Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for the National Care Service Charter of Rights

2. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Evidence from:

2.1 Existing research / reports / policy expertise

Evidence to inform decision making was collated from a range of sources such as:

• The Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC)
• Responses to the National Care Service (NCS) Consultation
• A review of social covenants and charters conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
• Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS) Concluding Report Children's Services Reform Research Concluding report (celcis.org)
• The Promise Team (Scottish Government)
• Children’s Services Reform Unit and Children’s Rights Team

Key Findings

Evidence gathered from desk research and published reports highlights:

• the importance of children and young people understanding and realising their rights when accessing care and support services
• a need for improved participation in decisions that affect children and young people’s care

Collaboration with policy experts highlights:

• the importance of recognising additional rights afforded to children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
• the value of including links to accessible, child-friendly resources (such as the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and Young Scot)
• the need for the Charter to be understandable and accessible for both adults and children and young people

Collaboration with colleagues from the Children’s Services Reform Unit and Children’s Rights Team helped ensure that the Charter content aligns with the Scottish Government’s wider policy direction, which is to signpost children and young people to specialist and appropriate child-friendly resources that are designed and developed by and for them.

The Children’s Rights Team drafted the section within the Charter which is aimed at children and young people. This content was tested with children and young people to ensure it met user needs, as outlined below.

2.2 Stakeholder engagement and co-design

Targeted engagement was undertaken with a range of stakeholders with experience of working with children and young people, including:

• Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS)
• Young Carer Workers Alliance
• Action for Children
• Salvesen Mindroom Centre

Draft content was shared with these stakeholders, along with a set of questions to gather feedback on children and young people’s experiences of using the Charter including:

• the appropriateness and accessibility of the language used and improvements that could be made
• any gaps in content, including missing information or supporting resources
• how the Charter could work best for the children and young people that each stakeholder represented

Key findings

Children’s rights content

Most stakeholders identified a need to strengthen the visibility of children’s rights within the Charter, including:

• a clear declarative statement that all Charter rights apply equally to children and adults (unless otherwise stated)
• clarification that children have additional rights in some contexts
• reflecting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) more clearly in the Charter

Length and accessibility

Stakeholders raised concerns about the length and accessibility of the Charter, suggesting that the Charter was too long and that this could be a potential barrier to engagement for children and young people. This aligns with insights from wider co-design that the Charter should be kept as short, simple and accessible as possible.

2.3 Consultation / feedback directly from children and young people

Engagement was undertaken with a range of children and young people’s groups, including:

• Edinburgh Young Carers
• Young carers attending the Young Carers Festival
• Action for Children (supported children and young people)

Methods of evidence gathering were adapted to suit the needs of each group involved including:

• a focus group with Edinburgh Young Carers to explore lived experiences and potential use of the Charter
• a discussion session at the Young Carers Festival on their rights, what was important to them as young carers and information needs to carry out their caring roles
• a workshop facilitated by Action for Children using an early draft of the Charter and a set of questions to gather feedback on its content
• a co-design session with 10 children and young people to test draft content on children’s rights

Key Findings

Edinburgh Young Carers Focus Group

Responses indicated that young carers are sometimes unhappy with their experiences of care including when external carers come into their homes. They sometimes feel uncomfortable raising these concerns or providing feedback due to fear of repercussions.

When asked what role they thought the Charter might play and how it may help them, one young carer said:

“It sets your mind at ease that there is something out there to protect the person you’re caring for. Not all of it is on your shoulders. It’s good that the government knows that this is something that needs to be looked at and won’t be swept under the rug.”

The Young Carers Festival

Discussions with young carers highlighted that the following rights are most important to them when considering rights as a carer;

• the right to have a voice and be listened to
• the right to choose
• the right to freedom
• the right to have a break from caring

They also told us that the following information was needed to fully understand their rights and what to expect as a young carer accessing the social care system;

• financial information
• advice and practical information including links to support services

Young carers told us that they had a lot of responsibility but did not always feel respected or heard by adults or professionals. They also said that their wellbeing was important. Discussions indicated a general lack of awareness of rights for young carers including rights to a Young Carer statement.

Action for Children workshop

Children and young people indicated that the Charter would have a positive impact on them by raising their awareness of rights. They also made some suggestions to;

• update some of the language within the Charter to make it more person-centred
• improve the format and visual appeal of the Charter
• include clearer mechanisms for accessing services and support.

Participants also highlighted that the Charter, in its early draft form, felt too general and could be strengthened through greater personalisation.

Action for Children co-design session

Following on from this engagement, we worked with policy colleagues in the Children’s Rights Team to develop a specific section in the Charter on children’s rights, including signposting to resources that tell children and young people about their rights.

To test this section, Action for Children facilitated a co-design session with 10 children and young people.

Feedback from the co-design session was generally positive. Most participants reported that:

• the Charter was easy to understand

• they would use it if it was easy to navigate (9 out of 10 participants).

Young people identified the Charter as a useful tool to:

• inform them of their entitlements
• support understanding of their rights, particularly in relation to advocacy
• provide support if issues arise with their care or support

Mirroring what we had previously heard from policy teams, participants also emphasised the importance of including information about the UNCRC. However, they noted that presenting too much complex detail could lead to disengagement from children and young people.