Dr Rhian Croke, Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales Child knife crime is a deeply concerning issue that demands a thoughtful, evidence-based approach. Recent official statistics indicate that, while media...
Siân Pearce - Postgrad Researcher & Immigration Lawyer This week there were some short, but very important changes to the Home Office guidance on how applications for British Citizenship are decided. These were brought to the public attention by the...
Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a dystopian novel about a group of students who grow up in a chilling alternative reality. The story is narrated by a thirty-year-old Kathy who reflects on her time at Hailsham School and exposes the fate that awaits her, her close...
After serving in the war, Francis Cassavant returns to his town with one purpose: to take revenge for his friend Nicole Renard. As a young girl, Nicole had been a victim of sexual abuse. The incident has left her with life-long trauma. The book "Heroes" deals with...
Dr Rhian Croke, Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales Recent events and reports on children’s rights Recently, there has been reports and events that have helped us to reflect on where there has been progress and where there...
In September 2024, the Children’s Legal Centre Wales was honoured to host the Child Law Network UK in Wales for the first time. The Child Law Network was established in 2019 and is a group of 9 legal NGOs, from across the UK who share the same aim that all children...
Most of us grew up reading or hearing about fairy tales and happily ever after. Many of us may have dreamed of being a princess or prince at some point. But what no one talks about is the terrible treatment most the heroines endure to get to their so called happily...
Prior to the General Election there was a great deal of new policy regarding the way the UK dealt with Asylum Claims. The Illegal Migration Act received Royal Assent in July 2023, and a number of key sections were brought into force, in particular those which...
Content Warning: Mental Health Challenges (Anxiety, Depression and Emotional Distress) Bullying (Verbal Abuse and Exclusion) Welcome to a world where the unshakable bond of two sisters, Pearl and Jodie, overcomes all odds. In Jacqueline Wilson's "My Sister Jodie," we...
Content warning: domestic abuse / sexual abuse mentioned ‘It Ends With Us’ is a story about a young girl named Lily Bloom who has recently graduated college and moved to Boston to start her new life. There, she pursues her dream of opening her own business – a flower...
Introduction The Children’s Legal Centre Wales is developing a Wales-wide approach to empower young people via legal education on human rights. In a project funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, CLCW Education and Engagement Lead Rhian Howells is working with children...
It is a cold day in December 1933 when twelve-year-old Stella Saxby wakes up in her bed at the family estate wrapped in head to toe in bandages. Her Aunt Alberta emerges from the dark shadows to inform her that she has been in a coma and both her parents have died in...
I first read ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 and ¾’ when I was about 12 years old. I found it hilarious and relatable, especially Adrian’s crush on Pandora! However, the constant fighting and splitting-up between Adrian’s mum and dad stuck out as something...
On 4th July 2024, the UK Parliamentary election, also known as the general election, will take place. This is how the British public decides who they want to represent them in parliament. Let's break down what a general election is, why it's important, and how it all...
A Thousand Splendid Suns was a tremendously enjoyable read. It is a book which depicts the courage and defiance that young people show when they are faced by overwhelming adversity. The story follows two different girls in 20th century Afghanistan. One is Mariam, who...
Wealth. Guilt. Shame. These are all themes that take place in J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’; a play many students study for their GCSEs. Did you study this play, or did you study another text? Let me know in the comments below! This drama is centered around...
Five Ways to embed Children’s Rights in School Teaching children about, for and through Children’s Rights is now a legal requirement as part of the Curriculum for Wales. Although Human rights are specifically mentioned in the Humanities and Health and...
Oliver Twist, is a book by Charles Dickens, which tells the story of a boy’s childhood. Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse in 1830s England. His mother dies just after Oliver’s birth. After spending the first nine years in a badly run home for young orphans, Oliver...
Introduction and about the book! Have you read A Little Princess? I remember my sister got it for my birthday and it became (and still is!) my favourite book. It follows Sara Crewe, a wealthy beautiful girl with an extraordinary imagination, who is a brilliant...
Matilda, you might have heard of, a well-known book, film and musical (the newest one out recently) of Roald Dahl’s. To be honest, I’ve only ever seen the movie. This story is about a girl called Matilda Wormwood. However, Matilda isn’t treated like a typical child;...
Simon Hoffman Background During the Covid pandemic the Welsh Government allocated funds to provide some (not all) children from low-income households in Wales with free school meals during the school holidays, or to provide their parents/carers with cash or vouchers...
This is a briefing note designed for use by professionals supporting children and young adults leaving care who are seeking asylum in their own right – particularly those who will have arrived in the UK on or after 7 March 2023. It does not constitute legal advice for...
Dr Rhian Croke, Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales There is so much that could be said about the facts of this case (please see another blog by my colleague Prof Simon Hoffman) but in this blog, I am going to...
Recently while at a local pharmacy, I saw a visitor to the area collecting an emergency dose of antibiotics. When the pharmacist handed him the medication, the visitor waited briefly before asking how to pay. The pharmacist smiled brightly and informed him that there...
Dr Rhian Croke, Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales – Note of thanks to Professor Ann Skelton, Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for delivering the Observatory on the Human Rights of...
Dr Rhian Croke & Professor Simon Hoffman Poverty: A violation of children’s rights Amongst the many children’s rights issues, we focus on at the Children’s Legal Centre Wales and Observatory on Human Rights of Children, child poverty has been a key concern. As...
Dr Rhian Croke, Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation, Information and Policy Advocacy Lead Children’s Legal Centre Wales and Member of the Wales UNCRC Monitoring Group Background to the UNCRC Reporting Process 6th / 7th Cycle of Reporting to the UN Committee...
Datganiad Canolfan Gyfreithiol y Plant Cymru a’r Arsyllfa ar Hawliau Dynol Plant: Ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i Ymchwiliad Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg y Senedd – Gwasanaethau i Blant sydd wedi bod mewn Gofal: archwilio diwygio radical. Gorchmynion...
Dr Rhian Croke, Child Rights Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales and Member of Wales UNCRC Monitoring Group When a State, like the UK, signs and then ratifies the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), it takes on...
Dr Rhian Croke, Child Rights Strategic Litigation and Policy Advocacy Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales The Issue It is a statutory requirement that ‘looked-after’ children should be allocated an ‘Independent Visitor’ where it appears to the local authority...
We welcome the Children’s Commissioner for England report and are deeply concerned by its findings. We believe that the practice of strip-searching children must be stopped immediately. The report confirms that children across England and Wales have been searched by...
England and Wales: Strip search of children A BBC File on 4 investigation asked all 44 police forces in England and Wales for information about strip search of children.[i] A total of 31 police forces responded to the BBC’s request, revealing that in the last 5...
I was drawn to social justice work as a career choice due to my background as an adoptee, in addition to work experience I had undertaken at the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’s office when I was 16 years old. I have a passion for helping others and I wish to...
Living in poverty undermines children’s rights guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). For example, it has a negative impact on children’s right to life and survival, and to develop to their maximum potential (Article 6 UNCRC), to an...
The Observatory and Children's Legal Centre Wales have links with child rights activists and researchers in many countries across the world, including the USA. This summer our work was represented at a major international conference held online and across time zones...
No More Knives, by Christina Gabbitas is a new book which looks at five friends and how they become involved in county lines and knife crime. The story covers the harsh reality of the plight of young people involved in county lines, including what they were expected...
I can’t be the only one who loves anything Jacqueline Wilson writes and Hetty Feather has always held a place in my heart. Being one of Jacqueline Wilson’s most famous books, Hetty Feather follows the life of a girl who was abandoned by her mother at a foundling...
This new book The Impact of Devolution in Wales: Social Democracy with a Welsh Stripe? co-edited by Professor Jane Williams and Dr Aled Eirug, which includes a chapter on children's rights, offers some insight into that question. The edited collection reflects on two...
Night Owls by Jenn Bennett Jenn Bennett is an American author of novels for both teenagers and adults. One of her award-winning books, Night Owls, follows the adventures of two teenage artists, Bex and Jack. Bex is a student who aspires to become a medical...
Human rights and children’s rights organisations across the UK have expressed their concerns to the UK Government’s proposals to replace the UK Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) [i] with a Bill of Rights. The new Bill of Rights was officially announced in the Queens...
Critical friends - driving change for children Wales since devolution has been pursuing an agenda that seeks to respect and promote the human rights of children as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC or Convention). Why is this...
21 March 2022 From today, children in Wales enjoy the same legal protection from corporal (physical) punishment as adults. The Children (Abolition of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act was passed by the Senedd in January 2020 after years of debate and campaigning. It...
On Children's Mental Health Week, we consider the relationship between children and young people’s experience of food poverty in Wales and mental health. All rights are connected and related to each other. How might your right to health, including mental health, be...
The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, every year, the UN urges every Member State to remember and honour the six million Jewish...
In Europe and globally, children were the least likely group to be consulted on Covid-19 Emergency Measures International Education Day presents an opportunity to reflect on children’s participation in decision making regarding schools during the Covid-19 Pandemic....
The United Nations General Assembly has declared the 24th of January as ‘International Day of Education’. The aim of this day is to commemorate the role education plays in peace and development. Articles 28 and 29 of the UNCRC provides every child with the right to an...
Content warning: eating disorders Author Jacqueline Wilson’s books are well-known for tackling difficult subjects, are Girls Under Pressure is certainly no different. It’s written from the perspective of Ellie, a teenage girl who is struggling deeply with the way she...
What a privilege it was to listen to Lady Hale deliver our Observatory on Human Rights of Children Annual Lecture (online, 10th November). In her 2013 inaugural Annual Lecture for the Observatory she asked the question: Who’s afraid of Children’s Rights? This year the...
On November 29th the World Health Assembly will meet to discuss an International Treaty on Pandemics. Drawing on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the treaty (which will be legally binding under international law) will support international efforts to...
Roald Dahl’s Matilda is a book loved by millions, and has been ranked number 30 among all time children’s novels by the School Library Journal! Have you read it? If you haven’t, you may have watched the movie or musical version. Any version is worth the time. It is a...