Category: The Library

Children’s Rights in Brief #1 – The UN Convention on the Right of the Child

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is an independent statutory body, which was established in 2004 under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 (2002 Act). Under the 2002 Act, as amended, the OCO has two core statutory functions:

to promote the rights and welfare of children up to 18 years of age; and
to examine and investigate complaints made by or for children about the administrative actions of public bodies, schools and voluntary hospitals that have, or may have, adversely affected a child.

This briefing is the first in a series that the OCO is producing to raise awareness of children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). We are creating this series in line with our duties:

to encourage public bodies to develop policies, practices and procedures designed to promote the rights and welfare of children (section 7(1)(b) of the 2002 Act); and
to collect and disseminate information on matters relating to children’s rights and welfare (section 7(1)(c) of the 2002 Act).

Read Full Article

Voice of the Baby: Research Summary Reports Phase 2

The Starcatchers Voice of the Baby project explored current and emerging rights-based approaches in the arts for babies and young children aged 0-3 in Scotland, with a focus on participation rights and creating an arts-based methodology for early years participation. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) enshrines children’s right to express their views, on all matters affecting them, and to have those views given due weight (Article 12). Babies and young children are entitled to all the rights enshrined in the UNCRC—including the right to be heard—but in early childhood this right is often overlooked or neglected. Full implementation of Article 12 requires recognition and respect for both verbal and non-verbal communication, and the arts offer great potential for babies to exercise their right to be heard. Participation in cultural life and the arts is itself a right enshrined in the UNCRC (Article 31) and is connected to a longer human rights history–for example, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community is enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948). The participation of babies and young children in artistic and cultural life is not only an opportunity for babies themselves, but also has the potential to develop and transform the societies in which they live. As Scotland moves toward incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law, it is timely to investigate how the arts can enable babies and young children to exercise their right to be heard.

Phase One of the project (funded by Cattanach and Interface) investigated existing knowledge and best practice in this area, via a scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical research studies, a survey conducted with Scottish-based arts practitioners and arts organisations, and group interviews with Starcatchers staff and associate artists. In Phase Two, we visited three Starcatchers creative play projects to learn how artists support the participation rights of babies and young children in ‘real life’. Bringing together our learning from those visits with the findings from Phase One, we have constructed a flexible reflective guide for practitioners across sectors, who wish to facilitate rights based participatory practice with babies and young children through the creative arts.

Phase Two is centred around working with babies from birth who are pre-verbal or developing language skills, however, we recognise that the resulting Reflective Guide may well have a broader application with older children and young people who are nonverbal.

Read Full Article

Voice of the Baby: Research Summary Reports Phase 1

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is currently being incorporated into domestic Law in Scotland. In the lead up to incorporation, and as implementation is rolled out, cross-sector organisations, statutory services and government bodies are acknowledging that we must listen to children and young people when it comes to matters that affect their lives; this also includes pre-and non-verbal children.
This Summary Research Report represents Phase 1 of a larger research project. The purpose of Phase 1 was to explore current and emerging rights-based approaches in the arts for children aged birth to 3 in Scotland, with a particular focus on pre- and/or non-verbal children in this age category. The findings from Phase 1 will contribute towards the development of a framework for participation specific to pre-and non-verbal children (Phase 2).
This research represents a partnership project between Starcatchers and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, with funding from Cattanach and Interface.

Read Full Article

Guidance on AI and Children Updated Guidance for Governments and Businesses to Create AI Policies and Systems That Uphold Children’s Rights

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now front and centre in almost every major app or platform that children use. Recent data reveals rapid adoption: 67 per cent of UK teens now use AI (a figure that has almost doubled in two years), 39 per cent of American elementary students learn through AI applications and 37 per cent of children aged 9–11 in Argentina turn to ChatGPT for information.3 Uptake, however, is not even: UNICEF research (forthcoming) with 12,000 children aged 12–17 and their parents/caregivers found substantial AI usage but wide divides between countries, leading to the exclusion of some children. The little research available on children and AI shows the differences are about more than access – disparities exist in types of usage, attitudes to AI, trust levels, understanding of privacy protections and exposure to harm.

Collectively, these changes bring opportunities and risks to children, young people and their families, teachers and communities. New benefits that could be leveraged include the use of AI systems to better support learning and increase accessibility for children with disabilities. Novel risks include AI-generated disinformation and emotional dependency on companion chatbots. Real harms are experienced through AI-generated explicit ‘deepfakes’ and AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sometimes based on the images of real children. Essential questions remain unanswered, such as what disruption AI systems may cause in children’s education, skill needs and future workplaces?

Since 2021, there has been a much-needed uptick in efforts to support and protect children in an AI world. From a governance perspective, these include child-related legal stipulations in the EU AI Act and the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI and human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Recommendations appear in the Joint Statement on AI and the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2025 and co-led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNICEF, the UN High-level Advisory Body on AI’s report and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. There are also efforts to research and engage children on the topic, notably by UNICEF, the Alan Turing Institute, the Children’s Parliament and the Scottish AI Alliance, as well as by research groups like Digital Futures for Children with EU Kids Online.

Yet, despite children being at the forefront of AI adoption, little is known about the mid- to long-term impact of AI on them; for example, developmental (cognitive and psychological) and learning impacts, as well as impacts on the societies in which they live. In addition, children remain at the margin of shaping AI systems. This is especially true for children from the Global South, for whom location, digital divides and severely limited access to policy forums and AI design processes are exclusionary factors. Even in wealthy countries in the Global North, most children are not sufficiently engaged in such activities. If AI systems are to benefit every child and function in their best interests, children must be urgently and meaningfully included in AI governance and development processes. Particular attention must be paid to those from the Global South, in rural areas, and from marginalized or vulnerable communities.

The notable policy, research and engagement efforts towards child-centred AI listed above are the exception, not the norm. Children’s rights are still not receiving sufficient attention in AI policy, law, governance and development. As noted, there is very limited understanding of how this unprecedented technological shift is shaping different children’s worldviews, development and futures at large. Further, the growing climate of AI competition and fragmentation between countries creates headwinds for national, regional and global cooperation, resourcing and interoperability – all key for ensuring greater protections and opportunities for children.

The message is clear: in order to uphold children’s rights, AI governance and systems need to optimize opportunities, mitigate risks and eliminate harms for children. The need to address the evidence gap on how AI impacts children and their environments, ideally through participatory research and decision-making, and to centre children in AI policies and systems has never been more urgent or important.

This guidance draws on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to lay out the foundations for child-centred AI: today and in the future, AI policies and systems should protect children, provide equitably for their needs and rights and support their participation in an AI world by contributing to the development and use of AI.

Children should be empowered with access to, and opportunity to benefit from, AI systems. Building on this foundation, the guidance presents ten requirements for child-centred AI, complementing key work already underway, but with a central focus on children.

The guidance is accompanied by many resources, including previous versions, eight implementation case studies, guides for parents and teens, opinion pieces and previous project reports – all available online.

Read Full Article

Researching Sensitive Topics Involving Children

High quality reliable evidence is essential if society is to effectively address many of the critical challenges facing children (including both children and adolescents for the purposes of this paper). Without such evidence, we are less able to understand their concerns and lived experiences, know what interventions work, or influence policy and investments to improve their lives. However, the process of conducting research with children can itself pose risks to children’s rights and well-being – especially when investigating sensitive topics such as violence and abuse. While there is a growing body of resources to support researchers in identifying and implementing good practices, an ongoing commitment to reflection and continuous improvement is needed to define ethical practice and confidently address the question of whether we can in fact conduct such research safely.

This document captures the key themes and reflections from a webinar hosted by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight in June 2024 that was designed to bring together key international experts with UNICEF staff and practitioners and to provide links to additional relevant resources. Panelists Professor Lorraine Sherr, Professor Shanaaz Mathews and Marium Hussein each presented on specific aspects of the topic, drawing on their own experience, before engaging in a broad-ranging panel discussion that unpacked some of the issues presented in more detail.

Read Full Article

OCO Beyond Limits Accessible Event Guide

Who we are The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is a human rights institution that promotes the rights and welfare of young people under 18 years of age living in Ireland. The OCO also investigates complaints about services provided to children by public organisations. The service is free and independent.

Introduction

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office hosted Beyond Limits, an event for children with disabilities, in 2019 and 2022. Beyond Limits is a family event made up of talks, entertainment and activities that include disabled children in the line-up and that they can take part in. Beyond Limits was designed to be fully accessible and inclusive. This means that all children should be able to attend and take part.

Over 2,000 people have attended Beyond Limits events. In 2019 Beyond Limits took place in Croke Park and in 2022 there were events in both Sligo and Limerick. In 2022 a Beyond Limits Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) was established to help plan and organise the events. The YAP was made up of eight amazing young people of all abilities from different parts of the country.

Beyond Limits is a special space where disabled children and their families do not feel different. They do not have to do the same preparation to attend, they do not need to worry about whether the supports they need will be available and they do not need to consider if children will disrupt what is going on.

In organising three Beyond Limits events we discovered that there is no centralised resource available (that we could find) to help organise a fully accessible and inclusive event. In order to make Beyond Limits happen we consulted with a range of organisations and we had the input of our YAP who experience barriers to participation and attendance every day.

Making an event accessible and inclusive should not be an added extra. This Accessible and Inclusive Event Guide has been created to bring together all of our learnings and to help other organisations and businesses to do better for disabled children and adults. 

Read Full Article

Children and Young People’s Participation in Child Protection: Outcomes of Transformative Participation in International Contexts

This article draws on case studies from Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Norway, and Nicaragua to analyse the outcomes of transformative participation in child welfare. Transformative participation occurs when children make meaningful choices, develop a sense of agency, possess the resources to exercise agency, and can make a real difference in their lives, their communities, and child welfare. Caring and inclusive attitudes, relationships, and practice approaches characterise transformative participatory professional practices. We demonstrate that transformative methods can create conditions so children feel recognised and empowered and empower themselves. They encourage children to collectively engage in actions to change cultural norms and develop new child welfare practice approaches and policies. We show how local-level practitioners in public and nongovernmental child welfare organisations can play a crucial role in fostering children’s transformative participation.

Read Full Article

Youth Voice in Creative Schools: Reflections on Practice

From the very beginning, the Creative Schools programme has aspired to hold youth voice at the centre. Back in 2017 and 2018 when the programme was being conceived and designed at the Arts Council the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making was an important touchstone. The Arts Council was already embodying a commitment to participation in decision making in many of its programme like the Young Ensembles Scheme and Creative Schools offered another route to centre children and young peoples’ opinions.

Once the programme was established and the first 150 schools began working with their Creative Associates, we benefited hugely from support and guidance from Hub na nÓg to embed this way of working. As the programme has grown, we have witnessed the growth in confidence, experience and curiosity about youth voice among our community.

Since 2018, the landscape around Creative Schools has changed. There is now increased understanding and very welcome higher expectations of how children and young people will be listened to. New national policies for children and young people are clear in how young people have been consulted and there have been greater than ever efforts to ensure all children and young people are included in participation.

This publication is an attempt to capture, celebrate and share ways of working, reflections, ideas, and challenges that have been part of the journey of many Creative Schools. The articles provide a snapshot of the hundreds of projects and programmes which have creatively raised children’s voices. Of course, consultation with children and young people has been a feature of arts in schools and arts in other places for a long time but the scale and reach of Creative schools since 2018 has given us this opportunity to bring together some examples of recent practice, which we offer to anyone with an interest in this area.

Read Full Article

Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework

The Scottish Government is giving children’s rights the highest possible protection in Scotland by incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1) into Scots law through the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (2). Children’s rights are already central to law and policy in Scotland and progressing them is a key part of the roles of  many workers. Incorporation of the UNCRC means there is a legal duty on public authorities and those carrying out public functions not to act in ways that are incompatible with the UNCRC requirements. The adoption and implementation of a children’s human rights approach will support workers in preparing for these new duties.

The framework has been designed to:
• Support individuals and organisations to adopt a children’s human rights approach.
• Improve and consolidate the workforce’s understanding of children’s rights and increase their confidence to implement the UNCRC in their everyday work.
• Set out the skills and knowledge the workforce will need to grow their children’s rights practice, and improve over time.
• Highlight useful resources for workers to engage with to further develop their skills and knowledge.
• Enable the necessary culture change to fully respect, protect and fulfil rights for children and young people in Scotland. Implementing a children’s human rights approach will build on existing best practice and support the realisation of other crucial policy objectives.

Read Full Article