UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 - part 3: statutory guidance

Annex A. Frameworks for children’s rights reporting

This Annex seeks to support listed authorities in the fulfilment of section 18 reporting duties by suggesting a number of frameworks and considerations to support reporting.

The framework options suggested in this Annex promote a structured, proportionate approach to evidencing action taken to meet the section 6 duty in the Act and giving further or better effect to children’s rights. Listed authorities may wish to consider how each framework would apply to the scope of their functions when determining which, if any, they may adopt.

The UNCRC Assessment Framework

The UNCRC articles provide for every aspect of a child’s life up to the age of 18 years. The articles provide duty bearers with a structure for informed dialogue and assessment of the range of issues and circumstances that affect children in Scotland. They therefore provide the basis for both Scottish Government and public authorities realising, or giving further effect to, children’s rights.

To assist in fulfilling the requirements for State periodic reports, the different articles of the UNCRC are grouped into clusters. This is the structure that is recommended for reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and one that the UK Government, and the Scottish Government in its contribution to the UK Government report, follow. An example of how the Scottish Government uses this framework can be found in the Scottish Children’s rights position statement.

For the purposes of children’s rights reports, a framework based on the CRC Cluster Approach can facilitate reporting. This approach is explored in more detail below, where the cluster approach is explained and linked to reflective statements to help establish progress.

A.1 UNCRC Clusters approach

The UNCRC clustering approach groups the articles of the UNCRC into clusters to support reporting and to present a more holistic approach to children’s rights. The proposed clusters are:

1. definition of the child.

2. general measures of implementation.

3. general principles of the UNCRC.

4. civil rights and freedoms.

5. violence against children.

6. family environment and alternative care.

7. basic health and welfare.

8. education, leisure and culture.

9. special protection measures.

Using the UNCRC clusters is an internationally recognised approach to the implementation, monitoring and reporting of children’s rights. Each cluster includes a number of thematically linked articles. This more holistic approach reflects the interrelated and indivisible nature of articles within the treaty. The approach is robust as the full scope of the UNCRC is covered but proportionate to reporting requirements. Further information on how the articles relate to the clusters can be found on this CRC Clusters page.

Listed authorities following this approach may wish to use the following questions (or similar) to consider their compatibility, progress and future plans in each relevant cluster area.

• What do we provide or undertake in relation to this cluster and/or UNCRC article?
  • How are we progressing in this area of activity?
  • What is working well, how do we know this?
  • Where are there gaps or areas for improvement?
  • What future actions do we intend to take to build on strengths, address weaknesses or target children furthest from having their rights met?
  • How will we know if our actions are compatible in this cluster?
• What evidence do we have to help us give fuller and further effect to the rights of children?
  • What is our baseline information?
  • Is there evidence on outcomes for children?
  • How is our evidence informed by the views and experiences of children?
  • What next steps or actions do we need to take arising from the initial questions?

When reviewing the clusters, listed authorities may wish to consider which (if not all) are applicable to their functions, and therefore, subject to the section 6(1) duty of the UNCRC Act to not act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements as defined by the Act.

The ‘UNCRC requirements’ in section 6 of the Act means the rights and obligations set out in the Schedule of the Act. There is no duty on listed authorities to report on compliance with matters which fall outwith this definition. Listed authorities should also consider if the relevant articles of the first and second Optional Protocols are relevant to their activities. In these instances, reporting could be included in a relevant cluster or as additional information.

Each cluster of articles is explained below and there are examples of the type of reflective statement that can be used to evidence action taken and planned to meet section 6(1) requirements and/or demonstrate actions taken and intended to be taken to secure better or further effect of the rights of children.

Examples of reflective statements

Cluster (ii): General measures of implementation

• We ensure that our visions and values promote the rights of the child and that these are reflected in all our public documents and statements (Article 4).
• We are committed to the implementation of UNCRC rights, through complying with rights provisions and duties within the UNCRC Act and other relevant legislation and policy as identified (Article 4).
• We proactively consider children’s rights in service planning, engaging with and undertaking consultation with relevant stakeholders (including children and parents/carers) (Article 4).
• We ensure that the services we provide for children conform to established national standards and provide high quality services and staffing (Article 4).
• We have a skilled and competent workforce committed to upholding children’s rights. Training on children’s rights is available to our staff and elected members (where appropriate) and is provided for those in senior, managerial and practitioner roles (Article 4).
• With reference to policy and service delivery, we take our commitment to children’s rights into account in decisions on resource allocation (Article 4).

Cluster (iii): General principles of the UNCRC

• We can demonstrate how the principle and practice of non-discrimination have been considered in our services (Article 2).
• We can show through evidence, including disaggregated data, that children from marginalised groups are able to access their rights (Article 2).
• We respect children’s right to life and support their survival and development to the maximum extent possible (Article 6).
• Children are encouraged and supported to express their views about the planning, provision and delivery of our services that affect them (Article 12).
• We use a range of measures to seek children’s views about matters that affect them to determine what is in their best interests (Articles 3 and 12).
• We ensure that communication or learning difficulties are not a barrier to obtaining and considering the views of the child (Articles 2 and 12).
• Children have access to independent advocacy where they find it more difficult to claim their rights or if their rights have not been met (Article 12).
• We signpost children who want to make a complaint, and/or those acting on their behalf, to clear and transparent complaints processes (Article 3 and 12).
• We ask children and their parents/carers routinely about matters that affect them and provide feedback on how their views have been acted on (Article 12).
• We seek out and use examples of the best approaches to engaging with children in order to support their right to participate in matters affecting them (Article 12).

Cluster (iv): Civil rights and freedoms

• We support children’s freedom of association through the provision of public spaces where they can meet safely (Article 15).
• Information sharing is proportionate and appropriate and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 while recognising a child’s right to privacy (Article 16).
• Information materials are available in a range of formats and in specific settings in order to meet the needs of individual children (Article 17).
• Children are not subject to any form of treatment which is deemed to be inhuman or degrading and have access to legal and other assistance in instances where they are detained (Article 37).

Cluster (v): Violence against children

• We provide support to promote children’s recovery from their experience of violence including abuse and neglect, maltreatment and exploitation (Article 39).
• We support children to participate in decisions on child protection and other processes (Article 12).
• Approaches to managing behaviour and discipline in school, including peer violence, and in other settings such as residential care and foster care are appropriate and positively support children (Article 28 (2)).
• We take measures to ensure that no form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment to children is tolerated in our services (Article 37 (a)).

Cluster (vi): Family environment and alternative care

• We ensure that all children are supported to make their own decisions, in line with their evolving capacities (Article 12).
• We support children to participate in decisions that affect them (Article 12).
• Children who are looked after have access to the services they need and are supported to maintain contact with their family if not contrary to their best interests (Article 9)
• We provide support and services to parents/carers in order that they can care for their children (Article 18).
• We provide support to children who experience complex family circumstances (e.g. young carers; children with experience of domestic abuse; children who have a parent in prison) (Article 19).
• Our management team is informed of their duties and fulfils their responsibilities as corporate parents (Article 20).
• All placements of children who are looked after are subject to regular review (Article 25).
• Consideration is given to the role of parents/carers to provide guidance and direction to their children in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child (Article 5).

Cluster (vii): Basic health and welfare

• We provide early learning and childcare services which benefit both children and their parents/carers (Article 18).
• We actively promote the right of disabled children to have access to a range of services and have choice and control over the services they receive e.g. education, health care, play and leisure services etc. (Article 2 and 23).
• We ensure that children have access to the high-quality health care they need, and this extends to preventative health care services (Article 24).
• We ensure that children with long-term health conditions have access to the services and support they need (Article 24).
• We provide resources and support for children to enjoy good mental health (Article 24).
• We provide support to children and families, where this is within our authority responsibilities, to assist with meeting children’s essential needs in relation to food, clothing and housing (Article 27).

Cluster (viii): Education, leisure and culture

• We aim to ensure that no children experience any form of discrimination in their education, regardless of their circumstances (Article 28).
• We ensure that all children access their right to an education that develops their abilities to their fullest potential (Article 29).
• We ensure that early learning and childcare and school environments support children’s participation in all aspects of the Curriculum for Excellence (Article 28).
• We provide children with access to play and leisure opportunities and address barriers to inclusive play and leisure. There are sufficient high-quality outdoor play and recreation places for children to access including spaces suitable for disabled children (Article 31).
• Children have access to and can participate in a range of arts and cultural opportunities (Article 31).

Cluster (x): Special protection measures

• We assess the numbers and situation of children and their families who are asylum seekers, refugees or migrants in order to provide them with services and support (Article 22).
• We ensure that children at risk of sexual exploitation or drug use have access to the child protection and specialist support and services they require (Articles 33 and 34).
• We provide support to children in response to their needs so that they do not enter the criminal justice system, as far as possible (Articles 37 and 40).
• We ensure that children who enter the criminal justice system have the right to legal representation and fair treatment (Article 40).

A.2 Wellbeing approach: using the GIRFEC wellbeing indicators

As an alternative to the UNCRC clusters framework outlined above, listed authorities may also want to consider use of the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators that form part of the GIRFEC model. With the UNCRC as its foundation, GIRFEC provides Scotland with a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting, and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is the national approach in Scotland to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of our children and young people by offering the right help at the right time from the right people. The aim is to help them to grow up feeling loved, safe and respected so that they can realise their full potential. GIRFEC supports children, young people and their parent(s) and carers to work in partnership with the services and people who can support them, such as teachers, doctors and nurses. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 places key elements of GIRFEC in statute. In particular, section 96 provides 8 wellbeing indicators – Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, and Included (sometimes known by the acronym SHANARRI and discussed further below).

The importance of the relationship between children’s rights and wellbeing is central to the 2014 Act, and to realising Scottish Ministers’ commitments to children. It is suggested that listed authorities explore their own organisational understanding of the interaction between children’s rights and the wellbeing indicators in advance of undertaking children’s rights reporting in order to establish consensual views of the two inter-related concepts.

The publication Children’s Rights Legislation in Scotland: A Quick Reference Guide provides helpful guidance on the relationship between rights and wellbeing:

‘The UNCRC is a set of substantive, legal and procedural standards that focus on the role of the State in ensuring that these standards are met. It is the overarching framework within which all policy that affects children and young people should be developed, and within which child wellbeing sits.’

The above Quick Reference Guide goes on to describe wellbeing as ‘a measure of the quality of a child’s life’. It is understood in relation to objective measures (such as income, health status, being a victim of crime, educational achievement) and subjective measures (such as life satisfaction or reported levels of happiness).

Identifying the links between children’s rights and wellbeing will be particularly useful for listed authorities who wish to align their section 18 duties on children’s rights reports in the UNCRC Act with their Part 3 duties under the Children and Young People (Act) 2014 on Children’s Services Plans.

It may also be useful for other public authorities using the wellbeing indicators or another framework such as the National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes to identify which articles of the UNCRC would apply to their functions.

For further guidance on the GIRFEC approach please refer to the GIRFEC resources home page.

Children’s Health Scotland’s training on UNCRC and healthcare rights explains how SHANARRI supports children’s rights. It is suitable for health practitioners and those working in social work or education who support children with their health.

Listed authorities who are choosing to include their children’s rights reporting within the body of another report, such as a Children’s Services Plan, may wish to link strategic priorities, planned service delivery and improvement activity to the UNCRC requirements as defined by the Act and the wellbeing indicators. However, listed authorities who choose this approach must still clearly outline how they have met their duties under section 6 of the UNCRC Act.

A.3 Further approaches and considerations

An alternative, or complementary addition to the frameworks set out above, would be for a listed authority to report on the functions being delivered with reference to compatibility with the UNCRC requirements as defined by the Act and action taken to secure better or further effect of the rights of children woven throughout.

Below we have listed some examples of what this might look like:

• The report could consider the topics set out in the Children’s Rights Scheme, considered key to the implementation of children’s rights. Similarly, a framework which covers the key markers of implementation, such as equality, accountability, leadership, awareness raising, capacity building and participation may be useful as a structure, or topics for inclusion. These themes are included in the Children’s Rights Scheme and in The Right Way: Children’s rights approach from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
• It may be possible to create a framework that looks at how children’s rights are being either implemented on a service-by-service basis or banded around age groups of children.
• Listed authorities may wish to pay particular attention to reporting on the actions taken to achieve compatibility and/or better and further effect in rural and urban areas and the impact this has on children’s rights in different contexts.
• Where listed authorities have specific strategies in place to target support for children whose rights are at risk, they may wish to consider drawing this out within their report. This may include but is not limited to disabled children; minority ethnic children, including Gypsy/Traveller children; child migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees; children with care experience or ‘on the edge of care’; LGBTI children; girls and young women; children at risk of significant harm, with a child protection plan; children with additional support needs; children (and/or their parents) who are experiencing poor physical or mental health; children experiencing disadvantages, including problem alcohol or drug use amongst family members, domestic abuse or bereavement; children who require support at times of key transitions; children living in poverty (including those with entitlement to free school meals); children in the justice system or in conflict with the law; children affected by parental imprisonment; and children with a parent/carer in the armed forces. It would be helpful to understand how target groups of children have been identified and how actions taken or planned differ from the general population of children.
• Consideration may be given to where partnership working is required or is making improvements in the realisation of children’s rights.

Listed authorities may wish to consider inclusion of case studies to further illustrate their work to ensure compliance with the UNCRC requirements as defined by the Act and to secure better or further effect of children’s rights.

A.4 External resources on accessibility

External resources which may be helpful in considering accessibility:

• Communicating with people from Mencap
• Developing inclusive communication from Sensory Trust
• Accessible information and communication discrimination guide from the Disability Justice Project
• Practical Guide to Including Seldom-Heard Children and Young People in Decision-Making from Barnardo’s
• Apps to support those with complex additional support needs from Together: Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights
• Scotland’s Inclusive Communication Hub from Disability Equality Scotland and Sense Scotland
• Easy Read Information and Guidance from Disability Equality Scotland
• Resources from Enquire, the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning
• Principles of Inclusive Communication: An information and self-assessment tool for public authorities from Scottish Government
• Guidance on supporting children from birth to seven years to participate from Strathclyde University
• Meaningful Participation of Children and Young People - Principles and Guidelines from Children in Scotland
• Guidance on creating accessible documents and websites from Disability Information Scotland
• Guidance on publishing accessible documents from the UK Government