An article compared independent mobility (freedom to move around the neighbourhood – or similar – without adult accompaniment) among English and Australian schoolchildren. English children had more freedom than Australian children: this was directly associated with independent school journeys among primary but not among secondary schoolchildren; and inversely associated with parental accompaniment to other destinations.
Source: Alison Carver, Ben Watson, Ben Shaw, and Mayer Hillman, 'A comparison study of children's independent mobility in England and Australia', Children's Geographies, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the treatment of the views of children when their parents sought court intervention in custody disputes in Scotland and there were allegations of domestic abuse made by one or both parents. It said that fewer than half of children had contact orders that reflected their wishes, and that this varied by age. The report said that courts should not assume that contact would benefit the child. It recommended improvements in the methods for taking views, training for those involved in seeking children's views, and protections for children from retaliatory abuse.
Source: Kirsteen Mackay, The Treatment of the Views of Children in Private Law Child Contact Disputes Where There is a History of Domestic Abuse, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People
Links: Report | SCCYP press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report provided a summary of findings from a seminar series that considered some of the main challenges facing London's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) children and young people. It said that some progress had been made in addressing racial inequality, but BAME children and young people still faced unequal outcomes in many key areas, such as: education; training; employment; criminal justice; mental health and well-being; and the lack of voice in the development of policy and practice. The report made a range of recommendations in these areas to government and other stakeholders.
Source: Eleanor Stokes and Barbara Nea, Shaping the Future: Getting the best for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic children and young people – seminar series report, Race on the Agenda (ROTA)
Links: Report | ROTA press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the government should reconsider its proposals for the reform of legal aid, with more and broader exemptions from some proposals, to protect against breaches of the fundamental right of effective access to justice in individual cases. Recommendations included: that any residence test for eligibility be introduced through primary legislation to allow for full parliamentary scrutiny; that all children should be exempt from any residence test; for urgent reforms to be made to the internal prison complaints system; and that legal assistance should remain for young offenders, particularly for cases regarding resettlement. It also raised concerns about the impact of the proposals on people with mental capacity or mental health difficulties, and about the proposal to remove cases with borderline prospects of success from legal aid funding.
Source: The Implications for Access to Justice of the Government's Proposals to Reform Legal Aid, Seventh Report (Session 2013–14), HC 766 and HL 100, Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, TSO
Links: Report | Coram Children's Legal Centre press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
A study examined the enforcement of child contact orders by courts in England, and why the family courts infrequently used punitive sanctions. The report said that adequate punitive sanctions were in place, were mostly used when required, and were able to gain compliance. It recommended that policy should move away from its focus on the most difficult cases and seek to secure sustainable, safe and child-centred solutions for the whole range of cases. The report made recommendations.
Source: Liz Trinder, Joan Hunt, Alison Macleod, Julia Pearce, and Hilary Woodward, Enforcing Contact Orders: Problem-solving or punishment?, Exeter Law School (University of Exeter)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A study examined how children in Wales aged 10-12 years perceived gender, sexual identity and relationships. The report said that both boys and girls felt pressurized to conform to gender norms, children generally found it difficult to either deal with or disclose their experiences of verbal sexual harassment, and many children were angry about sexism among their peers and in society as a whole. Recommendations included: better sex- and relationship-education, with a rights-based approach; greater efforts to assess the well-being of children; and better advice, information, and support.
Source: Emma Renold, Boys and Girls Speak Out: A qualitative study of children s gender and sexual cultures (age 10-12), University of Cardiff
Links: Report | Summary | University of Cardiff press release
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined children's subjective well-being in rich countries. It developed a new domain index of subjective well-being based on seven indicators, including: life satisfaction; relationships with family and friends; well-being at school; and subjective health. Changes in subjective well-being between 2001-02 and 2009-10 were analyzed, along with the relationships between subjective well-being and objective domains – material, health, education, behaviour, and housing and environment. At a macro level subjective well-being was associated with all these domains. It concluded that subjective well-being should be included in comparative studies of well-being, but not necessarily as just another domain: it was a related but different order measure.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw, Bruno Martorano, Luisa Natali, and Chris de Neubourg, 'Children's subjective well-being in rich countries', Child Indicators Research, Volume 6 Number 4
Links: Abstract
See also: Jonathan Bradshaw, Bruno Martorano, Luisa Natali, and Chris de Neubourg, Children's Subjective Well-Being in Rich Countries, Working Paper 2013-03, UNICEF
Date: 2013-Dec
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals to extend the rights of children with capacity under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended), and to repeal section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. The consultation would close on 28 March 2014.
Source: Extending the Rights of Children with Capacity Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as Amended) and Repealing Section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined failures by local authorities in their duty to provide support for family and friends who care for others' children. Drawing on lessons from complaints received by the Ombudsman, the report highlighted areas of unfair treatment, as well as the common issues found in the complaints it handles.
Source: Family Values: Council services to family and friends who care for others children, Local Government Ombudsman
Links: Report | LGO press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Nov
A report provided an update on progress over the past year on the protection of children's rights in the United Kingdom. It said that, while welcome progress had been made on some measures, children had faced continuing and new, actual and potential violations of their human rights. It discussed: the unlawful use of restraint on children in detention; the age of criminal responsibility; the legality of corporal punishment; cuts to legal aid and restrictions on judicial review; the impact of poverty and deprivation; and the impact of budget reductions on key protective and responsive services such as social care, education, and health.
Source: State of Children's Rights in England: Review of government action on United Nations recommendations for strengthening children s rights in the UK, Children's Rights Alliance for England
Links: Report | CRAE press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the ways in which the lack of immigration status was an obstacle to children and young people accessing their basic rights and entitlements, and the difficulties faced in regularizing their status. Obstacles included: lack of awareness of legal rights; complexity of the immigration rules; poor quality information; lack of access to legal advice and representation, and restricted legal aid; reluctance of legal representatives to take on certain cases; and application fees for Home Office applications. The report described children being left 'in limbo' without leave to remain or access to services, while at the same time unable to leave the United Kingdom.
Source: Kamena Dorling, Growing Up In A Hostile Environment: The rights of undocumented migrant children in the UK, Coram Children s Legal Centre
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined research evidence on independent visitor schemes, and considered what visitors offered to young people. It said that visitors were viewed as friends and sources of support, encouragement and advice, while providing a consistent adult presence for children.
Source: Claire Hurst and Mark Peel, 'What does the Independent Visitor role offer looked after children?', Adoption & Fostering, Volume 37 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined whether children in care and care leavers were receiving the support to which they were entitled. It said that the majority did not think they had all the information they needed about the support they should receive from their local authority. Over one third of children in care did not know whether they had a care plan in place, while only half of care leavers said they had a pathway plan for their transition to independent living. Many were unaware of available financial support for post-16 education, finding work, and setting up home. More than one in five said that their social worker did not conduct visits on a one to one basis.
Source: The Entitlements Inquiry: Report with recommendations, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Looked After Children and Care Leavers
Links: Report | Summary | Who Cares Trust press release | NIACE press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Nov
An inspectorate report examined the handling of asylum applications made by children. It noted the commitment of staff to the welfare of child applicants, but found inconsistencies of process and duration across location.
Source: John Vine, An Inspection into the Handling of Asylum Applications Made by Unaccompanied Children: February June 2013, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
Links: Report | ICI press release | Home Office response | Refugee Council comment | Children's Society press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined evidence on the views and experiences of children and young people in Scotland on matters linked to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: Susan Elsley, Kay Tisdall, and Emma Davidson, Children and Young People's Experiences of, and Views on, Issues Relating to the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Scottish Government
Date: 2013-Jul
The children's watchdog for England said that over half a million more children would have been forced into poverty by 2015 because of coalition government fiscal policies and tax and benefit changes. The changes would have the greatest negative impact on families with children, who were losing, on average, £41.07 per week. Lone parents and those with disabled children were particularly hard hit, with the former losing 7.8 per cent of their income. The income of families with children had been reduced by over twice as much as similar families without children.
Source: A Child Rights Impact Assessment of Budget Decisions: Including the 2013 Budget, and the cumulative impact of tax-benefit reforms and reductions in spending on public services 2010-2015, Office of the Children's Commissioner | Howard Reed, Diane Elson, and Sue Himmelweit, An Adequate Standard of Living: A child rights based quantitative analysis of budgetary decisions 2010-13, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release | Research report | Childrens Society press release
Date: 2013-Jun
A report by an all-party group of MPs said that too many disadvantaged children and young people were not able to fully access their rights and entitlements. Access by children and young people to key services, including education, healthcare, and social care needed to be improved, particularly in terms of identification of need and co-ordination. Positive relationships with family, friends, and professionals could support personal development, which in turn encouraged children and young people to develop aspirations and plan for their future. There was an immediate need to revisit youth policy: it was 'particularly striking' that many young people lacked critical support during the passage to adulthood.
Source: Are Children and Young People Getting the Opportunities they Want?, All Party Parliamentary Group for Children
Links: Report | NCB press release
Date: 2013-Jun
A report highlighted a 'catalogue of violations' in the coalition government record on protecting children's rights in England. Out of 118 areas in which the United Nations had called for improvements, things were getting worse for children in 31 per cent of cases.
Source: State of Children s Rights in England 2012, Children's Rights Alliance for England
Links: Report | CRAE press release | Action for Children press release
Date: 2013-Jan