Our Story
Where we came from
Children’s Legal Centre Wales exists to make the law more accessible for children, young people and the adults who support them.
Our roots are in many years of children’s rights research, education and advocacy in Wales. The Centre grew from work developed through the Observatory on Human Rights of Children at Swansea University, which helped support the embedding of children’s rights in law, policy and practice, including expert input during the development of the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011.
This work was shaped by a belief that children are rights-holders and that their voices should influence decisions affecting their lives. Projects such as Lleisiau Bach | Little Voices helped develop practical methods for listening to children, including younger children, and connecting their views to rights-based reporting, policy and accountability. That approach remains central to how we work today.
You can read more about the legacy of Lleisiau Bach | Little Voices.
Despite Wales’ strong children’s rights framework, it remained the only UK nation without a dedicated children’s legal centre. Research, including work linked to reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, showed a clear need for accessible public legal information about the law as it affects children in Wales.
In 2016, with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and many partners, Children’s Legal Centre Wales was launched to help meet that need.
In 2025, after eight years as an award-winning Swansea University project, we became an independent charity with a national remit, officially incorporating as Children’s Legal Centre Wales Ltd in March 2025. This marks an important new chapter, strengthening our ability to grow, innovate and respond directly to the needs of children, young people, families and professionals across Wales.
What we do
Children’s Legal Centre Wales is an independent charity working to improve children’s access to justice and understanding of the law in Wales.
We provide bilingual legal information and education for children, young people, families and professionals. Our work focuses on the areas of law that affect children’s lives, including education, policing, mental health, online harms, identity, additional learning needs and the rights of children seeking asylum.
We are a small team, so we cannot currently offer direct legal advice to every member of the public. However, we work closely with trusted legal partners, including Swansea Law Clinic and lawyers across Wales, to help children and families find appropriate support where possible.
Our work brings together three connected strands:
- Legal education — creating accessible bilingual resources shaped by children and young people.
- Policy and advocacy — using evidence to influence law, policy and practice in Wales.
- Access to justice — supporting strategic litigation, legal partnerships and work to address gaps in advice and representation.
Listening to children
Listening to children is at the heart of our work.
Through our Listening to Children in Wales work, we hear directly from children and young people about the legal and rights issues that matter to them, including school exclusion, online harms, policing, discrimination, mental health and identity.
This helps us focus our limited resources where they can have the greatest impact. It also ensures that our work is not only about children, but shaped with and by them.
Our supporters
We are extremely grateful to the organisations and individuals who support our work.
Our development has been made possible through the support of the AB Charitable Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Legal Education Foundation and the Legal Education Research Network, as well as the ongoing support of Swansea University.
We are also grateful for the pro bono support of lawyers across Wales through our All-Wales Lawyers for Children Network, and for the expertise of members of the All-Wales Children’s Rights Strategic Litigation Group.
If you would like to support our work, collaborate with us, or find out more about our services, we would be very pleased to hear from you.
Our mission is simple: to make the law accessible to children in Wales, to listen to what children tell us about their lives, and to use legal knowledge, education and advocacy to help make their rights real.