Sarah’s key takeaways

As we come closer to the incorporation of the UNCRC in Scotland,  Sarah  attended a CPD course led by Professor Ann Skelton, to gain insight from the international children’s human rights context and its application to a national context. The course consisted of lectures in the morning looking at the UNCRC and its implications on child’s rights at an international scale.

The afternoons were dedicated to group discussions on the incorporation of the CRC  in Scotland relating to Poverty, Justice, Participation, Care. These afternoon workshops provided a great insight into what is currently being implemented in Scotland, and inspired discussions surrounding what can be improved, and what an ideal example may look like.

Sarah’s key takeaways

Ultimately, this was a great learning experience, and I found the examples and case studies used were a great way to visualise how Inspiring Scotland, Thrive Outdoors, and our partners can adopt the UNCRC in the context of Scotland. Here is a summary of my key learnings:

• Although play wasn’t the focus, it was clear that play is an excellent vehicle to allow children to lead discussions and have their voice heard in a natural setting.
• While the importance of listening to Children’s voices is clearly established, making our efforts to enact change from what we have heard is essential in adopting the UNCRC in Scotland.
• And more importantly, we must ask how do we ensure children feel heard by implementing changes they ask for and evidencing these changes in a way they understand?
• Finally, the significance of treating all children and young people as such – without burdening them with expectations, pressure, or responsibility as we continue to seek ways to improve.

We will be supporting organisations we work alongside to implement the UNCRC in their delivery.

If you would like to find out more about the CPD session – Coverage of the session are available Here: https://inspiringchildrensfutures.org/blog/child-rights-cpd-blog-one