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...
What does Robert Cormier’s “Heroes” teach us about vigilantism?
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...
Reflections on children’s rights in Wales
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...
Children’s Rights and the Law Event Report
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...
6 Rights Rapunzel Teaches Us
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...
Briefing Note: Asylum after the General Election – Where are we now?
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...
My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson. Empowering Young Minds: Navigating Mental Health, Bullying and the Law in Wales
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...
What ‘It Ends With Us’ By Colleen Hoover Teaches Us About Relationships
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...
What do children in Wales want to know about the Law?: Children’s Legal Education Resource Review (2024)
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...
Awful Auntie By David Walliams – Stella’s rights against Aunt Alberta’s wrongs!
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...
‘Adrian Mole’s parents argued and divorced, and so did mine’: What are your rights if you’re unhappy with your home situation?
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...
Understanding the General Election
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...
Your Protections From Harm: What We Can Learn From Mariam And Laila In A Thousand Splendid Suns
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...
An Inspector Calls and Wales’ Laws on Rape
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
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...
“The Law is a ass – a idiot”: How the law has changed to protect Children’s Rights from Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist era
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...
Exploring the rights of a child in A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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...
Plight of Neglect: Matilda by Roald Dahl
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;...
The Free School Meals Challenge in Wales: A Case for Optimism?
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...
BRIEFING NOTE: Children’s Asylum Claims and the IMA – where are we now?
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...
Ending free school meals in the holidays in Wales: The relevance of children’s rights
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...
Different in Wales
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...
“We need governmental administrations at all levels embracing a bold vision, that translates children’s rights into reality”
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...
Promoting a Children’s Rights Approach to child poverty in Wales
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...
UN Committee on Rights of Child – UK Concluding Observations 2023
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...
Gorchmynion Amddifadu o Ryddid – Datganiad Canolfan Gyfreithiol y Plant Cymru a’r Arsyllfa ar Hawliau Dynol Plant
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...
Implementing the UNCRC in Wales: effective structures and mechanisms for children
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...
Looked-after children not getting access to an Independent Visitor
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...
Children’s Legal Centre Wales Response: Report by Children’s Commissioner for England on Strip Search of Children
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...
Strip Search of Children: A violation of children’s rights
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...
My Justice First Fellowship experience
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...
Poverty and children’s rights
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...
Child Rights in the USA
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...
County lines, knife crime, the law, and your rights in Wales
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...
How the law in Wales has changed since the days of Hetty Feather
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...
Why does Wales have stronger laws on children’s rights than England?
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...
How can art break the law and get you into trouble?
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...
Proposal to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 will weaken children’s human rights
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...
A new Welsh Government plan for children: the devil is in the detail
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...
Equal Protection for Children in Wales: A Historic Milestone in Children’s Rights
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...
Mental health and young people’s experience of food poverty in Wales
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...
Memory, Dignity and Justice
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...
Reflections on children’s participation in decision making regarding schools during the Covid-19 Pandemic
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....
International Day of Education
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...
Girls Under Pressure – Jacqueline Wilson
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’s wrong with children’s rights?’
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...
Children’s Rights and the International Pandemic Treaty
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...
Matilda and your right to go to school
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...
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and how it teaches us about children’s rights
Have you ever wondered about the secret messages’ authors are trying to convey to us, even in our favourite children’s books? Well, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett focuses on the healing of children’s physical disabilities and mental health by focusing on...
Orange: Your right to good mental health
TW: Suicide, depression Are you interested in an engaging story, with a realistic portrayal of mental health issues? Then you should read Orange! Orange is a Japanese manga, written, and illustrated by Ichigo Takano. The manga, set in Matsumoto, follows the current...