State of Children's Rights 2018

In the 30th year since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was first adopted by the United Nations, our annual State of Children’s Rights in England report takes a look back at the past year to assess how well the government is respecting children’s rights.

Evidence from our 100 members (made up of the leading children’s charities and academics) and new data shows the government has made little progress on important issues such as child homelessness, rising school exclusions and how children are treated by the police; ignoring stark warnings from the UN. The wellbeing of the nation’s children should be one of the government’s top priorities, yet we have found clear evidence that children’s best interests are being overlooked and their rights violated because of a focus on Brexit and systematic failures to protect them.

While there are positive examples of government action to improve children’s rights highlighted in the report, for example, steps taken to better safeguard children in care and those with mental health issues, we still have a long way to go to achieve the positive vision of childhood set out in the UNCRC back in 1989.

The report takes the form of eight easy-to-read thematic stand-alone briefings:

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Children at the Centre -The General Measures of Implementation & General Principles of the CRC
  3. Poverty & Homelessness
  4. Safeguarding Children
  5. Immigration, Asylum & Trafficking
  6. Education, Leisure & Cultural Activities
  7. Health
  8. Policing & Criminal Justice

Read more in our press release.