Annual Review // Adroddiad Blynyddol 2007-2008 by Children's Commissioner for Wales

Children’s Commissioner for Wales

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C h il d r

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Annual Review 07– 08

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Annual Review 07â&#x20AC;&#x201C;08

This report is available in alternative formats by phoning us on 01792 765600 or emailing us at post@childcomwales.org.uk

Annual Review 07–08

Contents

A big thank you...

Foreword by Keith

What we’re about

What we’ve been up to this year

Advice and support

Involving children and young people

Working with others

What next for us

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

Review of issues according to the seven core aims

Financial Information

... to all the children and young people who have worked with us and let us know what they think is important. We want to make Wales a better place for them, and without their input, experiences and ideas, it would be a much more difﬁcult task!

Annual Review 07–08

Foreword

I feel very proud to be writing this foreword to the ﬁrst Annual Review since becoming the Children’s Commissioner for Wales on 1st March 2008.

Foreword by Keith Towler

I’d like to pay tribute to my predecessor Peter Clarke for his work. Peter set solid foundations in championing children’s rights in Wales, and it is a great honour for me to continue the work he began. I’d also like to pay tribute to Maria Battle and the whole staff team who continued and built on Peter’s work during the interim period before I was appointed. I have seen first hand their dedication and the influence they have in improving the lives of children throughout Wales. I feel confident as I begin my seven year term in office that I have a dedicated, passionate and committed group of people in my staff team. In my first months in post I have met with children across the whole of Wales and many dedicated adults who work with them to safeguard and promote their rights and welfare. I have listened carefully to what they have to say. Repeatedly I’m told how things need to improve on the ground for children and how funding for projects that make a real difference in children’s lives must be secure, sustainable and easy to access. I keep hearing how we must tackle child poverty and make a real difference to the life chances of vulnerable children; how we must invest in children’s emotional wellbeing from the start of their lives; how we must support families; how we need to make sure that children can participate in and are supported in their communities; how children must be allowed to play and learn in a variety of settings and how we must work to provide opportunities for children to grow and prosper in a Wales that respects and values them. I also hear a strong message that I should work hard to change what appears to be a general hardening of attitudes towards children and young people. It has become clear to me that I can best serve children in Wales by concentrating on the areas where I can make the most difference. For this reason I will be taking forward the work in a strategic way, identifying themes of work which I would like to take forward in partnership with others who share my concerns. As the new Children’s Commissioner I will continue the work to raise the profile and delivery of child rights in Wales. We have a lot of progress to build on but there is still so much to achieve. 1 October 2008

Annual Review 07–08

What we’re about

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales speaks up for children and young people and their rights, helps strengthen and improve the systems there to protect them and helps them to fulﬁl their potential. Each country in the UK has its own Commissioner for children, as do many other countries in Europe and throughout the world. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales was established by legislation. The Care Standards Act 2000 created the post and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Act 2001 broadened the remit and set out the Commissioner’s principal aim.

to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children in Wales. — Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ principal aim

To ﬁnd out more about how the CCfW was set up, the legal powers and what we do, check out our website:

To ﬁnd out more about children’s commissioners around the world and learn about children’s rights, have a look at:

www.childcomwales.org.uk

www.ombudsnet.org www.unicef.org.uk/youthvoice

Annual Review 07–08

We work to help make sure that children and young people in Wales: — are safe from harm and abuse — get the opportunities and services they need and deserve — are respected and valued — have a voice in their communities and are able to play as full a part as possible in decisions that affect them — know about their rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). We have ofﬁces in Swansea and Colwyn Bay, but work all over Wales. Mainly we work with and for children and young people aged 18 or under living in Wales, or who normally live in Wales. But we can also act on behalf of older young people under certain circumstances for example if they have been looked after by a local authority. If there are implications for today’s children and young people, we can investigate things that happened to adults when they were children.

What we do

Under the legislation that established the Children’s Commissioner for Wales we must: — have regard to the UNCRC in everything we do — make sure that children and young people know where his ofﬁces are and how to contact us — encourage children to get in touch — ask children what they think about our work and our future work, and allow them to inﬂuence the work programme — make sure that we go and meet children and young people.

What we’re about

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales can:

Our core work and services are very varied, and include:

— review the effects of policies, proposed policies and the delivery of services to children — examine in more depth the case of a particular child or children if it involves an issue that has a general application to the lives of children in Wales — require information from agencies or persons acting on their behalf, and require witnesses to give evidence on oath — provide advice and assistance to children and young people, and others concerned about their rights and welfare.

— an advice and support service for children and young people or adults who are concerned about their rights and welfare — policy and service reviews, for example of systems and arrangements in place for children’s complaints, advocacy and reporting malpractice — a bilingual website and electronic ways of maintaining a dialogue under the banner Backchat — the School Ambassadors scheme for primary school aged children — What next? events for children and young people to allow them to inﬂuence and help prioritise our work plan — consultation work with children and young people — visits to schools, local groups and projects and a presence at larger events — a targeted programme of workshops with children and young people from vulnerable, marginalised or ‘hard to reach’ groups — inﬂuencing activity aimed at government at all levels and the general public — a range of activities with children and with adults working with them designed to promote awareness of children’s rights and in particular the UNCRC.

There is also an important additional power to consider and make representations to the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) about any matter affecting the rights and welfare of children in Wales.

Annual Review 07–08

What we’ve been up to this year

1 April 2007 — 31 March 2008

This part of the report covers the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. For much of this time the role of Commissioner was undertaken by the Deputy Commissioner, Maria Battle, following the death of Peter Clarke. On 1 March 2008, Keith Towler took up his post as the new Commissioner, having been appointed by the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) after being interviewed by children, young people and adults. Included in this section are examples of the range of issues we’ve been working on over the last twelve months.

Annual Review 07–08

What we’ve been up to this year

Children and young people seeking sanctuary in Wales Many of the children and young people who seek sanctuary in Wales have very positive experiences which reﬂect the genuine care and support in the community and in schools. However there continue to be fundamental breaches of their rights. We made a number of representations in respect of their detention for long periods of time, transportation conditions from Wales to England, healthcare and overseas student fees. We have also made representations at a local level where children have the right to the support and protection of social services. There were some welcome changes in the provision of healthcare but a disappointing response to our representation that children seeking asylum should not be charged overseas student fees if they have been educated in Wales. We have worked closely with other bodies in Wales and with England’s Children’s Commissioner to try and improve policy and practise for these vulnerable children.

Monitoring the implementation of the UNCRC A significant area of work during the year was working together with the other United Kingdom Children’s Commissioner’s offices in Scotland (SCCYP), Northern Ireland (NICCY) and England (11 MILLION) to respond to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child about how well the UNCRC has been implemented in the UK. The report (see: www.childcomwales.org.uk) identifies eighteen key children’s rights issues arising from the concluding observations of the last UN Committee report in 2002, and new matters that children and young people have brought to our attention. The monitoring process continues during 2008-09 with the committee’s concluding observations expected in late 2008. It is a valuable tool for jointly promoting the UNCRC across the UK and has also demonstrated the value of working together on policy and communications projects.

Increase in fees: Children Act Proceedings We also made representations to the Ministry of Justice about the proposals to increase court fees in care proceedings. Along with other organisations such the Law Society, the Family Justice Council, the Association of Family Lawyers and NSPCC, we were concerned that this decision may deter local authorities from issuing care proceedings and that vulnerable children may remain at risk. The fee increase was introduced and WAG provided additional funding to local authorities for one year. We will be monitoring evidence of the impact of the increase on vulnerable children in Wales.

Advocacy Clear recommendations that advocacy should be available to all children in Wales were made in a number of our previous reports including our annual reports, Telling Concerns and the Clywch report. After a considerable period which saw little progress, in 2007 WAG announced a major initiative for the provision of advocacy. We were actively involved in the ﬁnal planning and consultation for the advocacy strategy and provided a brieﬁng note on advocacy to all Assembly Members in advance of the plenary debate on the strategy. We were strongly of the view that an independent centrally funded advocacy service would best serve the needs of children in Wales and supported the single national telephone contact service. The newly established Children and Young People Committee of NAfW held an inquiry into advocacy services for children and young people in Wales in late 2007 and early 2008. We presented evidence to the Committee and also helped facilitate young people who had been unable to access advocacy services to give evidence about their experiences. The Committee’s report was released in early 2008. The Welsh Assembly Government published its outline of a new Framework for Advocacy Services in March 2008 preferring regional commissioning, a National Advisory Board and Advisory Development Unit. We have had clear differences with WAG during the debate but now it is important to focus on the implementation of the Framework, to ensure that health, education and social services are adequately funded with new monies to jointly and regionally commission and that there is no more delay. We will be monitoring the situation during the year ahead and will maintain close links with advocacy providers.

Suicide prevention action plan Our Annual Review for 2006-07 called for a national suicide prevention strategy. The need for one became urgent with the tragic suicides of young people in the Bridgend area. The Deputy Commissioner was very concerned about the UK media reporting and its potential impact on children and young people in Bridgend and more widely across Wales. Liaising closely with local police she wrote to editors of local, national and UK newspapers asking for more responsible reporting and the inclusion of details of help-lines in articles to enable people to access relevant support. She also liaised with leading academics in the ﬁeld of suicide prevention and the impact of the media and with experienced voluntary agencies such as Papyrus and the Samaritans and shared that learning with WAG and Sir Christopher Meyer, the Chair of the Press Complaints Commission. We also raised concerns over lack of secure funding for essential services in the area. We supported the setting up of a national group to work jointly on producing a suicide prevention action plan and shared ideas on how best to involve children and young people. This newly-established national group has worked tirelessly to prioritise mental health promotion; it is now essential that the plan is properly resourced and implemented.

Annual Review 07–08

What we’ve been up to this year

Counselling in schools Recommendations made in the Clywch report regarding the development of an all Wales strategy for counselling in schools had similarly been causing concern due to slow progress on implementation. We maintained pressure on WAG and the strategy and funding was finally announced during 2007-08. We played a significant part in its formulation and meetings with WAG officers took place to consider the detail. We welcome the progress, but remain concerned about accessibility, confidentiality and whether parental permission needs to be obtained before children can use the service Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW) Our work with the SENTW has continued over the past year. Independent researchers have been engaged with local authorities, parents and children in a consultation about realising children’s right of appeal to SENTW, something which we have long advocated for.

Measures: if the LCO is approved by the Assembly it then has to be approved by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It is then approved by the Queen and becomes law. The Assembly will then have more powers to make Measures.

New legislation and the Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 increased the legislative role of NAfW and also introduced a clear separation between WAG, or Welsh Ministers, and NAfW. Several of the Legislative Competence Orders (LCOs*) and Measures resulting from these LCOs have the potential to directly affect children’s services and children’s rights. A considerable proportion of our own resources were taken up with consultation and giving evidence to the committees responsible. These included: — Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty (LCO) — Additional Learning Needs (LCO) — Learner Travel Measure In order to respond to this new opportunity for improving children’s lives in Wales, we recruited an Assembly Liaison Ofﬁcer in autumn 2007.

Annual Review 07–08

Unlicensed Limousines Vehicles and Operator Services Agency We had previously met with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to raise our continuing concerns about children’s welfare when using these vehicles. We shared our concerns with WAG and highlighted the issue in our 06/07 Annual Review. In July 2008 the Transport Commissioner for Wales and the West Midlands said he is planning a crackdown on these vehicles and we will continue to liaise with his ofﬁce.

What we’ve been up to this year

Mosquito teenage deterrent devices and their use in communities in Wales

Healthy Eating in Schools Measure We provided a response to WAG that highlighted a number of issues, many of which are incorporated into the redrafted Measure and these include:

Families continue to contact us about the use of high frequency deterrent devices being used in neighbourhoods in Wales. We have requested police and environmental health ofﬁcers to use their powers to remove such devices from residential areas. We have shared our experience with England’s Children Commissioner which helped inform his ‘Buzz Off’ campaign.

— the right for children to be consulted on changes to school food — that children have the right to be informed of and consulted on the changes to nutritional standards. Fingerprinting of pupils by schools

Consultation on school closures Children and young people have contacted us about school closures in their area. We have sought to ensure that children and young people are consulted directly about proposed changes with each local education authority. The Welsh Assembly Government has committed to changing the guidance on school closures to ensure that children have the right to be consulted.

Case study Who contacted us? A grand-father called us about his granddaughter who could not play outside when she came to stay. What he told us? Grandad said that his neighbour had installed a mosquito alarm on his house to keep children away and when his granddaughter came to stay she could not play outside all weekend What we did? We contacted the local authority’s environmental health ofﬁcer and local police inspector about what Grandad had said. What was the result? We worked in partnership with the police and Environmental Health Department and the mosquito alarm was removed. This will help other children who may also be affected by mosquito alarms that are placed by members of the public in residential areas in this particular local authority area.

The Welsh Assembly Government has responded to our concerns about the fingerprinting of school pupils by saying that schools should consult with parents and children on the use of such systems. However we are still being contacted by parents who say this is not happening. We will meet with the Information Commissioner to discuss this issue. Welsh Assembly Government Minimum Standards for NHS and Private Dentists We have raised concerns about the differences in expectations when dealing with child protection issues for NHS dentists and private dentists. We met with WAG officials drafting the standards, which are the first such standards being developed in the UK, and explained our concerns to them. A copy of the final guidance has not yet been received.

The Measure now says that Welsh Ministers will have to consult with children on the making of such regulations. We also asked for drinking water supplies to be made available for pupils elsewhere other than in toilet facilities and made this a duty on schools – this was accepted. It is interesting to note that the Commissioner’s responses have focused strongly on the need to involve children and young people throughout the process and the introduction of a requirement on schools to consult with school councils and to have a regard to their views on school food is welcomed.

The statutory powers of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales After seven years’ experience it has become clear that there are circumstances when the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ powers are insufﬁcient to safeguard some children’s rights and welfare. These include the power to take legal proceedings on behalf of a child or intervene in legal proceedings and to require information from devolved bodies outside of a review. Also in areas of policy and legislation that are not devolved to WAG such as youth justice, actions of the police and courts and most functions of the Home Ofﬁce. The scrutiny process for the Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty LCO was used as an opportunity to raise concerns about these restrictions with the LCO Committee within WAG, with the UK Parliament’s Welsh Affairs Committee as well as with the Children’s Ministers of both England and Wales, the Under-Secretary of State for Wales and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children in Wales.

Annual Review 07–08

During the year we have responded to WAG, NAfW and other consultations, basing our responses on information gathered through our participation, advice and support and communications work as well as on what we believe to be in children’s best interests. In 2007-08 we responded to many consultations and will be monitoring their progress carefully. For example, in the BBC Nations Impartiality Review we drew attention to the fact that many stories relating to children’s policy do not accurately reﬂect the current devolution settlement and that viewers and listeners may think that Westminster Ministers are responsible for health and education in Wales. The BBC has made a commitment to improving accuracy of reporting online and in broadcast media.

Other consultations we responded to include: — Autism Strategy — Ministry of Justice Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 – Relevant Third Party — National Assembly for Wales Individual Assembly Member Healthy Eating in Schools Measure — Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prison – Consultation on use of batons — Independent Review of Restraint — National Assembly for Wales Proposed Additional Learning Needs Legislative Competence Order — National Assembly for Wales Rural Development Sub Committee inquiry into rural poverty — Use of Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) where children or young people are concerned (Chair of Northern Ireland Policing Board requested response from the Children’s Commissioners across the UK jurisdictions) — Save the Children Guardianship for unaccompanied asylum seeking children — UK Government Review of Section 58 of the Children Act 2004 (‘reasonable punishment’) — Single Equality Bill — Transfer and Development of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in North Wales

Responding to consultations and contributing written evidence

— National Assembly for Wales Enterprise and Learning Committee scrutiny of the Welsh Assembly Government’s proposed Learner Travel Measure — Welsh Assembly Government Public Transport Users’ Committee — Welsh Assembly Government Safeguarding Children in Education — Welsh Assembly Government National Strategy for a SchoolBased Counselling Service — Welsh Affairs Committee Provision of Cross-Border Public Services for Wales — National Assembly for Wales Children and Young People Committee inquiry into Advocacy — National Assembly for Wales Children and Young People Committee inquiry into child poverty — Review of Health Commission Wales — National Assembly for Wales Committee scrutiny of Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty Legislative Competence Order — National Assembly for Wales Petitions Committee – Consultation on new Petitions system — Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill — Welsh Assembly Government Draft Minimum Standards for NHS and Private Dentists — Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act.

What we’ve been up to this year

What difference did we make?

Wales Transport Strategy: Connecting Wales

It is difﬁcult to accurately measure the impact of our responses to consultation documents on safeguarding and promoting children’s rights and welfare as other organisations may have raised similar issues. However when considering our responses to consultations in 2006-2007 the following improvements occurred:

When we and members of Funky Dragon gave evidence to NAfW’s Rural Development Sub Committee inquiry into rural poverty, we highlighted children’s need for free and accessible public transport to allow them to enjoy their rights. The Committee then went on to recommend to WAG they should “…assess the potential of rolling out free transport for children and young people across Wales.”

Teaching drama: guidance on safeguarding children and child protection for managers and drama teachers. The guidance reﬂected the changes we advised should be made, making the role of school governing bodies clear in safeguarding children while studying drama. Estyn’s Annual Report 2005-2006 We raised with Estyn children’s right to information that is accessible to them and whether Estyn would produce information that was aimed at children and young people. Estyn have produced summaries of their annual reports in a format that is easily accessible to children and young people.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Strategy for schools and internet safety Having responded to WAG’s draft ICT strategy for schools we have continued to track this important policy area. We are part of an allWales group of key professionals who are looking at how to promote effective practice in this area. We have now received the revised strategy and look forward to seeing progress in this area in schools across Wales.

Welsh Assembly Government Home to School Transport Guidance Following our short inquiry into unsafe tendering processes, which disclosed the details of the children who required transportation, WAG changed the Guidance to ensure safer practice. We were also concerned about the no pass, no travel rule and the ﬁnal Guidance was amended to urge local authorities to have a common sense approach and use their discretion to avoid leaving children stranded who had simply forgotten or lost their pass. National Curriculum Consultation Personal and Social Education (PSE) We welcomed WAG’s inclusion of the UNCRC in the PSE curriculum but were concerned it was linked to responsibilities. When the new curriculum was published in 2007, rights were no longer linked to responsibilities. We have been working with WAG to ensure guidance materials on the UNCRC are available electronically for school staff on their website.

Annual Review 07–08

What we’ve been up to this year

Our recommendations called for Local Education Authorities to:

Unofﬁcial exclusions from school Unofﬁcial exclusions are where parents are asked to keep their children home without the checks and balances of the normal system for excluding pupils or, importantly, the opportunity of triggering the additional support that the pupils need. We found that the practice is widespread despite WAG guidance that it should not occur. Our report was published and distributed in October 2007 and received widespread media coverage highlighting this breach of children’s rights. It was considered by the National Behaviour and Attendance Review team who accepted and reinforced our recommendations.

Latest reviews and reports

— review the support to schools including at what stage it is available; additional training for staff to help them improve the behaviour of pupils and effective multi agency partnerships to support schools, parents and pupils — conduct an awareness raising campaign amongst pupils and parents to ensure they understand that unofficial exclusions have no legal status telling them of their rights and what support is available to them — ensure that all pupils who are permanently excluded or excluded for two fixed term periods in one school year are assessed by the Educational Psychologist and called on WAG to: — issue guidance to require all schools to report all authorised and unauthorised absences to the LEA. The Educational Welfare Service should monitor these reports and intervene whenever the number of half day absences of any pupil exceeds 20 — issue guidance to LEAs as to what sanctions they can impose should schools unofficially exclude pupils.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Each year we have drawn attention to the inadequacy of mental health service provision for children and young people in Wales This year we met with Designated Liaison Ofﬁcers (DLOs) in each Local Health Board and NHS Trusts to review the implementation of the CAMHS strategy Everybody’s Business. We published our own report of a scoping exercise with CAMHS professionals Somebody Else’s Business in November 2007.

Our findings included the unacceptable delays in decision making about treatments and placements, the exclusion from CAMHS of children aged between 16 and 18 and not in full time education and the exclusions of children with a learning disability and a mental illness. We fed our findings and our knowledge of children’s experiences of CAHMS across Wales into the Health Inspectorate Wales and Wales Audit Office Review. We expect that Review, along with the other recent reports into CAMHS, to lead to real changes, real improvements and resources for CAMHS in Wales and are concerned about the delay in publication. We also gave evidence to the review of Health Commission Wales by the Wales Centre for Health, again based on our knowledge of children and professionals’ experiences. We highlighted the key findings of Somebody Else’s Business as well as emphasising how the policies of Health Commission Wales can negatively impact on children’s lives, the difficulties relating to the interface of Tier 3 and Tier 4 and the exclusion of children with a primary diagnosis of learning disability from CAMHS.

Annual Review 07–08

What we’ve been up to this year

Independent Evaluation of the Ofﬁce of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales

Reviews

The independent evaluation research drew to an end during the year, with the project transferring from Swansea University to the University of Central Lancashire with the lead researcher, Professor Nigel Thomas. The young people on the steering group were involved in various aspects of preparing the report, from planning to conducting the research. Other reports, reviews and work in progress Among the work commenced in 2007-08 is a review of young carers and research commissioned from ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children) into child trafficking in Wales. The report on our review of play strategies and access to play opportunities for disabled children will be published early in summer 2008. This work was voted as one of the Commissioner’s projects in the previous What next? cycle and involved assessing each local play strategy and conducting workshops with disabled young people to find out what they would expect to find in a good play strategy. The organisation ‘Children in Wales’ worked with us and helped facilitate the participation work and we are grateful to them and especially to the young people for their hard work.

The second of the Commissioner’s projects is called ‘Making learning better’ because children and young people wanted us to improve the learning experience for them. We’ve taken a positive approach because as well as hearing about boring lessons or pupils not being treated fairly by some teachers, we know that children and young people had lots of positive things to say about some really excellent teachers. We’re collecting their views on what makes a good teacher and a great lesson and will be producing a resource for new and experienced teachers which will help give them a few pointers on what children value and appreciate, and what they say helps them learn.

Early in the new year the steering group met with the new Commissioner and members of staff to talk about their findings. It was a good opportunity for Keith to consider some of their observations and possible recommendations before he had started in his new role. He will be able to take these into account when developing his strategic vision for the office for the next seven years. The final report will be published in the autumn and will include the Commissioner’s response. The evaluation has been an excellent example of how young people can be actively involved in shaping and undertaking research.

Serious Case Reviews We proactively request reports of Serious Case Reviews. We discuss with both the statutory agencies and CSSIW further action we feel needs to be taken to safeguard children’s welfare.

We can also review an individual case where we think there is a principle that has relevance to other children’s rights or welfare. This year we published our review into unofficial exclusions – where a school asks a parent not to send the child to school but does not formally exclude the child. The case involved a 13 year old boy who was unofficially excluded from school for long periods of time. We decided to undertake the review to try and prevent the widespread use of unofficial exclusions and to clearly highlight children’s rights to education and support. We were aware of the impact of this widespread method of exclusion on very vulnerable children across Wales through casework and meeting with voluntary organisations. We made a number of recommendations to local authorities and WAG including that children should have easy access to advocacy services when they are at risk of exclusion or excluded. This was accepted and has been put into guidance – although there is still an implementation gap in many local authorities which we continue to monitor.

A process has now been introduced to ensure that cases will be analysed regularly to consider whether they may potentially impact on more than one individual child and will be taken forward strategically to try and improve services for more children and young people. All our publications are available from our ofﬁces, or they can be downloaded from our website www.childcomwales.org.uk

Annual Review 07â&#x20AC;&#x201C;08

Advice and support

Our advice and support service tries to identify empowering solutions to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people. Since the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commissioner was set up in 2001 we have assisted in over 2000 cases, many involving more than one child.

Annual Review 07–08

Between 31 March 2007 and 1 April 2008, 508 people contacted our ofﬁce for advice and support. During that period, we resolved 417 of these cases, partly resolved one case and 90 are still ongoing (see Graph below).

Each initial contact is held on one case ﬁle; some involve many children, for example school closure, and some cover more than one issue. In fact, this year, 628 separate problems were raised with us from 508 cases. Here’s an example of where our advice and support ofﬁcer dealing with one case had to cover three issues – education, youth justice and social services:

Advice and support

Case study A parent contacted us as he was at the end of his tether with his child. The child had been permanently excluded from school and also had dealings with the police. The parent said he could not cope because he had other children to care for. We contacted the local education authority and identiﬁed another school for the child. We also contacted the local Youth Offending Team; who were not aware of the child because he had not attended court. We discussed the child’s problems with the local team who agreed to add the child to their case ﬁles. To assist the family a referral was made by us to the social services team who assessed the family and have since provided support.

Annual Review 07–08

Our recording system was set up to ensure we could identify any links indicating child protection concerns, to record children and young people’s wishes and feelings, the issues, and what action we took to resolve the matter. Our ethos has always been to gain children and adults’ trust and to listen. From the outset we have decided not to ask intrusive questions particularly as some children and adults come to us as a last resort. This does mean, however, that full statistics in relation to some issues, such as ethnicity, are not recorded as a matter of course. Wherever possible we signpost children and young people to other services or advocates. This may not possible as advocacy services are limited or specialist services do not exist especially in health, education and where children are accommodated by social services or are children in need. Sometimes advocates and professionals also ask for our help when they themselves cannot assist a child.

Advice and support

The problems brought to our attention often have a wider impact on other children and young people. Sometimes this is because there is a need to change policy or law and we share with the relevant body our learning about how a particular rule, policy, regulation or law can be changed to safeguard children’s rights and welfare.

Case studies: asylum seeking children Who contacted us? Parent of a child who had lost the sight in one eye and needed medical treatment for his other eye. What was the result? The child received medical treatment. Who contacted us? Parent of a child who needed cancer treatment. What was the result? Child received medical treatment.

We advocated on behalf of a number of sick children who were refused medical care because they were seeking asylum and had “no status”. The Regulations prevented them from receiving medical care.

Wider impact? We made representations to the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Children’s Minister that these Regulations, which are in contravention of the UNCRC, should be changed in Wales. Following a court ruling, the Minister for Health and Social Services announced that children seeking asylum in Wales will now receive medical treatment.

Case study Who contacted us? Parents of a 12 year old boy who had wet himself in the classroom because the school’s rules would not allow any child or young person to go to the toilet during lessons unless they had a medical certiﬁcate. What was the result and Wider impact? After advising the parents to follow the school’s complaints procedures and advised them of the school Governing Body’s duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, the parents and children were then asked to help draft a new policy for the secondary school. This policy, which identiﬁed an alternative more sensitive method for recording children who use the toilet during lesson time, was then rolled out to all secondary schools in the local authority.

Annual Review 07–08

Case study Who contacted us? A trade union shared concerns that child protection allegations in a school may not have been adequately investigated and children may still be at risk. What we did? We interviewed potential witnesses, teachers and school staff and requested that an independent investigation be carried out by the local authority.

Case study Who contacted us? A number of parents and children about the health provision in a clinic. They were afraid to use the complaints procedure in case there would be a negative impact on the care their children received. What we did? We met with the clinic’s Chief Executive and facilitated a meeting with him and his collagues where parents felt comfortable to talk about their experience. What was the result? The Chief Executive decided to instigate an independent review of the care provided to children and the clinic. The parents have welcomed the improvements in care.

What was the result? Investigation found that clear child protection guidance and procedures had not been followed. A task force has been set up to consider how child protection referrals in education are processed in this local authority. It also ensures all school staff have appropriate training. We continue to advise the task force.

Case study In July 2007 WAG set out clearly in Towards a Stable Life and Brighter Future guidance and regulations to strengthen the placement, health and education of looked after children. Since the publication of that guidance, we were contacted by a health trust about a looked after young person who had been placed in a foster placement in their county without their knowledge and despite the guidance requiring notiﬁcation to take place. At the time we were contacted, the young person was being held on an adult mental health ward (under the Mental Health Act). There was a dispute between the health agencies about who was responsible for funding the healthcare needs of the child. There was no leaving care plan in place. We contacted the health and social services agencies in the county which placed the young person and Health Commission Wales and reminded them of the responsibilities under the guidance. The young person was subsequently moved to a mental health children’s residential placement. At our request a meeting took place between the agencies to plan for the future care of the young person and to review the process. We will be sharing the lessons that can be learnt from this with CSSIW.

Advice and support

Sometimes the policy, guidance or law is in place but there is an implementation gap. Athough there are complaints procedures in health, education and social care agencies sometimes children and parents are reluctant to use the procedure because they think it will impact negatively on the services they need or them. We consider such cases very carefully and where necessary intervene to mediate and ﬁnd another way forward.

Case study Who contacted us? Professionals concerned that children may be at risk in a residential school in Wales. Allegations included that staff had been employed without without CRB checks, child protection procedures may not have been implemented and that the therapies being used with children who sexually abuse were inappropriate. There were also concerns about the internet articles connected to some personnel at the school. What we did? Liaised with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) who investigated the internet allegations. We also referred it to the child protection agencies and CSSIW agreed to inspect the therapeutic methods in use.

Four children aged from seven to 12 described to us the conditions in which they were taken from their homes in Wales to a detention centre in England for children seeking asylum. One child told us: “One day the immigration people took us to Yarl’s Wood. It was more than four hours. I was sick in the car. They didn’t stop. The sick came out of my mouth, it went on my clothes. Nobody cleaned it. They didn’t stop for me to have a wash. They were not nice. They were all nasty and I was frightened”.

We know her experience is similar to other children we have listened to. The children all say they are too afraid to use UK Border Agency complaints procedure. We met with the head of UK Border Agency in Wales who has promised a thorough investigation into their individual complaints. We have asked that the children’s voices are considered when awarding contracts to companies which transport children and that children’s rights are included in the training of personnel. At other times general concerns about children’s welfare and rights are brought directly to us and we investigate them.

Annual Review 07–08

Advice and support

In May 2007 we launched a new freephone and freetext service speciﬁcally for children and young people. We trained a number of volunteers to help us increase our capacity to take calls. There has been a small increase in the number of children who have contacted us directly, over half of whom are “looked after”. We expect this to increase further as a result of the following promotion initiatives: — A DVD and facilitators pack — Strategically targeting children in care, those in the secure estate and at risk of exclusion or excluded from schools — The Children’s Commissioner’s tour in October 2008 — Support from volunteers to help promote the service across Wales.

Annual Review 07–08

Most cases come to our attention through telephone contact – the introduction of our freephone number and the free text service had some impact on how children and young people choose to get in touch with the service and this has also been the case in previous years.

Facts and ﬁgures

This year, there has been an increase in the percentage of those writing to us by email and in the number of personal approaches but a noticeable decrease in the percentage contacting us by letter.

Advice and support

Not surprisingly, as in previous years, it is usually a parent, carer or member of the extended family that contact us ﬁrst. They have consistently been the most effective advocates for children and young people. Just over 20 percent of the people who get in touch are professionals including social services staff, health practitioners, teachers and trade unions. We also receive calls from children’s advocates, solicitors, Assembly Members and MPs.

Annual Review 07–08

The past year has seen a smaller percentage of cases received relating to health and education, with social services related calls remaining unchanged. Regardless of these changes, there are clear indications, as in previous years, that children and young people experience difficulties in relation to different aspects of their education, the main issues are: — inadequacies in complaints procedures in schools — Additional Learning Needs provision — exclusions; fixed, permanent and unofficial. Additional Learning Needs issues range from lack of appropriate support and early intervention in schools, refusals to statement a child, disagreements about the provision of services once a child has been statemented and the lack of placements in specialist teaching facilities. In social services the main issues are: — foster placements — child protection — children in need and children’s rights. The age range of the children and young people supported by the service spans from under twelve months to over 18 with the majority aged between eight and 17 years old.

Facts and ﬁgures

We will speak to the child or children concerned as soon as possible. In some cases, with the agreement of the child or young person, an adult, either a carer or a professional will be our main contact point. But, they are always told that we act on behalf of the child or young person and it is their best interests, wishes and feelings that guide any action we take, rather than the wishes of the adults. Children are kept informed and are involved in decisions.

Advice and support

The majority of children who get in touch with us directly are in the care system and most of their requests are for help to stay with their foster carers as they feel wanted, settled and cared for by their carers. In health the main issues are: — provision of health services — funding of health care treatment — access to CAMHS — funding of treatment within CAMHS.

Key issues and trends

Issue

Advice Bullying Child Protection Education Environment Family Law Health Housing Immigration Legal Social Services Youth Justice

Number of cases allocated 2007–08

Percentage of total cases 2007–08

Percentage of total cases 2006–07

cases may be allocated to more than one category

% will add up to more than 100 – cases may be allocated to more than one category

where comparable information available

50 19 24 188 38 48 53 31 30 1 136 10

10% 4% 5% 37% 7% 9% 8% 5% 6% 0.2% 22% 2%

n/a 13% 3% 55% 14% 20% 17% 7% 4% n/a 23% 3%

There has been a noticeable decrease in the percentage of cases relating to bullying and to family law. In every case we try and ensure the experience of resolving an issue is a constructive one for both the child and the agency concerned. Our aim is to achieve the most positive result for the individual child and work together with the agency involved to improve services for more children.

Annual Review 07–08

Advice and support

Advice Community Emotional

Child Protection

Community Physical

Children’ws Rights

Education Emotional

Complaints Funding

Education Physical

Health & Safety

Education Racial

Planning issues Play & Leisure

Adoption Education Non-Professional Advice Environment Non-Professional Advocacy Environment Professional CAFCASS Family Care Proceedings Family Law Non-Professional Social Services Non-Professional

Child Protection Children’s Rights

Social Services Professional

Admissions

Exclusions Permanent

Advice

Funding

Advocacy

Child Protection

Health & Safety

CAMHS

Child Protection (Professional)

Placements

Children’s Rights

Children’s Rights Complaints Disability Rights Exclusions – Illegal Exclusions Fixed term

Post 16 Provision School Transport SEN Whistleblowing

Complaints Counselling Disability Rights Funding Provision

Annual Review 07–08

Advice Advocacy Child Protection

Advice and support

Adoption

Counselling

Advice

Disability Rights

Advocacy

Foster placements

Child Protection

Funding

Children in Need

Health & Safety

Children’s Rights

Leaving Care

Complaints

Provision

Children’s Rights Complaints Disability Facilities Grant Disability Rights Funding Health & Safety Provision

Advice

Advocacy Asylum seekers Children’s Rights Health Housing Refugees

Child Protection Children’s Rights Complaints Funding

Annual Review 07–08

Involving children and young people

We try to reach out to all children and young people in Wales by regularly visiting schools and groups of young people, speaking at conferences and attending events. We need to be up to date with what children and young people feel is important to them. Through the advice and support service and links with outside organisations and bodies we also get more information about what is causing particular difﬁculties. We have two communication and participation frameworks to help us reach ALL Wales’ children and young people and give them a say: one to inform children and young people about the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the UNCRC and to give them an opportunity to tell us about what’s important to them; and the second – our framework for involvement – to really involve them in our work and give them a say. We have a programme of work with children and young people who are marginalised, vulnerable or ‘hard to reach’. Given the wide geographical area and the broad range of groups involved this means working alongside other organisations and is a long-term commitment. Having different strands or activities helps us have a balanced and inclusive dialogue, ensuring that those who often lack a voice are able to have their say and that other key adults can help to spread the word.

Annual Review 07–08

Involving children and young people

School Ambassadors The importance of promoting meaningful pupil participation is a fundamental part of CCfW. One of the ways in which we engage with children from across Wales is through our Ambassadors scheme. Back in 2004, we successfully piloted the Ambassadors scheme with six primary schools and we now have fifteen schools from across Wales taking part. Spreading the word and speaking out on behalf of children and young people Getting the message across loud and clear is crucial if a children’s champion is to be effective. All members of the Commissioner’s team have a part to play in promoting our work and what we stand for. We have leaflets and promotional items and use different ways of telling people about our work. Sometimes we use flyers or young people’s versions of our reports. Sometimes we run workshops or seminars or give speeches or presentations to explain what we’ve found out and what we think needs to change.

With rights we can change lives CCfW Ambassador

For many years the communications and participation work has focused on maintaining a dialogue with children and young people and making sure that those who were most likely to need to contact CCfW understood why the office exists and knew about children’s rights. While media enquiries were plentiful, and we issued press releases to launch publications or publicise events, most media opportunities came from enquiries from journalists. We were very pleased to welcome a new Media and Public Relations Officer to the CCfW team in January 2008. This will help us devote attention to promoting the office to the public in a more proactive way and raise the profile of the Children’s Commissioner, the team and our key messages.

The scheme’s key aims are to elect two children from each participating school to act as the Commissioner’s ﬁrst point of contact with their peers, teachers, parents and carers. Ambassadors then share information about the UNCRC, about the Commissioner and the advice and support service we offer throughout their school. They’re also encouraged to create a rights aware environment where issues can be dealt with appropriately at class, school or local level.

To support our Ambassadors we have created a toolkit full of useful information that they can share with their peers and three of our participation officers also visit the schools on a regular basis to help out. This year, we are planning to expand the scheme so that we have Ambassadors in every local authority in Wales. We will also be looking at how the Ambassadors can complement rather than duplicate some of the responsibilities of the mandatory school councils and exploring opportunities for schools to link the scheme with aspects of the revised National Curriculum in Wales.

Backchat and the CCfW website

The framework for involvement

This email survey group has now been running for six years and is on the verge of a complete overhaul. We’ll be involving children and young people in the next steps to take forward the Backchat brand as something that applies to our IT-based dialogue with children and young people. We’re also going to be investing in the website redeveloping it, ensuring that it’s a site that young people really want to visit and that it’s a dynamic resource for adults, including the media and policymakers.

The framework for involvement is essential to fulfilling our duty to make sure that the views and opinions of children and young people are sought and that they help decide the Commissioner’s priorities and have an influence on how the office functions. All our direct work with children and young people contributes in some way to maintaining a dialogue and identifying issues, but our involvement framework has two main components: advisory groups and a process culminating in our ‘What next?’ events which gives them a say in setting our future work programme.

Annual Review 07–08

Our Advisory Groups The first generation of young people’s advisory groups one based around the Colwyn Bay office and one in Swansea graduated during the year. At the end of a year where advisory group members were involved in recruiting to 10 posts, working at the Eisteddfodau and events and on promoting the new Freephone, the end of the two-year term of the original members was marked with a celebratory residential. This included an award ceremony with the Deputy Commissioner and an evaluation which will inform what happens in the future. The feedback was really positive and lots of the members felt more than a little emotional to be leaving. We wish them all well and hope that they will keep in touch. As one group was coming to an end, participation officers were also visiting local Youth Forums to recruit the new members. They had their first meetings by the end of the financial year and are getting to know each other and learning more about our work. In coming months they will have recruitment training, help develop our website and design our new exhibition unit. They have a full work programme ahead, but it is going to be fun.

When I’m on the school council I have a say in everything Young person aged 10 from Denbighshire

We need a government who understands us Young person aged 16 from Rhondda Cynon Taff

Involving children and young people

Stop people labelling us – we are not yobs Young person aged 16 from Rhondda Cynon Taff

More open spaces for children to play in Young person aged 10 from Conwy

What next? events and the prioritising process Last year, when we knew that the new Children’s Commissioner would be appointed soon, it seemed like a good opportunity to gather information from children and young people to help give the new Commissioner some ideas about what his priorities should be. We held two events in January 2008 (before Keith Towler started in post) to find out more about what is good about growing up in Wales, and what could be better. Over 500 children and young people attended the events in Llandudno and in Cardiff. Places were allocated to schools and organisations working with vulnerable or marginalised children and young people to ensure a representative mix. Information was gathered in two main ways. All those who attended took part in art, dance, rap, and other creative workshops which were focused on the theme of growing up in Wales. CCfW staff took observational notes and some of the raps and songs also recorded what children thought. In addition, a questionnaire was developed based on the UNCRC 3Ps headings (Participation, Protection and Provision). This was also available online via our website and was then analysed. We asked everyone to tell us about having a say, feeling safe (or not) and getting the things they need. The final question on the questionnaire asked if there was anything else children and young people thought the Children’s Commissioner should do to make Wales a better place for children. The suggestions with the highest percentage were: improvements to recreation facilities (19%), a better environment (9%), more opportunities to speak or learn Welsh (4%) and stopping bullying or better anti-bullying policies (3.5%). Their pride in their country and culture, and an appreciation of the landscape and environment of Wales was very evident. The information gathered has been analysed and the findings are being considered by the Commissioner as he formulates his new strategic plan.

Annual Review 07â&#x20AC;&#x201C;08

Involving children and young people

Annual Review 07–08

Working with others

During the year we were part of, or had observer status on a wide range of groups and bodies. Our aim was to work together to improve the rights and welfare of children in Wales through inﬂuencing policy and practice. For example, in the Children and Young People’s Specialised Services Project (CYPSSP), we suggested that children’s right to information was written into the national standards and we raised children’s rights to education and play in inpatient settings.

Annual Review 07–08

The Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners and other staff, as well as the new Children’s Commissioner once he started in post, also spoke at a number of conferences and events and ran workshops and training sessions with adults. We maintained our links with Local Health Boards throughout Wales, advocacy providers, children’s NGOs and professional associations, as well as with special interest groups and Welsh Assembly Government divisions and Assembly Government Sponsored Bodies.

Health Liaison Seminars In the autumn of 2007, we held a series of seminars with the designated liaison officers (DLOs) from all Local Health Boards and National Health Service Trusts across Wales. The purpose of the seminars was to verify the findings of our CAMHS scoping exercise and to discuss neo natal care. Feedback from DLOs was positive in relation to our CAMHS scoping exercise and provided useful guidance on the final presentation of the key findings. The post of DLO was proposed in the Carlile Report and therefore the DLOs are key contacts for the office as they are our primary points of liaison when cases arise involving individual children and young people. Communication between the DLOs and the office continues as a result of the seminars.

Working with others

European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) ENOC was established in 1997 and links the independent ombudspersons for children in Europe. There are 34 members from 24 states. The work of ENOC is supported by the Council of Europe and UNICEF and the role of the network is to facilitate information exchange and to support the development of new children’s rights organisations in Europe and the world. During 2007, ENOC adopted a Statement on the Rights of Children with Disabilities which was launched on International Day of Disability. The aim of the statement is to encourage full and speedy implementation by all member states of the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities. ENOC also adopted a Statement on Violence against Children. The Deputy Commissioner is the coordinator of the ENOC working group on children’s access to international justice mechanisms. She represented ENOC at the European Ministers of Justice meeting and made representations on the violation of children’s rights in Europe in youth justice and asylum.

British and Irish Network of Children’s Commissioners (BINOCC) The UK Commissioners for Children and the Ombudsman for Children from the Republic of Ireland meet independently of ENOC every two months. Sub-groups working on policy and on communications and participation have met regularly during the year and worked jointly on work such as joint monitoring of the UNCRC in the UK, the consultation on the Single Equality Bill and youth justice and asylum. We supported the Northern Ireland Children’s Commissioner’s objection to the use of attenuated energy projectiles and shared research from other Commissioners’ ofﬁces such as the manual handling of children with disabilities, the rights of children of prisoners and the report into mother and baby units in prisons which will impact on Welsh mothers and babies. A new BINOCC sub-group for staff working on complaints and investigations was also established during the year.

Promoting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Promotion of the UNCRC and children’s rights continued throughout the year, with a programme of training sessions in colleges throughout Wales as well as responding to invitations to deliver presentations and workshops. Awareness of the principles that underpin the convention was encouraged among those providing services to children and those responsible for policy areas that impact on their lives.

Annual Review 07–08

In the next financial year I will be finalising my new corporate plan with a thematic and more strategic approach to our work. I want to introduce this new approach to help ensure that children and young people in Wales really do see an impact on their lives and current discrepancies in policy, legislation and actual implementation will be reduced. The process of preparing for this change will take time but is already well underway. This means that, at present, I cannot be specific about some of the pieces of work and projects I will be undertaking. There will be, as always, provision for children and young people’s contribution to my priority setting and to influencing the way in which we undertake some the work.

What next for us

Key aspects of my future work programme will be: — identifying and taking forward in the next three years the key thematic areas that I will focus on to make the most difference to the most children in Wales and reviewing the structure of the organisation to enable us to deliver on that — monitoring the UK Party’s response to the UN Committee on the Rights of the child and the implementation of the Committees Concluding Observations together with the other UK Children’s Commissioners — identifying from young carers themselves the principal obstacles they face with regard to the realisation of their rights as set out in the UNCRC — Making learning better – using messages from children and young people to help improve the learning experience

— researching into trafﬁcked children in Wales to help safeguard their welfare and inform those agencies who work closely with them — reviewing children’s complaints procedures in schools — continuing to raise awareness of the Commissioner’s ofﬁce and UNCRC through all aspects of the work, with additional resources and activity, including a Wales wide roadshow — improving access and involvement of children and young people throughout Wales and ensuring that they have a say in setting my work programme priorities — conducting policy, service and investigative reviews — raising awareness of the advice and support service to all children in Wales targeting children and young people who are looked after, are excluded from school or are in prison

— gradually recruiting Ambassadors in primary schools in all parts of Wales — launching a new and improved website and Backchat initiative. — continuing to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made in previous reports and reviews — forming stronger links with children and young people’s framework partnerships — continuing to listen and learn, promote good practice and speak up for the children and young people of Wales — monitoring, reviewing and responding to consultations and proposals for legislation, and ensuring that children and young people have a voice in the things that affect them.

Annual Review 07–08

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

The earlier sections of this Annual Review deal with the work of my ofﬁce and achievements during the year 2007-08, but this section deals primarily with what I believe needs to be done by others. I welcome the fact that this is a requirement and that it is seen as an important component of my role to hold government to account. Each year, the Commissioner’s Annual Review includes a review of issues relevant to the rights and welfare of children in Wales – highlighting areas of particular concern and calling for action.

I came into post just as the current United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) monitoring process got into full swing and the opportunity it has presented to evaluate how we as a nation respect and fulﬁl the rights of our children and young people has been valuable. As mentioned on page 17, this year, for the ﬁrst time ever, I and my three counterparts in the other UK nations or jurisdictions gave independent evidence to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on how the Convention has been implemented in the UK. My involvement in this process and lessons learnt from what children and young people have told me during my early months in post, have taught me that while there may be many things to be celebrated – particularly in Wales – it is still a case of ‘two cheers’, rather than the customary three, when it comes to assessing progress towards making the UNCRC a reality for all Wales’ children and young people. Although there is evidence of progress in some areas, sadly we had to report to the UN Committee that not only do some of their concluding observations of 2002 still lack any effective implementation, but some things have actually got worse. I am concerned that UK Government still has much to do to become fully compliant with the UNCRC, particularly in areas such as the abolition of physical punishment of children, youth justice and the treatment of children seeking asylum. A simple but effective step to demonstrate real commitment to children’s rights would be to fully incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law. I will be critically monitoring, with others, Welsh Assembly and UK Governments’ responses to the UN Committee’s concluding observations due in Autumn 2008.

Annual Review 07–08

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

The reality gap: a policy-practice deficit Here in Wales we can take real pride in the many steps taken towards implementing the UNCRC. Even so, there seems to be a persistent and pervasive gap between national policy intent and what children and young people experience in their everyday lives. Sometimes guidance or policy isn’t fully reflected in practice; sometimes there are financial reasons for a deficit in child-centred services; sometimes there may be problems with joined-up working. Whatever the reasons, during my term as Commissioner, I will not be prepared to accept excuses. I am committed to working in partnership and will encourage and support; but I want to see a real and effective focus on closing that gap by national and local governments and all other children’s organisations.

Youth Justice The fact that this gap is evident across a number of policy and service areas, in different parts of Wales and is a regular feature not only of news coverage, but of advice and support cases brought to my attention, underlines the need to recognise the problem and look for ways to address it. Inadequacy of funding has been highlighted in relation to the implementation of the flagship Foundation Phase for younger learners, the establishment of the Parentline Cymru helpline for which my office has long campaigned and the delivery of effective Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, for example. Sustainability of funding is another issue, with many projects that make a real difference to young people’s lives, not knowing whether they will still be there from one year to the next. Learning can be lost, children are unsupported and significant progress may be undone. This lack of sustainability is not without cost: to other services and to communities as well as to children and young people themselves.

Headline issues 2008

We have some great examples of structures for participation in Wales – such as Funky Dragon, youth forums and school councils. Yet evidence from our work shows that while some young people feel conﬁdent and empowered by opportunities to meet with key adults who can make a difference in environments that were previously closed to them, those opportunities are not open to all. There are still situations – even in schools or where children need to be able to exercise their Article 12 rights – where many children feel that they have no voice and their views or concerns aren’t taken seriously. Participation and having a right to have your say isn’t just about one-off events and attending adult committees or reviews. There needs to be a full understanding of what the UNCRC means in practice within the context of our work and all our interactions with children and young people. There needs to be extensive promotion of the UNCRC to adults as well as children; not just as a concept or a document, but as a practical tool relevant to daily life.

These differences between policy and practice are persistent and addressing them may require greater resources and cultural change; but from my conversations with policy makers, politicians, practitioners and professionals, I feel that the commitment is there and is genuine. Having made the progress that we have in Wales, it would be a real pity if we do not have the courage to recognise the problems and take whatever action necessary to close those gaps.

We have one of the lowest ages in Europe for criminal responsibility (10 years) and many of the children in Wales who commit criminal offences are detained in England, far from their families, friends and communities. My staff visit young people in the secure estate and we are aware of the negative impact on them both in terms of family contact and isolation. We assist so that suitable accommodation and support is provided when they are released, that children in need are assessed and that support identiﬁed in special educational needs statements is being provided.

In general, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in Wales use an approach that is consistent with the young people-centred and rights-based approach espoused by Welsh Assembly Government. Since responding to the needs of these young people involves many devolved service areas, I hope the refreshed All Wales Youth Offending Strategy will take a child rights approach. I am not alone in being extremely concerned that breach of an Anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is considered a criminal offence and may lead to a young person being in custody.

The UNCRC makes it clear that those under 18 should be held in custody only as a last resort. Where detention is necessary I believe that they should remain in Wales, close to their families and all the services they will need to access for their rehabilitation. While this issue is of serious concern in terms of breaches of these young people’s rights, the numbers involved are not so large as to make it impractical for responsibilities for youth justice and the secure estate to be devolved.

Youth justice has quite rightly been highlighted as being of considerable concern in the report we as the UK Children’s Commissioners submitted to the UN Committee. I will be looking at how our concerns are addressed by government at all levels.

Annual Review 07–08

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

Child poverty and current economic circumstances Current economic circumstances and the anticipated downturn and increases in costs of food and fuel provide an even more challenging environment when working to tackle child poverty. Fuel poverty is of increasing concern and steps to ensure that more children are not affected need to be taken. In many ways, the improvements in child and family poverty statistics to date are as a result of the easier wins. It remains unacceptable that more than one in four children in Wales lives in poverty. The task of ensuring that those children at the greatest risk of poverty – including black and minority ethnic children, those in large families, lone parent families, disabled children and children with disabled parents, children leaving care and those in severe and persistent poverty – are prioritised and supported is the hardest.

Children’s budgets UK Government’s focus on getting more parents into work does not sufﬁciently recognise the extent of in-work poverty: 54% of poor children live in a household where one or more adults are working. Such an approach is also inappropriate for the substantial minority of parents who cannot work either because of their own ill health, disability or the care needs of their children. UK Government and WAG need to reassess their approach to ending child poverty to ensure that in-work poverty and rural poverty are addressed, particularly with the additional strain that will inevitably arise with an economic downturn. Children living in rural areas often face additional barriers in accessing services and their rights. This can exacerbate their experience of poverty, for example, due to a lack of local services and problems accessing essential services and affordable housing, temporary and part-time work and transport. There is a need to make sure that child poverty is seen as a child rights issue and to look at solutions that are more than just community or locality focused.

Headline issues 2008

To date, UK Government’s approach to ending child poverty has made little impact on the levels of inequality in income, health and education. While I welcome WAG’s many initiatives and publications on this issue, it is a sad fact that implementation has been slow and progress regrettably inadequate. My predecessor as Children’s Commissioner made a stand on this issue and it is something that I had no hesitation in identifying as a priority concern for me when I was appointed. I welcome the work that has or will be undertaken by the Child Poverty Expert Group, the Children and Young People Committee, the Rural Development Sub Committee and others, but they must share information and evidence and work together effectively to identify what we can do better in Wales to improve the lives of the poorest children.

All local services have an important role to play in addressing and reducing the impacts of poverty and I welcome the duty on public bodies including local authorities to demonstrate their contribution in this respect as proposed in the Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty LCO. With the new legal competence to pass Assembly Measures to address child poverty in place, I propose to scrutinise carefully the impact the various Assembly Committees and any Measures have in eradicating child poverty in Wales. I will continue to speak out to ensure that action is taken to defend and preserve the progress already made. The slow rate of progress may be regrettable, but to lose ground would be inexcusable.

Even before considering increases in costs for those involved in providing services because of economic circumstances, the impact on children and young people of the budget settlement for local authorities was a cause for concern. Financial constraints will inevitably hamper the consistent implementation of WAG policies for children by local authorities. I already see many examples where decisions on services for children appear to be based on ﬁnancial considerations rather than the best interests of children. The overall budget allocation for children, both nationally and locally, needs to be more clearly identiﬁed as recommended in the report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Annual Review 07–08

Review of issues according to Welsh Assembly Government’s core aims for children and young people

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has adopted the UNCRC as the basis for all its work for children and young people and as the basis for its seven core aims for children in Children and Young People: Rights to Action. These aims also apply to the new Children and Young People Plans in each local authority area which come into effect from September 2008. I have used these 7 core aims as a template for scrutiny of the progress made in implementing WAG’s policy agenda and making a real difference to children’s lives. Improvements that need to be made are also identiﬁed.

Annual Review 07–08

— Aim 1 Have a ﬂying start in life and the best possible basis for their future growth and development.

Parenting Action Plan The Parenting Action Plan, published in December 2005, aimed to improve the support given to parents, carers and others in the most important role of all, raising children and young people. Parents and carers are the principal advocates for children’s rights and welfare and easily accessible support for them must be available when and where needed. While much of the content of the Parenting Action Plan referred to initiatives already underway, it also contained some signiﬁcant new initiatives and commitments. Progress on the implementation of many of the new actions in the plan is disappointingly slow and the plan has technically reached the end of its life. Parenting courses are available in some areas but need to be available throughout Wales. The proposed bilingual national telephone helpline for parents to provide easily accessible advice is a priority. While the obstacle to its introduction may not be entirely under WAG’s control, I am extremely concerned that this bilingual service, tailored to the Welsh policy, linguistic and cultural context is still not being provided.

Physical punishment and public education Welsh Assembly Government’s continued support for the eradication of physical punishment of children in Wales is to be applauded, including their endorsement of the Help at Hand toolkit and promotion of positive parenting. Further commitment is now needed to a comprehensively funded and effective public education programme to promote these messages more widely. Funding of preventative services There are real concerns about sustainable funding of preventative and early intervention programmes which can really make a difference to children, their parents and carers. Some of these are under threat because of limited funding and local authorities have to make difﬁcult choices. Having met and listened to dedicated professionals and volunteers and heard what children and young people have to say, it is clear that investment in these types of services can protect children’s welfare now, give them a better start in life and are likely to be more cost effective in the long term.

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

— Aim 2 Have access to a comprehensive range of education, training and learning opportunities, including acquisition of essential personal and social skills

Welsh Assembly Government has been active in abolishing the testing-dominated focus of education and has made school councils mandatory. This can only be of beneﬁt to both children and teachers. However, there is still much to be done in terms of promoting pupil engagement and participation more generally, and – as our Making learning better project shows – improving the experience of learning, in the classroom and outside it. Members of my team contributed to the WAG-sponsored National Behaviour and Attendance Review, which took a holistic view of problems of behaviour in school, attendance and truancy. Much of the evidence presented suggested the need for more active participation of both teachers and pupils in shaping schools into places where pupils want to be, as well as the further development of alternative curriculum and out of school placements. Our schools need to recognise that their role is far more than imparting knowledge. This has been expressed clearly by children and young people in Funky Dragon’s Our Rights, Our Story report. It is also the school’s role to manage and shape pupils’ behaviour so that they are able to make positive contributions to their communities.

The National Attendance and Behaviour Review recognised the need for increased support and training for teachers in the management of behaviour and attendance. The review accepted and reinforced the recommendations of our own Unofﬁcial Exclusions Report. It is important that the recommendations are acted upon by WAG and local authorities so that it will no longer be necessary for a school to exclude a child, or ask parents to keep a child at home, because they cannot cope with the challenging behaviour >>

Annual Review 07–08

School toilets The standard of cleanliness and the provision of school toilets continue to be of major concern to children and young people across Wales. The Inquiry into the E.coli outbreak in South Wales heard that WAG had decided not to respond to the ﬁndings of our report Lifting the lid (2004). Estyn reported in May 2008 that aspects of school toilets are still unsatisfactory in half of the secondary schools and a quarter of the primary schools surveyed. Where pupils are unhappy with the condition of school toilets, they are more likely not to drink enough water during the day so as to avoid using them. Estyn has recommended that WAG introduces minimum standards for school toilets and I endorse that recommendation. Progress has been far too slow in this area. I welcome the Minister of Education’s request in July 2008 that all local authorities review school toilet facilities. Children should be involved in that review and the ongoing monitoring of their toilet facilities. The E.coli Inquiry is due to report in the Autumn of 2008 and I will work with all partners – WAG, Welsh Local Government Association, local authorities and schools – to ensure there is a strategic vision which will improve school toilets for all children in all schools in Wales.

Education for children seeking asylum Children who are seeking asylum are being denied equal access to education, even though many have lived here for a large part of their childhood. Not only do they not receive educational maintenance allowance like many other young people in Wales but they are also charged overseas students fees to go to university. This has stopped able students from going to universities including Cardiff and Oxford to study law, engineering and medicine. They still contribute to Wales, some by working hard in the voluntary sector; but at such an important point in their lives they are prevented from progressing to higher education and from working. I am disappointed that the Education Minister has not changed the Regulations to give them equal rights. I am currently taking legal advice on her opinion. In the meantime I am actively trying to persuade further education establishments to charge home fees to those students seeking asylum in Wales as is the case in Scotland if they have attended a Scottish school for three years.

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

— Aim 3 Enjoy the best possible physical and mental, social and emotional health, including freedom from abuse, victimisation and exploitation

Emotional wellbeing The children of Wales and the rest of the UK were bottom of the table in the UNICEF report into children’s wellbeing in western countries. Those countries at the top of the table reported that real participation and respect for children were key to their results. We have made progress in Wales in children’s participation but much more needs to be done in terms of respect, self esteem and listening to and hearing what children say to us and acting upon it. We have had many young people take their own lives in Wales; we must ensure that preventive and emergency services are available and accessible. We all have a role in encouraging children and developing their self esteem. Schools, projects in local communities, opportunities to train and work and play, counselling and advocacy services and CAMHS, in particular, can provide crucial support. I welcome the national suicide prevention action plan but this must translate into sustainable, accessible and adequately funded services. Our report Somebody Else’s Business (2007) and work by other organisations has repeatedly highlighted unacceptable inadequacies in CAMHS in Wales. There have been some improvements in the last year, but not enough. We still have an unacceptable situation where 16-18 year olds not in full time education and children with a primary diagnosis of a learning disability do not have an automatic right to child and adolescent mental health care.

The review conducted by Health Inspectorate Wales and Wales Audit Ofﬁce, to which my staff have contributed, must be acted upon quickly and the recommendations implemented and properly resourced or we will fail a generation of vulnerable children. Sexually harmful behaviour Previous annual reviews have highlighted the lack of a coherent national strategy to address the needs of children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour. These children have the right to an assessment and therapeutic intervention under the UNCRC and such intervention may prevent the harmful behaviour from continuing into adulthood. The Minister for Health and Social Services convened a task and ﬁnish group in 2008 to look at this issue. In May 2008 the group’s report made 11 recommendations including that a multi agency group should identify and disseminate best practice. Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards should develop local strategies and work together to develop regional commissioning of services. I will be monitoring the Minister’s response to the group’s recommendations. >>

Annual Review 07–08

Vulnerable children

Neonatal care

I welcome the emphasis WAG has placed on the importance of vulnerable children both in prioritising them within its legislative programme and in developing a vulnerable children strategy. The test will be how the strategy and Assembly Measures make a real difference in safeguarding vulnerable children and enabling them to reach their full potential. For these to make a real difference there needs to be substantial investment and resources, including a skilled work force. Current difﬁculties in recruiting and retaining child and family social workers must be addressed, as must low morale. There must be improvements in corporate parenting by local authorities and investment is also needed in preventative, early intervention, family support services, and foster placements.

Mothers and babies cared for in neonatal care units have the right to the best possible health care. However, there are often too few trained staff for recommended nursing levels to be met and there is no dedicated and properly equipped service to transport babies between units. I welcome WAG’s consultation on the Health Commission Wales Neonatal Review and their commitment to providing the highest standards of care underpinned by the Children and Young People’s Specialised Services Standards Project. I expect neonatal care to improve as a result and will continue to monitor this.

I will be tracking the progress of both the strategy and any Measures following the passage of the Vulnerable Children and Child Poverty LCO. I will also be listening to children and young people to assess the real impact on improving their lives.

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

— Aim 4 Have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities

Play is one of the many rights that children have under the UNCRC and is essential to their development. WAG led the way in the UK with a Play Policy launched in 2002 which is rooted ﬁrmly in the UNCRC. I welcome the introduction of the Foundation Phase in education with its emphasis on learning through play. However, I am aware of how children’s play opportunities are often reduced because of factors such as lack of transport in rural areas. It is essential that all departments in local authorities, including housing, planning, road trafﬁc and leisure work together to ensure play policy in Wales is realised. Children and young people also play in open spaces and it is essential to map out where children play and to factor this into planning decisions. My staff have supported children and young people to be heard in planning decisions, although it remains disappointingly rare that this happens despite children being recognised as a group of consultees in WAG guidance. It is also concerning that adults can sometimes be hostile when children and young people

participate. To maximise the use and effectiveness of recreational facilities children need to be heard in the planning and management processes. As evidenced in our report, A Happy Talent (2008), fully inclusive play has yet to become a reality for some children and young people. The review showed that while disabled children and young people enjoy playing many of the chances they have to play are organised with close adult supervision and they don’t always want or need this. There are also difﬁculties in accessing information, and although we are aware of some excellent work within local areas, many of the play strategies didn’t mention disabled children and young people at all. My team will be feeding back to local authorities on our assessment of their strategies, and I call on those revising plans to ensure that good practice on the ground is also reﬂected at a strategic level.

Annual Review 07–08

— Aim 5 Treated with respect and have their race and cultural identity recognised

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) The past year has seen many developments in the field of equality. The new EHRC has been established and works across the six equality strands. My team are working with them to help ensure that children’s rights are incorporated into the work of the commission. There are clear overlaps between our work and the work of the EHRC and by working together we will have a greater chance of improving children’s lives in Wales. I am very concerned that the UK Government has decided – despite many representations – to exclude children under 18 from the proposals to extend age discrimination legislation to cover goods, facilities and services and the single public sector equality duty. Young people in the UK face discrimination in benefit rates and the minimum wage. Sixteen and seventeen year olds receive the lowest benefit rates and the lowest minimum wage rate. There is no evidence at all to support the view that young people have lower living costs and in my view no justification for this discrimination.

Asylum and immigration I have been shocked by the lack of respect and the fundamental breaches of children’s rights in the asylum and immigration system. I have represented children who have been detained for months. They have returned to Wales traumatised by the experience, suffering physical symptoms such as weight loss and psychological symptoms such as nightmares, bedwetting, and behavioural problems. All have complained about the health care, food, education and searches in Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre and not being allowed to go to the toilet on the long journey. I have raised each case with Wales’ Education Minister and the UnderSecretary of State for Wales as well as the Minister responsible for Immigration and the Head of UK Borders Agency. Children should not be detained unless absolutely necessary, as stated in the UNCRC. I intend to visit and inspect the conditions in which children ordinarily resident in Wales are held. I will continue to make representations that these most vulnerable children should never be detained while their immigration status is being determined.

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

Positive images and portrayals of children and young people Negative stereotyping of children and young people was raised by the UK Children’s Commissioners in our report to the UN Committee on the rights of the child as we feel that these portrayals reinforce public fears and inﬂuence policy, legislation and even provision. This has been brought to my attention by children and young people and adults alike. Children and young people can, and do, make positive contributions in their communities and their achievements should be celebrated. I call on all those working for and on behalf of children and young people to challenge negative stereotyping and for government at all levels in Wales and the media in particular to promote positive images and the real and constructive contributions made.

Annual Review 07–08

— Aim 6 Have a safe home and a community that supports physical and emotional wellbeing

Substance Misuse Strategy

Youth justice

I welcome this WAG strategy’s increased emphasis on supporting families by reducing the risk of harm to children and adults that is a consequence of a parent’s, partners or a child’s substance misuse. According to the strategy, an estimated 17,500 children in Wales are living in families affected by drug misuse and 64,000 Welsh children may be adversely affected by parents’ alcohol problems.

I have commented on my concerns regarding youth justice among my headline issues above (p71).

There are examples of excellent practice where adult services and children’s services in health and social services are communicating and working well together to ensure that the needs of children affected by parents’ substance misuse are assessed and met. This needs to be consistent across the whole of Wales.

Issues affecting our country’s children and young people

— Aim 7 Are not disadvantaged by child poverty

My views on this issue are included in the headline issues section above (p72).

Child Death Reviews A recent report from the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) identified that 26% of child deaths had avoidable factors. The Child Death Review Panel announced by WAG is an important development for learning and sharing information nationally to prevent child deaths. The pilot will consider all child suicides from 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2009 and my staff are in close contact with the National Public Health Service to consider how my office can contribute most effectively to the pilot.

Keith Towler

Annual Review 07–08

Financial Information

The information in this section is based on our full annual report and accounts for the year ended 31st March 2008. This is an overview and does not include all the information needed to give a full picture of the results and status of the ﬁnancial affairs of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. The full annual report and accounts include all relevant information required by law and the Financial Reporting Manual and have been laid before the National Assembly for Wales (the Assembly).

A copy of the annual report and accounts is available free of charge from the CCfW registered ofﬁce: Children’s Commissioner for Wales Oystermouth House, Charter Court Phoenix Way, Llansamlet Swansea SA7 9FS

Annual Review 07–08

Auditors The Children’s Commissioner for Wales accounts are examined and certiﬁed by the Auditor General for Wales in accordance with paragraph 9 of Schedule 2 to the Care Standards Act 2000 (Note 8). Bentley Jennison provide internal audit services for the Commissioner. During the period no remuneration was paid to the auditors for nonaudit work.

Aim and Objectives of the Children’s Commissioner For Wales for the period 1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008 Aim To safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children and in exercising all of his functions to have regard to the UN convention on the rights of the child. The Commissioner’s objectives were as follows:

Results for the year The Operating Cost Statement shows a net operating cost, for the period, of £1,754,000 (200607: £1,581,000) representing an increase in net expenditure of 10.9 percent compared to 2006-07. The general fund balance as at the year-end is £322,000 (2006-07: £177,000).

01 To promote the rights and welfare of children, and to ensure that the children and young people of Wales are aware of the existence of the Commissioner, of his role and function; the location of his ofﬁces, the way that they can communicate/access the Commissioner and his staff and the rights of children and young people, particularly those set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; to encourage that communication/access; and ensure that public bodies of Wales are aware of the rights of children and young people. 02 To ensure that the views of children and young people are sought as to how the Commissioner should exercise his function and to the content of the Commissioner’s annual work programme. 03 To review and monitor the operation of complaints, advocacy and advice and whistle blowing arrangements to ascertain whether and to what extent they are effective in safeguarding and promoting the rights and welfare of children.

04 To review and monitor the effect on children of the exercise or proposed exercise of any function of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government and/or bodies listed at Schedule 2a of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Act 2001. 05 To examine cases of particular children who are or have received regulated services from bodies listed at Schedule 2a of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Act 2001. 06 To provide or arrange for advice representation or other assistance to a child in making a formal complaint or representation to a service provider; and/or any proceedings which concerns the provision of services, if in the Commissioner’s reasonable opinion the proceedings relate to matters which have a more general application or relevance to the rights and welfare of children in Wales. To give advice and information to any person. 07 To keep under review the powers of the Commissioner and the effect on children. 08 To consider and make representations to the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government about any matter affecting the rights and welfare of children in Wales. Objectives are reviewed regularly to ensure that they reﬂect the role and function of the Commissioner. The apportionment of operating costs to objectives has been made with reference to the relative amounts of time spent by staff on the above objectives.

Financial Information

2007 – 2008 Objective

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Gross £000

Income £000

Net £000

Gross £000

Income £000

Net £000

823 267 48 85 3 370 28 130

— — — — — — — —

823 267 48 85 3 370 28 130

759 234 70 82 19 262 38 117

— — — — — — — —

759 234 70 82 19 262 38 117

1,754

—

1,754

1,581

—

1,581

Other administration costs Rental under operating leases Vehicles Accommodation Photocopier Other accommodation & related costs IT & telecommunications Vehicle & ofﬁce maintenance Publicity, advertising & translation Travel, subsistence & hospitality Recruitment Auditor’s remuneration Legal & consultancy Other expenditure Non-cash items Depreciation Loss on disposal of ﬁxed assets Cost of capital

2006 – 2007

2007 – 2008

2006 – 2007

£000

1 71 9

5 56 5

29 37 19 11 61 42 26 57 201

29 30 17 8 60 14 63 150

51 9

44 5

624

486

Annual Review 07–08

Children’s Commissioner for Wales

Oystermouth House Phoenix Way Llansamlet Swansea SA7 9FS T 01792 765600 F 01792 765601 Penrhos Manor Oak Drive Colwyn Bay Conwy LL29 7YW T 01492 523333 F 01492 523336

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