07 March 2018
Children, young people, parents and carers in Jersey are invited to meet the new Children’s Commissioner, this weekend, at a drop-in event to speak to her directly about any issues they may face.
The event is taking place on Saturday, 10 March, from 12pm to 3pm, at The Link, Eagle House, La Colomberie. As this is a drop-in event, no booking is required and children and young people can just turn up on the day.
Deborah McMillan started her new role as the first Children’s Commissioner for Jersey on 8 January and has launched an Island wide consultation to ask children and young people for their views on what should be her areas of focus.
The role of the Children’s Commissioner is to listen to children and young people to find out what is important to them.
This event forms part of her overall consultation and will give children, young people, parents and carers the opportunity to come and speak to her about areas that she should be prioritising.
In addition to this drop in event, the online surveys are still available to be completed online, and have been designed for children aged from three to eighteen years old.
More than 1,000 online surveys have already been completed since the launch a couple of weeks ago.
Once the Children’s Commissioner’s Office has the information from the online surveys and group discussions, it will publish its strategic plan for the next three years.
Mrs McMillan said: “I want to speak to as many children and young people as possible. This event is an opportunity for people to speak to me about issues they’re concerned about in a relaxed environment. I will be running these events on a regular basis and hope children and young people will take the opportunity to come and tell me what I can do to improve things for them in Jersey.”
The role of the Children’s Commissioner will be explicitly focused on the promotion and protection of children’s rights and will be underpinned by the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Commissioner will be encouraging and supporting all schools in Jersey to become Rights Respecting Schools.
The Children’s Commissioner for Jersey will:
· support children and young people to find out about children’s rights
· listen to children and young people to find out what’s important to them
· advise children, young people and those who care for them if they feel they’ve got nowhere else to go with their problems
· influence government and other organisations who have a responsibility for making a difference to children’s lives, making sure they keep their promises to children and young people
· speak up for children and young people on important issues – the Commissioner will be the children’s champion
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