Children and Young People have lots of rights and it is important that as adults we recognise and take them seriously

When children don’t feel that they are being treated properly they should talk to someone they can trust to see whether they can help them get it sorted. When young people feel that things are not going as well as they should be, they have the right to complain or even make a suggestion or comment about how they are being treated and the services they are receiving. Doing this can sometimes improve things for themselves and other young people.

An example of how things can improve: -

Lots of young people in homes and foster care told Roger Morgan, Children's Rights Director, that they were not allowed to stay at their friends' houses. This was because their friends' parents hadn't had police checks. This was unfair because children living with their own parents are allowed to stay over in friends' houses and their friends' parents don't get police checks. Roger asked the government to sort this problem out and they agreed with Roger that children in homes and foster care shouldn't be stopped from staying at friends' houses just because their parents haven’t been checked. The Government now say that so long as foster parents and staff exercise the usual cautions to make sure young people will be safe then staying with friends is not a problem. So what you tell us really does make a difference!

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