Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Child Friendly Nottingham?
Child Friendly Nottingham is a city-wide partnership programme to put children’s rights into practice by working with Nottingham’s partners and more importantly children and young people themselves. Nottingham is committed to improving the lives of children and young people by realising their rights as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The programme in Nottingham aims to create a city where all children and young people will have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit from, the decisions, services and spaces that shape their lives.
Child Friendly Cities & Communities (CFC) is a UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) programme that works with councils to put children’s rights into practice. UNICEF UK works with councils and partners across cities and communities to help them take a child rights-based approach.
What Is A Child Rights-Based Approach?
UNICEF UK’s child rights-based approach is a practical tool made up of seven principles. It is for anyone making decisions that directly or indirectly impact children and young people. For example, this could be from where to build a playground to deciding on budgets or a child’s care. Using a child rights-based approach will help ensure that decisions are firmly embedded in children’s rights. As a result, this will deliver better outcomes for all children and young people.
How Do We Work Towards Becoming Child Friendly Nottingham?
The Child Friendly Nottingham programme employs UNICEF UK’s badge framework which allow us to focus on defined areas of work during our partnership with UNICEF UK.
Achieving the badges shows how the partnership of the city council, organisations, young and older citizens can make Nottingham truly child friendly. There are three ‘core’ badges (or priority areas) that are mandatory for all cities, these are;
- Communications
- Cooperation and Leadership
- Culture
Over 9,000 children and young people collaborated to choose three more badges. These are;
- Safe and Secure
- Education and Learning
- Healthy
Nottingham has also decided to work towards the Equal and Included Badge. This will be a golden thread linking all the badges together.
Why Is Making Nottingham Child Friendly So important?
Children’s views often go unheard on the many important issues that affect them. Yet we know the healthy development of children is crucial to the well-being of our society and city. Involving our youngest citizens will mean there will be less demand for support services during their adult lives.
Many changes in society are having a disproportionate, and often negative, impact on our children. The badges that the children and young people have chosen are all things that are important to them. Safe and secure, healthy and education and learning are all things that they value. We will encourage our young citizens to work towards leading healthier lifestyles and achieving the best they can. We will provide safe spaces for them to grow. This will help them become adults who work towards and want the same for their children and the future of Nottingham.
How Much Is This Going To Cost?
Nottingham charity Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) is supporting the initial administration and set up costs of Nottingham Child Friendly City, with financial support from the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘A Better Start’ programme.
This has provided a great opportunity for us to build on work already started with some of our youngest children, in some of our most diverse communities.
We encourage organisations to make a child rights-based approach part of their plans and delivery of their services. By taking a strategic view, organisations can include how to be Child Friendly in their normal budgeting and planning.
What Has Been Done So Far?
We have been working with children and young people across the city to gather their views and opinions. The team have also been engaging with the city council and other partner organisations.
Nottingham’s Child Friendly City Action Plan
A city-wide Child Friendly Nottingham Action Plan has been developed through Badge working groups and engagement with children and young people groups and partner’s support. Some of the partners involvement across the city to include the Police, Health partnerships, all departments within the Council, the Universities (UoN and NTU), Education partners, ChalleNGe and the cultural partnership as well as the voluntary organisations and many other partners. The Child Friendly Nottingham Action Plan includes 16 outcomes and numerous workstreams and activities with plans to produce evidence to showcase both the cultural and systemic change of supporting a child-based rights approach and positive transformation for Nottingham’s children and young people.
Where Can I Find Out About Child Friendly Nottingham?
You can find out more about Child Friendly Nottingham here Child Friendly Nottingham - Nottingham City Council
Contact: child.friendly@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Where Can I Find Out More About The UN Convention On The Rights Of The Child (UNCRC)?
You can find out more about the UNCRC here The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The children’s version | UNICEF
Where can I find out more about Child Friendly Cities & Communities?
You can find out more about Child Friendly Cities & Communities here.