All children have a right to have their voice heard and be listened to
(Article 12 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - UNCRC)
It is well established that all children should be listened to, yet how we do this can be challenging in practice, especially in the Early Years.
The Rights in Early Years poster provides an overview of the key elements needed to provide a positive rights based environment, and listening is key as well as positive relationships and a safe and encouraging environment.
Listening is about finding ways to communicate and finding opportunities, techniques and approaches for children to express their views.
Welsh Government funded a small scale project to allow Children in Wales to research and find ways of listening to babies and very young children, and to trial some approaches with:
- Babies (0-1 years old)
- Toddlers (1-2 years old)
- Pre-schoolers (3-4 years old)
The following videos and training resources below provide an overview of the project and offer a starting point to supporting babies and very young children’s voice to be heard.
Video Resources
We have also produced a wider range of resources covering more of the UNCRC articles and how we can support rights within the three specific age categories.
In line with the new Non-maintained curriculum, the Curriculum Resource for Pre Schoolers make specific links and support practitioners understanding.
Further information and resources on this topic alongside some great talking point posters can be found at: www.voicebirthtoseven.co.uk
Look Who’s Talking: Eliciting the Voices of Children from Birth to Seven
They include: Voice; Democracy; Culture; Listen with Purpose; Space and Place; Skills and Tools; Enable and Build Capacity.
"capture voice from birth"
"its all about relationships"
"Voices come together in different ways"
"Opportunity to change the course of a child’s life"
Supporting Digital Rights in the Early Years
In the ever growing digital world we need to make sure that the rights of every child, even the youngest, are respected, protected and fulfilled in the digital environment.
If you want to know more about this project or Rights in the Early Years, please contact Anna Westall, Senior Policy Officer anna.westall@childreninwales.org.uk
These resources are funded by Welsh Government. The views expressed in these resources are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the funder.