Children and Young People Programme review 2022

The Children and Young People Programme has worked closely with GIRFEC to ensure children's needs are met.

Throughout 2022, the Children and Young People Programme has continued to work to ensure disabled children and young people or those with long term conditions, their families and carers have increased understanding of their rights and improved wellbeing; they have increased opportunities to co-produce support through engaging with the ‘getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach and have increased opportunities to engage with, inform and coproduce the policies which affect them.

A key area of focus in 2022 was to increase capacity and reach of our Getting to Know GIRFEC Information Sessions. Throughout the year we delivered 12 training sessions both online and in person and reached over 240 attendees. Continued evaluation of the training enabled us to inform the Scottish Government as they developed the Getting it right for every child practice guidance materials which were produced in September 2022.

During the year, we were delighted to be involved in the ‘Making Children’s Rights Real’ Series in partnership with Children’s Parliament, Together, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS), Children in Scotland and the Scottish Child Law Centre. The first event in a series of three hosted by the ALLIANCE focussed on the UNCRC Incorporation in Scotland including policy updates, practical application and awareness raising.

We continued our engagement in key representation platforms, such as the Children’s Sector Strategic and Policy Forum (CSSPF), the GIRFEC Stakeholder Engagement Group, the Disabled Children and Young People Advisory Group (DCYPAG), and the Engagement sub-group of the DCYPAG.

A highlight of the year was a successful funding bid to the Scottish Government in partnership with Family Fund, Contact, Downs Syndrome Scotland and PAMIS. As part of the DCYPAG, a sub-group was established to consider in more detail how disabled children and young people with complex support needs and alternative communication, should be engaged to influence and inform the design and development of the National Care Service (NCS). Work is ongoing into 2023 to gather existing data on views of this group of children and young people and their families, as well as to demonstrate best practice approaches to engagement. Small-scale engagement activities with children, young people and/or families, will provide key insights, themes, and recommendations on meaningful engagement approaches and will help inform the development of the NCS and the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy.

Throughout the year, we produced ALLIANCE Live’s which included discussions from the Poverty and Inequality Commission, on childhood food poverty with Bill Scott and Lindsay Graham; an interview with Shona Matheson (Starcatchers) on the UNCRC incorporations; interview with Citizens Advice Scotland on their ‘Easing the Cost of Living Campaign’; an interview with Marsha Scott (Scottish Women’s Aid) on UNCRC incorporation and an interview with a panel of experts who shared their insights and expertise on the potential inclusion of children’s services within the National Care Service.

In August 2022, we published a report ‘Disabled children’s, young people’s, and carers’ experiences of accessing healthcare services and supports during the pandemic’. The report explores how some measures to tackle the public health crisis associated to COVID-19 in Scotland had negative implications for disabled children’s and young people’s health, wellbeing, and rights.

A key focus in 2023 will include a launch of our new GIRFEC training programme with updated materials and continued investment with our key representation platforms.

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