Doing it the Rights Way!

Participation

This means...

Making sure good quality arrangements are in place to ensure children and young people are listened to, and that their opinion is heard, in decisions that are being made that affect them.

We will...

• Involve children and young people directly in the design, monitoring and evaluation of services they receive.
• Learn about how other organisations are doing this, and develop plans that meet the needs of children and young people in Swansea.
• Develop clear targets to listen to children and young people from marginalised groups.
• Involve children and young people in the recruitment of staff who have responsibilities that impact on them.
• Adopt the National Participation Standards, to make sure when children and young people participate, their experience is a quality one.

Empowerment

This means...

Promoting rights to children and young people so that they feel able to exercise them.

We will...

• Give children and young people the information they need to influence decisions that affect them (for example simple language reports).
• Give children and young people the opportunities they need to influence decisions that affect them (for example, opportunities to scrutinise decision makers, for example, giving the chance to ask questions directly to a key decision maker and / or co-produce work).
• Establish relationships with children and young people to allow them to consistently scrutinise work.
• Give citizens the training or information they need to do this properly.

Embedding

This means...

Having systems in place to write down and evidence how we give thought to the impact of decisions on children's rights.

Making sure workers understand the UNCRC and associated treaties, and how their work impacts on children's rights.

We will...

• Make sure that leaders and staff have a good knowledge of Children's Human Rights, and help them understand how it can benefit our organisation's work.
• Use our resources to deliver training on children's human rights.
• Set up a network of champions with responsibility to promote the rights of children and young people and set targets for how to embed this in all work.
• Make sure there are HR / financial resources to support and promote the rights of children and young people.

Accountability

This means...

Having systems in place to report on what we are doing to make rights a reality for children and young people in Swansea.

We will...

• Publish an accessible annual update showing how we've worked towards making rights real for children and young people.
• Feedback regularly in a suitable format.
• Provide accessible information on how to provide feedback about what we're doing well or what we could improve, make complaints or hold staff to account.

Non discrimination

This means...

Making special efforts to ensure children and young people who may be less likely to access their rights, have an equal opportunity to be able to do so.

We will...

• Make sure staff have up-to-date knowledge of the Equality Act and receive regular training to increase their awareness of different groups of children and young people's needs.
• Use an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) to consider how individual decisions (for example, projects / services) could impact different groups of children and young people.
• Use information we have about the needs of children and young people to consider whether our services reach all groups, particularly those who possess protected characteristics.
• Provide information in a format appropriate to people's age and maturity, culture, or disability.