve children and young people in decision making.
• All services have clear guidance on children’s rights – what they are and how they are embedded into systems and policies

Children’s rights can and should underpin everything we do in our education settings – they are not an initiative or an ‘add-on’, but a fundamental entitlement. We also need to remember that knowing about rights is only the starting point – children and young people need to be able to thrive in an environment which respects them as individuals and upholds their dignity, and also encourages them to uphold the rights of others – for example through campaigning on issues such as climate change or poverty.

The incorporation of the UNCRC is an excellent opportunity to further the rights and well-being of children in Scotland – but we all need to work together to make it happen.

Some useful links
Dignity In School- The Hub (childrensparliament.org.uk)
An Empowered System Guidance
Learner Participation in Educational Settings (3-18)
UNCRC: the foundation of Getting it right for every child - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Progressing the human rights of children in Scotland: action plan 2021 to 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Can Scotland be Brave – Incorporating UNCRC Article 12 in practice - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Recognising and realising children’s rights: A professional learning resource to promote self-evaluation and improvement planning | Learning resources | National Improvement Hub (education.gov.scot)
professional-guide-a-childrens-rights-based-approach.pdf (gtcs.org.uk)