How will you hear me.....?
Learning from Serious Case Reviews repeatedly highlights to us all the absolute importance of listening to 'The Voice of the Child'.
The Voice of the Child also includes babies who are pre-verbal and children with disabilities who may communicate in more varied ways. It is important to ensure that we listen to children and young people, take time to observe babies/children and try our utmost to understand all children's lived experiences of their daily life.
We should ask ourselves what would a day be like for this child? What is the reality of their day to day life?
'Was not Heard' - was developed by children and young people from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The film talks about the right to be listened to and taken seriously which relates to Article 12 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in the UK in 1992, states that children have a right to an opinion and for that to be heard and taken seriously in all matters affecting them. This is widely reflected in national and local policy, and universally accepted as good practice across the UK. However, there is plenty of evidence that, this doesn’t always happen. So, what exactly are the barriers to hearing children’s voices in frontline safeguarding services? What can we do better to include and consider the views and lived experiences of the children and young people we work with?
There are also some videos available that were filmed during the making of 'Was not Heard' and give great insight into what children think and believe.
There are also some great resources for for gaining the voice of the child understanding why this is important: links to How Will You Hear Me video clips by Leicester City Council Rights and Participation Team who work to support and empower young people to be involved in and shape decisions that affect their lives.
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