?In March 2022, seven Children's Human Rights Defenders attended our sixth annual meeting with Nicola Sturgeon and her Cabinet Ministers.
They shared the three topics they believed to be most important to children in Scotland today which they had explored with their peers. These have been our leading, top-line priorities this year, and will continue to be so until we attend the next Cabinet meeting in March 2023. As we reflect together on the calls the children shared, please put your #Unfeartie hats on and join us in supporting the children and their calls to action??
?The key issues the children shared in March 2022 were:
- Gender Equality in Education?
Children should not be treated differently in school because of their gender. The MCPs are calling for the Scottish Government to ensure the Scottish school system is truly gender-equal.?The MCPs want the Scottish Government to?end gender stereotyping in schools. This includes:?
- Asking children what makes them feel safe in different spaces.?Children should be asked about what will improve their experiences in the playground and in school. For example, MCPs feel it is important to have a mix of bathroom spaces – including bathrooms for girls, bathrooms for boys and non-gendered bathrooms. Children should have a say in these decisions in their own schools.
- Review?learning?[the curriculum] to ensure it includes:?
- Education about gender inequality, and how it can be tackled.???
- Positive female and male role models represented equally across all subjects.?
- Strong female characters in learning and library books.?
- This review should?include teacher training?to ensure that school staff are approaching this work correctly.
- Remove gender expectations in schools.?Stereotyping language should be removed from schools, for example “strong boys” and “neat girls”.
- Remove?gendered school uniforms.?If a girl wants to climb a tree but is wearing a skirt, this may discourage her. By removing gendered uniforms, children can play and express themselves how they want.??
- Support?girls and boys to engage in sport and play they aren’t immediately drawn to.?Girls should be encouraged to play outdoors and take more risks, and boys should be encouraged to try play which promotes emotional skills. Gender should not decide how children play.?
- Support?the development of friendships between girls and boys.??
?You can read more about our work on Gender Equality in Education here:?https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/gender-equality/
- Children’s Mental Health and Well-being?
The ongoing effects of COVID-19, among other things, have affected children’s mental health and wellbeing in a huge way. Members of Children’s Parliament have clear ideas on how we can work together to improve this:
- Create?more activities, clubs and places?where children can go to relax, play, learn new skills and make new friends. There are not sufficient clubs and activities available to children, especially in island and rural communities. Funding needs to be distributed in a fairer way, because it doesn’t always reach the children who need it most.??
- Increase, repair?and improve outdoor spaces.?Children love playing and learning outdoors. They recognise the positive impact nature and being active outdoors has on their mental health and wellbeing.??
- Make?schools bright, beautiful and welcoming places?with exciting places to play indoors and outdoors.??
- Make?sure every school has a safe, private space?where children can talk to an adult if they are worried, upset or having a difficult time.??
- Have?specialist art and PE teachers for every school and nursery.?These active, creative opportunities can support mental health and wellbeing.??
- Make?sure adults understand and respect children’s human rights.?This means treating children fairly, not judging them and involving children in decisions that affect them. Children want to work together with adults to improve their lives at home, in school and in the community.
?You can read more about our work on Mental Health and Wellbeing here:?https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/mental-health-and-wellbeing-in-the-western-isles/?
?Our toolkit to support adults engaging with children about mental health and wellbeing can be found here:?https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/mental-health-and-wellbeing-in-the-western-isles/
- Adults Realising Children’s Rights?
Our MCPs asked for all adults to:
- Listen. Children deserve adults’ attention: adults need to show that they are listening. Children’s views and ideas are important and should be valued and included, especially when decisions are being made about them.?
- Build trusting relationships.?Try to understand what children are feeling and what they are going through. Building strong relationships with children is important – children should feel confident to talk to adults when they need to.?
- Treat children with respect.?This means treating children fairly and talking to them politely. Adults should think about the way they act, what they say and how they say it: no shouting!?
The MCPs want the Scottish Government to help?make children’s rights real, nationwide.?This includes:?
- Opening a Children’s Rights Museum.?A museum would provide a place for lots of people to come and find out about children’s rights.?
- Launching a nationwide children’s rights campaign.?The government needs to attract more attention to children’s rights and make it clear that they are the responsibility of all adults, especially as they will soon be incorporated into Scots Law.?
- Running children’s rights training courses for all adults who work directly with children,?including doctors, teachers, police officers and local councillors. For people who work with children, it is especially important that they have a deep understanding of how to support children’s rights in the way they work.?
- Our seven CHRD MCPs met with the Scottish Executive Team in June?2022 to share their key issues and potential solutions. At our Residential weekend during the first week of November, the children received a lovely video from Director General Education and Justice for the Scottish Government, Joe Griffin, who shared with them an update on the work thus far. The children are currently reflecting on where their current calls stand, and developing the calls they would like to share with the Cabinet at our next meeting in March 2023.?
Thank you for an inspiring session, full of exciting ideas & fresh perspectives. We look fwd to developing the action plan & working together with MCPs, listening to the voices of our children. Thank you for a brilliant afternoon together
— Perm Sec Scot (@PermSecScot)?June 15, 2022
