Children’s Rights training rolled out to all Government staff

Minister for Children and Education, Deputy Jeremy Maçon, is the first of more than 7,000 Government of Jersey employees to complete a new Children’s Rights Awareness training course.

The interactive online training, which was launched yesterday, uses videos and quizzes to support all staff (whether or not their role is child-facing) to identify what children’s rights are, why children’s rights are important, and how Government and individuals can promote children’s rights. 

 It will be mandatory for all current staff and new starters, and will take roughly one hour to complete.

The training is being rolled out ahead of the planned new ‘due regard’ law which will introduce a duty for Ministers, States Members, the Government of Jersey and some public authorities to demonstrate that they have considered children’s rights.  

The draft Rights of Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 202- will mean that this consideration is written into Jersey’s legislation, and will further support the Island’s commitment to promoting and protecting children’s rights in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). 

This includes the Government’s commitment to the progressive implementation of the Convention, “by creating systems and passing laws that promote and protect children’s rights,” as described in Article 4 of the UNCRC.

Grouville School’s Rights Respecting Ambassadors feature in the videos, which were filmed and produced by young people studying Media Production at Highlands College and Photography at Hautlieu School. 

Minister for Children and Education, Deputy Jeremy Maçon, said: “A key element of the Jersey’s commitment to children’s rights is promoting understanding across the Government. Across Government, our work impacts children in many direct and indirect ways. 

“That’s why it’s vital for staff across the organisation to understand what children’s rights are, and how each individual member of staff can protect and promote children’s rights in the work that they do.

“I’m especially pleased to see that this training has been produced in Jersey, and will be specific to our local context. This includes the images, which have produced by students at Highlands College and Hautlieu School, and interviews with the Rights Respecting Ambassadors at Grouville School.”