Council and democracy

Hertfordshire Children's Charter

The Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership brings together all organisations and services which support children and young people in Hertfordshire. All children and young people should enjoy a healthy life, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, contribute to their lives and grow up with opportunities for their future.

What will a charter do?

The Children’s Charter will tell children aged 0-13 years, and adults, of the rights of children in Hertfordshire. It will explain what the Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership will do to meet these rights. These rights will help services become more children focused and friendly and therefore help to improve children’s lives.

The Charter will be based on The United Nations Convention on The Rights of The Child (UNCRC).

How will we make a charter?

In the consultation phase we will ask adults and children for their views and ideas about:

• what is important to children
• what problems they have
• how these problems can be put right

The Children's Charter Consultation Phase - Thank You

The Children’s Charter consultation phase has finished.
We have spoken with over 400 children from a variety of settings, including Children’s Fund groups, Early Years settings, Black Minority Ethnic Groups, Traveler Groups, Children Looked After and primary schools for both mainstream and special needs.

Thank you to all the children that gave us their ideas and to all who supported them.

What Happens Now?

We will collate all the views and ideas and write the Charter during summer 2007. We will then consult with children and adults on the wording, and plan to have a final Charter by the end of 2007.

What will the Charter look like?

The Charter will be set around the Every Child Matters five outcomes, which are:

• Enjoying and Achieving
• Staying safe
• Making a contribution
• Keeping healthy
• Economic well-being

The Charter will list in a formal document the rights for all children aged 0-13 years. There will also be resources for both in-school and out-of-school settings, and they will show the rights in a way that children will be able to understand.