On 16 July 2024, Scotland became the first devolved country in the world to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into law with the introduction of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
This Act aims to ensure that children's rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled within Scotland.
Parents and families, communities, local and national governments, and organisations which work with children and families, all play a critical role in helping children understand and experience their rights.
The UNCRC
The UNCRC is the base standard for children’s rights and sets out the fundamental rights of all children.
The UNCRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world and sets out the specific rights that all children have to help fulfil their potential, including rights relating to health and education, leisure and play, fair and equal treatment, protection from exploitation and the right to be heard.
The UNCRC is used as a framework to ensure that children's rights are fully considered whenever we take decisions, and to help provide every child with a good start in life and a safe, healthy and happy childhood. It forms the basis of the national approach for supporting children, called Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and to keep the promise.
The rights of the child to be heard
Under Article 12 of the UNCRC, every child has the right to be heard in matters affecting them and to participate in the life of their family, community and society.
There are many sources of guidance on children and young people’s participation in decision-making available to help those who are engaging or thinking of engaging with children and young people.
What we are doing in East Ayrshire
Within East Ayrshire, we are utilising a UNCRC Champions model to allow us to develop a collaborative approach across services to support the implementation of the UNCRC. This work is being supported by the national Quality Improvement team.
This model aims to embed children's rights into decision-making processes, ensuring compliance with the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 by leveraging a network of dedicated champions to foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and empowerment for children and young people within East Ayrshire. The Champions Model offers a structured approach to ensure that children's rights are not only recognised but actively upheld in every aspect of local governance.
Our Champion’s model is in the early stages but there has been a significant amount of work already across our children’s services that we can build upon. Our next steps will be looking to how children and young people join this journey alongside us and be at the forefront of all future service transformation across children’s services with their voice’s integral to our ambitions for East Ayrshire’s children.
Scottish Government video
Watch the Scottish Government's YouTube video about Children's Rights and the UNCRC in Scotland, an exploration of rights in our communities.
UNCRC Scotland video
Watch the UNCRC Scotland YouTube video about Children's Rights in Scotland.