Views Taken Seriously.”
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l l l Contents ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 3 Foreword .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Background to Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day ............................................................. 6 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 8 Participation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Publicity .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Social media................................................................................................................................ 31 Ambassadors .............................................................................................................................. 33 Benefits to children and young people ............................................................................................ 35 Benefits to organisations ................................................................................................................. 40 Other factors ............................................................................................................................... 41 Motivations of organisations ........................................................................................................ 42 How CCTD was promoted and supported in 2014 .......................................................................... 43 Strand 1: Resources .................................................................................................................... 43 Strand 2: Media ........................................................................................................................... 43 Strand 3: Social media ................................................................................................................ 44 Strand 4: Emails .......................................................................................................................... 44 Strand 5: Meeting partners and potential participants .................................................................. 45 Strand 6: Telephone and email support ....................................................................................... 46 Ideas for the future .......................................................................................................................... 47 Creating and supporting an ambassadors group ......................................................................... 47 Improve the website and sign-up process ................................................................................... 47 A CCTD badge ............................................................................................................................ 47 A CCTD introductory video .......................................................................................................... 48 Creating a format for drop-in CCTD events ................................................................................. 48 Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................................................ 49 Image credits .................................................................................................................................. 53 CCTD: Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day OCC: Office of the Children’s Commissioner UNCRC: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 12: Article 12 of the UNCRC states, “Every child has the right to say what they think in all matters affecting them, and to have their views taken seriously.” Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day (CCTD) is a national event run by my Office to promote children’s rights and genuine participation for children and young people in decision-making. In 2014, the eighth Day so far, a record 44,000 children and young people took over the roles of 18,800 adults in 1,100 organisations in every sector of English society. Ministers and government departments, businesses, shopping centres, local authorities, TV programmes, newspapers, hospitals, police forces, fire services, radio stations, museums and galleries, MPs and charities took part along with hundreds of other organisations. CCTD presents the adults and organisations who take part with a reminder of children’s place in society, and an opportunity to get the children and young people that they work with actively involved in decision-making, helping shape the services they use for mutual benefit. As Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states they all have the right to give their views on decisions that affect them and have those views taken seriously. For all the tens of thousands of young people involved, as well as the Day giving them a say in these organisations and their decision making processes, they learn new skills and gain a new perspective on their communities and the organisations that are part of them. Although at its heart cctd is about raising the profile of children and young people’s right to be listened to and to participate meaningfully in adults’ spheres of influence and activity, what they do in the organisations concerned, we know from direct feedback, leads to practical changes in those organisations. We know there have been changes in policies, the development of skills and practices, and the establishment of positive and productive new relationships. NHS England and Public Health England, for example, have used the day as a way to involve young people in setting their strategies for serving young people better. Young people in Norfolk debated, at the heart of the Authority in their County Council’s debating chamber, issues as diverse as teaching life skills in schools to businesses paying the living wage. Young Reporters from the Grimsby Telegraph, in a placement scheme that started with Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day in 2011, have seen participants gain employment in professional media organisations, and this year launched a video to encourage other newspapers to set up similar schemes, using young people to report on the views of their peers. The Day is created in such a way that each organisation involved runs their event independently, with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner providing supporting materials and promoting it to all. In 2014 #TakeoverDay trended on Twitter throughout the day above important political, social, economic and cultural news from elsewhere, showing how engaged the country is in the Day. Children, young people and organisations make it a success and give it the far reach it has. As you will see, the examples in this report show the difference the Day makes for the children and young people who take such a central part in it. This extends from the 13-year-old with muscular dystrophy featured in the following pages, who was given the chance to take part in decision-making at a hospice he uses, to sixth formers who helped the Electoral Commission with its strategy for encouraging more young people to register to vote. 2014’s CCTD was the last during my term as Commissioner. It has been one of the most enjoyable and empowering projects I have worked on, one of the few things my Office has the capacity to do across the whole child population of 12 million in England, and its legacy continues. Just as it started before my term under the leadership of the first Children’s Commissioner for England and has grown under my term as the second, it continues after it, in the third term under my successor. Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day is one opportunity to express the faith we have in the greatness of our children and young people. It educates adults about the citizenship of the one in four of our population aged under 18, and it reaches across and creates bonds between the generations in communities across the country. Do take part again – or if you have not done so, make this the first of many you do – on Friday 20 November 2015. Dr Maggie Atkinson Children’s Commissioner for England CCTD is created in such a way that each organisation involved runs their event independently, with the OCC providing branding, promotion and supporting materials. Telephone and email support is given to organisations and individuals who want to participate. This was the eighth CCTD. It was initially run solely by OCC staff, but three years ago OCC put the support work out to tender and for two years the British Youth Council (BYC) took on that function with the OCC continuing to lead. In 2014 the work was tendered again and Involver supported the running of CCTD 2014. CCTD has again been a great success with hundreds of organisations across the country participating in a variety of ways. Young people have taken over roles in the top echelons of the civil service, in school classrooms, as curators in museums, in the emergency services, at businesses and have even been live on air. These young people have: had a real input into decision-making