28 June 2021
Children and young people in schools and nurseries across the Island will take part in activities this week to mark the second Jersey Children's Day on 3 July 2021.
Jersey Children's Day was one of the suggestions made by a Citizens' Panel, who are a group of Islanders, working on the Legacy Project of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry.
The Citizens' Panel recommended that Jersey Children's Day was held on 3 July, the anniversary of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, as both a day of remembering the Island's past, but a day to look forward to bright futures.
The Tree of Renewal project for the first Jersey Children's Day, in 2020, saw trees gifted to schools and nurseries, and children and young people reflecting on growth and wellbeing following the reopening of schools after the closure during the pandemic.
This year, schools and nurseries will receive stickers with the Jersey Children's Day emblem design, which was designed by a Haute Vallée student, and share their hopes for the future.
The Citizens Panel said: "Jersey Children's Day provides us with a focus on children and young people living in Jersey as well as providing us with the opportunity to remember the survivors and victims who were failed by the Island's care system.
"The day is about children and young people understanding their rights and the importance of their voice being heard. To help realise this vision, we ask that before the 3 July 2022, all schools and government departments identify a named person who can ensure Children's Day is a key date in all our calendars."
Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, said: "On behalf of the Government of Jersey, I would like to thank the Citizens' Panel who have worked tirelessly, since the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, to ensure that Jersey Children's Day is not only a day to remember the Islands' past - but a day to also look forward to bright futures.
"Just like the Citizens' Panel recommended, one of our key priorities, in our pledge to put children first, is to involve and listen to their views. I look forward to hearing the reflections of students for Jersey Children's Day and their hopes for the future."
The Variety Sailing Trust are offering children in care a sailing day on Jersey Children's Day. A picnic on the beach and a sports day for Children's Social Care residential staff is being planned, weather permitting.
As part of Jersey Children's Day, the Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) is working with Art House Jersey again this year on The Map of Wonders project, which has now reached more than 3,000 schoolchildren, with 24 primary schools taking part.
Its aim is to support young people's well-being while using the arts to increase and improve creativity across all schools in the Island.
Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle, said: "We are delighted that this joint project with CYPES will come to fruition in time to align with Children's Day because the project initially grew from the ideas of children in our schools. The Map of Wonders focuses on developing pupils' wellbeing through art, in addition to connecting them to their Island community using Jersey folklore as a context.
"The final episode focuses on the Island, planet Earth and the wider universe. It encourages pupils to express their hopes and fears for the future both verbally and through the self-expression present in their artwork. Children's Day gives us an ideal opportunity to highlight the voice and opinions of our primary school pupils."
gov.je