Current work
The Policy team supports the Commissioner’s work to make sure children’s and young people’s rights are respected and their voices heard. They do this by looking at how policy is developed and implemented.
Recent briefings
The Commissioner has recently produced briefings on:
UNCRC reporting
The 4 UK Children's Commissioners of the UK have submitted a joint report to the UN on the current state of children's rights in the country. Find out what it says.
Children and Young People (Scotland) Act
Recently, the team has been focusing on the Commissioner’s response to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, and is currently working to give guidance around many of the measures it contains.
The Act will improve the lives of children and young people in Scotland in a number of ways, including:
- assigning each child a named point of contact
- extending the rights of looked after children.
It also includes a significant change for the office. The Act lets the Commissioner investigate cases where individual children and young people may have had their rights violated ― something previously outside his remit.
Find out more about the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act.
Child trafficking
We are currently engaging with the Scottish Government around its new trafficking legislation and proposed trafficking strategy.
Disability
The team has been following up feedback from It Always Comes Down to Money, a conference on disability held by the Commissioner in September 2013, and has published a workstream review that looks at what organisations across Scotland are currently doing to meet the recommendations this feedback made.
Read our disability workstream review.
Actions for the office
Several actions for the office arose out of our disability workstream review, and these are listed by category below.
Key messages
- Create a list of key messages from scoping work and research so that the office can promote the rights and social inclusion of disabled children and young people internally and externally in a consistent way. These messages will include particular reference to the importance of:
- the inclusion of the voices and views of children and their families
- play and recreation
- making sure nsuring documents and communications are accessible to all
- multi-disciplinary training
- consistent and fair eligibility criteria.
Advocacy
- Follow up on the outcome of the May 2013 advocacy consultation and support call for a detailed list of providers.
Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
- Make sure guidance for the Act reflects the voices and views of children and young people with disabilities and that these voices and views are sought throughout the process.
- Influence government communications relating to children’s service plans and emphasise the importance of accessible communications.
Disability delivery plan
- Find out more about the Scottish Government’s disability delivery plan and when it is likely to be consulted on.
Accessible communications
- Make sure that the Commissioner’s Accessible Communications Policy is fully implemented.
Eligibility criteria
- Initiate further discussion with key stakeholders, including local authorities, to discuss:
- how to take forward issues relating to eligibility criteria and access to services, including short breaks
- implications to services raised by the research.
- Propose a scoping Parliamentary Question on the implementation of section 23— duty to assess the needs of children and young people affected by disability.
Conflict resolution
- Follow up with the Scottish Government to see how work relating to social work complaints and conflict resolution is progressing.
- Consider how the changes to social work complaints may relate to the Commissioner’s office, especially in relation to the extension of powers.
- Engage with the progression of the Scottish Government consultation on children’s rights and the repeal of Section 70.
- Engage with the anticipated Scottish Government consultation on complaints processes relating to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act.
Play, recreation and wellbeing
- Continue to follow up the Commissioner’s research on disabled school toilets.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with a Disability (UNCRPD) reporting
- Submit a response to the UNCRPD reporting process highlighting relevant children’s rights concerns.
Children’s rights in health and disability
- Continue to develop mapping work relating to Additional Support Need policy and legislation.
- Continue to sit on relevant groups such as the Doran Strategic Commissioning Project Board and the Ministerial Advisory Group for Additional Support for Learning (AGASL). Liaise with Child Health Commissioners relating to disability priorities for health.
Vulnerable groups and specific needs
- Continue to contribute to the guidance for children too ill to attend school and the administration of medicines in schools.
Joint working and integration
- Engage with the Joint Improvement Team to discuss how the integration of children’s services and how this may impact on disabled children.
Self-Directed Support (SDS)
- Build on existing work relating to SDS and disability and discuss this with key stakeholders in the context of the work on eligibility criteria.
Continuing care
- Support work aiming to ensure that children with exceptional healthcare needs receive packages of care in a timely manner.
Transitions
- Continue to support the work of the Scottish Transitions Forum, CHAS and Skills Development Scotland and the development of the Principles of Transition documents.
- Discuss with Scottish Government whether there are plans to follow up on the Report on Implementation of Transition Planning.
Service quality and accountability
- Contribute to the National Care Standards consultation, including by making sure that the voices and views of children and young people with a disability are fully reflected and that the resulting care standards take a human rights-based approach. Messages should include reference to accessible, child-friendly communications by the Care Inspectorate.
Research and data collection
- Continue to sit on the Open Your Mind campaign against bullying and harassment.
- Continue to engage with AGASL and others on the issue of data collection.
- Possible engagement with Scottish Government around needs analysis for children with exceptional healthcare needs— one of the recommendations from the Doran Review.
- Discuss possible work on unlawful temporary exclusions of children and young people with additional support needs.
Other work
The team is also working on other important areas relating to children and young people’s rights. These include:
Giving evidence to parliament and responding to government consultations
The team recently gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament on child poverty and health inequalities. They also responded to:
-
Jenny Marra MSP’s consultation on proposals for a Human Trafficking (Scotland) Bill
- draft guidance on relationships, sexual health and parenthood education
- draft guidance on children too ill to attend school.
Consultation responses
Current work includes consultation responses on:
- the Scottish Government's review of the National Care Standards
- rights and accessibility for children and young people with a disability
- the Scottish Government’s draft Sports Strategy
Working with government officials and other organisations
Recent meetings have focused on:
- social work complaints
- transitions for children and young people
- youth work
- children and young people’s rights when detained by the police
- sexual health
- looked after children.
Sitting on government and stakeholder groups to make sure discussion is framed around rights
Members of the policy team sit on groups ranging from those looking at human rights to those for looked after children. They work with colleagues on issues affecting:
- child carers
- children who are too ill to attend school
- children and young people with disabilities
- children with exceptional healthcare needs.
The Policy team’s working group on the Administration of Medicines in Schools has met regularly and a paper to inform the government’s update of the guidance on this topic is being developed. The team is also working on the update of the National Care Standards.