By Mary Campbell, Together’s UNCRC Incorporation Officer

Children’s rights become real when they are put into practice every day by people all across Scotland.

Incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law was a significant and important moment, but laws alone don’t ensure children live a life full of happiness, love and understanding. To make sure this happens, people working with and for children need to be supported to build the knowledge and confidence to turn children’s rights into reality.

When the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act Commenced in July 2024, Together developed and launched a programme of training available to everyone, so organisations could use the opportunity of incorporation to build on their children’s rights practice in tangible ways. The training was designed to support organisations to use the five principles of a Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework in their particular contexts.

Building on the success of our first year, we have expanded our programme to offer an even wider range of learning opportunities for professionals and organisations committed to advancing children’s rights. With growing demand for high-quality training and support, we are proud to be equipping more people with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to embed children’s rights into policy, practice and decision-making across Scotland.

“I really liked how practical and thought-provoking the session was. It gave me time to reflect on how a rights-based approach can be meaningfully embedded, not just talked about. I also appreciated the space for discussion, as it was great hearing different perspectives and ideas that I can take back into my own work.” Quote from training attendee

Together’s training draws on the five principles of a Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework: embedding, equality and non-discrimination, empowerment, participation and accountability. Depending on the level of information required, people can attend an introductory session or a full day session to gain a detailed understanding of how to implement the five principles of a children’s human rights approach in their practice and organisation. Either session will help attendees reflect on how children’s rights can be realised through their work.

Our previous training sessions have highlighted how much attendees can learn from each other about how children’s rights can work in practice in different contexts. The information we gain from our training sessions goes back into our work at Together and helps us plan resources, influencing and future projects to support children’s rights.

“It was a really engaging and thought-provoking session and struck a great balance between reflection and practical ideas. I came away feeling inspired and more confident about how to embed a children’s rights approach in my work.” Quote from training attendee

We also used learning from our members to consider what might be additional helpful training and have planned a series of topic focused training sessions. The first session is focused on Child Rights Impact Assessments and their role in implementing children’s rights. This session details how to decide when an assessment is required, choosing a proportionate approach, exploring different models, understanding how to gather evidence, embed children’s participation, and support effective monitoring, evaluation and publication.

The second session will explore the history and content of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, the Scottish Government’s Children’s Scheme and Guidance, and the different roles the Act gives for Government, the Scottish Parliament, public bodies, and civil society.

The third session will focus on interpreting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in depth. It will explore how to use wider international human rights guidance, like Concluding Observations and General Comments, to better understand children’s rights and apply them in practice.

Bespoke training

Training attendees have found their experience of our training sessions so helpful they have often wanted to bring it to their whole organisation. This has led to us offering bespoke training, where our existing training programme is adapted to the needs and experiences of an organisation. It also allows explicit links to be pulled out between the five principles of a children’s human rights approach and the organisations existing work. This bespoke training is developed in collaboration with the commissioning organisation to make sure it meets their needs and can include speakers and contributions to recognise the expertise within their staff teams.

“The session provided valuable insight into how we can meaningfully integrate children’s rights into our culture, policies, and day-to-day decision-making. It was particularly helpful in illustrating how the principles of the UNCRC can move beyond legislation and shape how we work with and for children and young people.” Bespoke training commissioner

If you are interested in booking into our training or arranging bespoke training with us, you can find out all the information on our website.

Ends

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