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. According to the Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children should be involved in all decisions that affect them and their views should be given due weight. Participation of children in decision making is also one of the 5 principles of a children’s rights approach and should be central to any government or service response that impacts on children.
One of the most significant impacts of the Covid-19 Emergency Measures globally was the closure of schools and the negative impacts on children are reported by our research for the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children. This research reviewed the impact of Covid-19 Emergency Measures on children’s rights across 32 ENOC member states. A key finding of the research regarding children’s participation, was:
- Children were not treated as a specific audience for the purposes of consultation, or the dissemination of information about the pandemic.
- Children were treated as objects of the Emergency Measures rather than as participants in their making.
This is reinforced by a statement from the Council of Europe that children were the ‘least likely group to be consulted or to otherwise play a role in the decision-making behind these measures’. Lundy et al’s global study also reported that only 20% of children felt that their governments were listening to them when making policy decisions about how to manage the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, only a minority of jurisdictions in the ENOC research carried out Children’s Rights Impact Assessments (CRIA) on decision-making regarding the development of Emergency Measures, including measures affecting schools. In the jurisdictions that did conduct CRIA, only a minority included consultation with children. An important component of an effective CRIA is that children are consulted.
As one Children’s Commissioner commented:
‘Decision-makers should have engaged with children and considered their views throughout the decision-making process, yet children’s views were at times completely absent from decision-making.’
Decisions regarding school closures/openings and Covid-19 school mitigation strategies were made across jurisdictions, for the most part without consideration of children’s views. This is despite the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, stating that children should be included in all decisions that impact on them, even during times of emergency or crisis, or their aftermath. Given that children were heavily impacted by these decisions, it seems both inadequate they were not consistently consulted and is also a breach of Article 12 of the UNCRC.
Wales a more positive case study
If we consider the Wales based response, at the beginning of the pandemic, there was also limited involvement of children in decision making regarding opening/closing schools or mitigation strategies. However, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales (CCfW), developed a coronavirus information hub for children and in May 2020 also designed an online survey to consult children for their views on their experience of the pandemic.
24,000 children participated in the survey that was disseminated by the CCfW, Welsh Government, Children in Wales and the Welsh Youth Parliament. (The online survey was repeated in January 2021 with nearly 20, 000 children). The views of children were reported by CCfW to have influenced governmental decision making.
For example, in the June/July 2020 phased return to schools, there was a specific focus on supporting Year 6 primary pupils, which was directly informed by the survey findings, as this age group reported several concerns. This was able to be done by CCfW sharing early survey findings with Welsh Government, even prior to any report publication.
Two Q&A sessions were also arranged with the Welsh Government Minister for Education and young people, regarding school assessments. These came as a result of the positive engagement with the CCfW on the survey project. Direct communication to exam candidates by Welsh Government (with CCfW advice and input), and by Qualifications Wales, were inspired by these engagement events. There were also press conferences for young people and a young person’s petition was taken into account by the Welsh Parliament so that graduation was not dependent on exams.
As the pandemic progressed, the CCfW reported that Children’s Rights Impact Assessments were used to influence Welsh Government Cabinet decision making and these assessments drew on a wide range of evidence, including children’s views and experiences from the surveys with children. The CCfW commented that:
‘Welsh Government position has sometimes been that there is ‘not time to consult’, however children have been consulted through surveys and Ministerial Q&As for example, which has influenced CRIAs.’
The Senedd Children and Young People and Education Committee also consulted with children as part of their important Inquiry into Covid-19 and recommended that Welsh Government undertake CRIA. This presents further evidence of a strong Parliamentary Committee continuing to consider children’s views and their rights as part of their scrutiny role during the pandemic.
Most recently, representatives from the CCfW’s Youth Panel, who are also a part of a network of young people from across Europe called ENYA, presented findings from their research on how to respond to future pandemics, to the First Minister.
Final reflections
However, there does not appear to be a Children’s Rights Impact Assessment or consultation with children on the recent January 2022 decision to keep schools open in Wales and this reflects the ENOC research that often the use of CRIAs and consultation with children can be both ad hoc and inconsistent.
While it is critical that schools are only closed as a last resort, it is essential that Government demonstrates that they have adhered to their duty to have due regard to the UNCRC under the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 and as per their commitment in the Children’s Scheme, openly and transparently publish their children’s rights analysis regarding their decision-making. Finally, participation of children in governmental decision-making also needs to become embedded, so that children are included in all decisions that impact on them.
Author: Dr. Rhian Croke