Children's Rights
Rights are something that everyone should have, no matter how old you are, where you live, how much money you have or what religion you follow. Children and Young People have a special set of Rights called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child or UNCRC. There is also a law in England called the Children Act 1989, which says adults need to keep you safe.
Your rights include:
- Being able to say what you think and feel, be listened to and taken seriously
- To have your best interests put first when decisions are being made about you
- To grow up healthy
- To have an education
- To have a good enough standard of living, such as having somewhere to live, food to eat and clothes to keep you warm
- To be protected from abuse, violence, bullying and harm
- To be treated equally and not be discriminated against
- To have your cultural background and identity valued
Here is a summary of all your rights
If you think that your rights are not being met, try to talk to someone you feel safe with about this so they can help you have your rights upheld and your views and wishes heard. This could be a teacher, family member, social worker, advocate or youth worker. You can also call a helpline like ChildLine for advice.
Always remember that everyone has rights, so you can help others by respecting their rights too.
The UK has ratified (officially signed up to) the UNCRC. But this does not guarantee that the rights in it will be respected and fulfilled. This is because the Convention is not yet incorporated into English law. In November 2021 Cornwall Council agreed to develop a Children’s Rights Approach. This is a commitment to integrate children’s rights into everything the Council does.
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Further information
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Advocacy
Advocates are people who can offer advice and support to children and young people who are experiencing certain situations in their lives including living in care, having a disability, being homeless or wanting to make a complaint. An Advocate's main role is to make sure that your views, wishes and feelings are heard when decisions are being made about your life. If you think you are entitled to an Advocate speak to someone you trust like a teacher, youth worker, social worker or family member and they can help make a referral.
The Children’s Commissioner for England
The Children’s Commissioner for England is there to promote the rights, views and interests of children in policies or decisions affecting their lives. They particularly represent children who are vulnerable or who find it hard to make their views known. The current commissioner is Dame Rachel de Souza. She says that her priority is to listen to children across the country and hear about their lives, which will help shape her time as Children’s Commissioner.
She has published The Big Ambition, compiling the voices, views and experiences of children about their lives and aspirations. Over 367,000 children and adults engaged with it, and findings cover 10 themes of family, education, children’s social care, youth work, online safety, health, safety from crime, jobs and skills, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and thoughts on ‘a better world’.
Things to do – resources for children and young people
On this page there are lots of activities to read and do based on different aspects of life.
#TheBigAmbition