November children’s rights month 2023
We want Cheshire East to be a great place to be young, a place that respects and champions the rights of all children and young people, encouraging them to express their views and be actively involved in decisions that affect their lives.
So we dedicate the whole month of November to raising awareness of children’s rights and making it clear to children and young people that we value their opinions.
November Children’s Rights Month (NCRM) is an initiative of the Cheshire East Youth Council. This year the theme is based on Article 24 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, which states that “Every child has the right to the best possible health. Governments must provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food, and a clean environment and education on health and wellbeing so that children can stay healthy”. There is an emphasis on the cost-of-living crisis and how this connects to children and young people’s health and wellbeing for example, equality and food poverty.
This year’s campaign will focus on Article 24 with an emphasis on the cost of living crisis and how this connects to children and young people’s health and wellbeing for example, equality and food poverty.
Opportunities you could take to recognise and celebrate children’s rights
You can support NCRM by selecting one or more of the opportunities set out below. These have been put together to enable children and young people to influence the decisions that affect their lives.
Opportunity 1 – Takeover day:
Offer an opportunity to put a child or young person into a decision-making position for the day. Give children and young people the chance to experience the world of work and allow them to influence the way your team or organisation delivers the services they receive.
Opportunity 2 – Approaches to participation training:
A great opportunity for frontline staff or managers who are responsible for services that support children and young people. A session about the Lundy Model, approaches to participation and upskill in embedding participation in your day-to-day work.
The Lundy Model of Participation is an approach that has been incorporated into the Children and Young People’s Participation Strategy (PDF, 1.76MB) and supports adults to uphold their responsibility under Article 12 of the UNCRC.
Session dates and times are:
- 21 November – 10:00am - 12:30pm on Microsoft Teams
- 23 November – 1:00pm - 3:30pm on Microsoft Teams
Opportunity 3 – Deliver a session to capture the voices of children and young people connected to Article 24:
Deliver session plans and activities designed by young people aimed at capturing their views, wishes and feelings on the cost of living crisis, food poverty and wellbeing.
Opportunity 4 – Hold a bake sale and raise money for your chosen food banks in Cheshire East:
Cheshire East’s participation groups intend to hold bake sales to raise money for Food Banks across Cheshire East and they invite you to do the same! Once you have chosen this opportunity you will be sent a list of Food Banks that you can donate your proceeds to.
It’s really simple to take part:
Complete the November Children's rights month online form and the participation team will send you all of the information you need.
At the end of November the Participation Team will contact you and ask you to complete a short feedback form to develop future campaigns.
Please also show your support for the campaign by adding them NCRM logo (JPG, 189KB) to your email signature.
Events taking place during NCRM 2023
- National Care Leaver Week, 25 October - 1 November – events and activities for Care Leavers to celebrate their achievements and review the local offer. This year’s theme is CARE (Celebrate Care Leavers, Amplify their voices, Raise awareness of challenges, Encourage change in policy and practice).
- Youth Work Week, 6 - 12 November – this year’s theme is “Youth Work in Every Space and Place” aimed at celebrating the positive impact that Youth Work has on young people’s lives.
- Children and Families Committee, 13 November – children and young people will take over elements of Children and Families Committee to share their views on agenda items with elected members to inform their decision making.
- House of Commons Sitting, 17 November – Cheshire East’s Members of Youth Parliament will attend and take part in their annual debate with the UK Youth Parliament to form the national campaign.
- Star Celebration Day, 19 November – annual event to celebrate the achievements of our Cared for Children.
- Universal Children’s Day, 20 November – a day to celebrate and raise awareness of children’s rights.
Events that took place in 2022
The theme for 2022 was based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which states that “Children have the right to give their opinion freely on issues that affect them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.”
Events that took place in 2021
The theme for 2021 was how the rights of children and young people were affected during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Staff took part in opportunities based on the 6 outcomes of the Children and Young People’s Plan.
Events that took place in 2020
The theme for 2020 was mental health. Throughout the month we hosted a range of virtual activities including yoga, a letter to future self and gratitude journal.
Events that took place in 2019
The theme in 2019 centred on going the distance for children’s rights. Throughout the month we hosted a range of activities and campaigns ranging from ‘reverse take over’ where professionals chose a challenge set by young people, to donating food and toiletries to vulnerable children and families and making pledges to ‘go the distance’ for children and young people in 2020.
Events that took place in 2018
The theme in 2018 centred on stepping up for children’s rights. Throughout the month we hosted a range of activities and campaigns ranging from ‘Stepping Up’ for children’s rights, the Youth Support Service Awards and the STAR awards.
Page last reviewed: 14 March 2024