Sam is eight years old. He has autism and other special educational needs and was permanently excluded from his school last year. His family believed the exclusion resulted from his disability. They wanted to challenge it, but the school took an inordinately long time to arrange a hearing, well over the 15 school days allowed. In the meantime, Sam watched his friends and brother continue to attend school whilst he stayed home. We don’t yet know the full impact this has had on Sam - psychologically and on his life chances - but it’s not looking good.
Vulnerable children like Sam have been the worst affected by UK government policies made in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these policy decisions have been made without a Child Rights Impact Assessment despite a Government commitment to take the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into account when making policy decisions during the pandemic.
Today marks International Children’s Day, which celebrates the adoption of the UNCRC. Its vision is to set out the basic things that children under 17 years old need to thrive: the right to an adequate standard of living, to be protected from all forms of violence, an education, to play, be healthy, and be cared for. Children’s rights should act as a safety net, meaning children always receive at least this minimum standard of treatment whatever the changing economic or political climate.
