November children’s rights month 2024

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 and this year’s theme is based on Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which states that “Children’s education should help them fully develop their personalities, talents and abilities. It should teach them to understand their own rights, and to respect other people’s rights, cultures and differences. It should help them to live peacefully and protect the environment.”

This year’s focus will be on education connected to hate crime and discrimination after young people in Cheshire East said that “Crime and Safety” was the most important topic to them in the 11-18 year old youth ballot Make Your Mark back in February 2024.

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 – 1:00pm-3:30pm on Microsoft Teams
26 November – 10:00am-12:30pm on Microsoft Teams

Opportunity 3 – Take part in the “Hate Stops Here” campaign by delivering a session on hate crime which has been developed by young people for young people:

Linking to Article 29 of the UNCRC, “Hate Stops Here” is a new campaign developed by Cheshire East Youth Council, who aim to educate children and young people on hate crime, the impact of hate crime and make recommendations on how professionals such as teachers and youth workers should respond to hate crime. By choosing this opportunity you will receive the campaign resources which includes session plans, social media resources and recommendations on how to create a “Hate Free Zone” in your setting.

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 2024

National Care Leaver Week, 28 October - 3 November – events and activities for Care Leavers to celebrate their achievements and review the local offer. This year’s theme is All of Us, We are One which is based around connecting communities.
Youth Work Week, 4 - 10 November – this year’s theme is A Right to Youth Work for all – delivering positive futures for young people.There will be an event on Wednesday 6^th November hosted by the Youth Support Service which will bring together young people with Senior Managers to set the priorities of the Children and Young People’s Trust Board.
Children and Families Committee, 11 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.
Children and Young People’s Trust Board, 14 November – young people co-chair the Children and Young People’s Trust Board with Senior Leaders and are involved in the decisions that affect their lives.
Universal Children’s Day, 20 November – a day to celebrate and raise awareness of children’s rights.
Star Celebration Day, 24 November – annual event to celebrate the achievements of our Cared for Children.

Events that took place in 2023

The theme for 2023 was 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 was 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.

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.”

Summary of all the activities that took place during November 2022 (PDF, 1.46MB)

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.

Summary of all the activities that took place during November 2021 (PDF, 1MB)

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.

Summary of all the activities that took place during November 2019 (PDF, 4MB)

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.