UNCRC: what does it mean for East Lothian Council?

16 July was an historic moment for Scotland’s children and young people – it marks the introduction of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots Law.

The UNCRC is underpinned by four general principles, all of which are reflected throughout the specific articles of the Convention:

• Children should not be discriminated against
• The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration
• Children have rights to life, survival and development
• Children’s views should be given due weight and consideration

UNCRC Champions

A UNCRC working group has been in place in the Council since September 2022. It is chaired by the Executive Director for Education and Children’s Services Lesley Brown and includes representatives from all service areas. Members of the working group act as UNCRC ‘Champions’ and provide support and advice to their service areas. Discussions have included how to identify and meet training and support needs, how we best learn from actions taken in other council areas or individual service plans, and how these relate and impact to new and existing Council-wide corporate plans.

There has been some great work carried out already within areas of the council. For example, schools have been on a children’s rights journey for a number of years with many achieving accreditation from Unicef for their work and the recent Joint Inspection of Children and young people at risk of harm commented on how well children’s rights are embedded in our work across the Children’s Strategic Partnership.  Many services already work to include children and young people’s views in the actions they take, allowing a range of communication methods to suit individual needs. Work to review, strengthen and improve these methods is already underway. 

Resources for staff

As UNCRC continues to be embedded across Scotland we will be sharing examples of good practice with teams to make it easier to understand what Children’s Rights means for departments. You can view materials from our intranet and we will continue to add to this resource. On the Intranet homepage visit U on the A-Z of council services (UNCRC) or C (Children's Rights). 

If you’re interested in the work of East Lothian Council’s UNCRC champions, please contact your service's UNCRC Champion, which is available from the UNCRC intranet section.