Children and young people, school representatives, and partners from across the public, private, voluntary and community sectors, joined forces with Torbay Council at a special event as part of Torbay’s work with The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) towards becoming a child friendly community.

The ‘Discovery Day’ event saw children and young people from across Torbay coming together to learn about their human rights, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Professionals from Torbay Council, schools, health and voluntary and community providers attended including the Leader of the Council and other Councillors. Children and young people attended from Shiphay Learning Academy, Oldway Primary School, Mayfield College and some who were educated at home.

The day was an opportunity for children and young people to share their experiences of living in Torbay with adults working with children and families and share their ideas for making Torbay more child friendly.

Torbay is in the ‘Discovery’ phase of its three-to-five year journey to become recognised as a UNICEF Child Friendly Community. The aim is to make Torbay a place where all children have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit from, the decisions, services and spaces that shape their lives. An important part of the Discovery Day was the opportunity children and young people had to vote on their top priorities for the rest of the programme. Progress will then be measured against these priorities (called ‘badges’ on the programme).

The event was held at the Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) in Torquay and was hosted by Anne-Marie Bond, Chief Executive Officer from Torbay Council, and Cllr David Thomas, Leader of the Council. It was attended by local children and professionals working for children and families. Activities included:

• A warm-up game asking attendees to design their dream child-friendly community
• Presentation from Nancy Meehan, Director of Children’s Services, supported by children and young people, painting the local picture about life in Torbay and children’s rights locally
• Presentation from UNICEF UK about children’s rights internationally, nationally and regionally
• Activities to identify areas of pride and challenge in Torbay – areas which are considered strengths or which need improvement.
• Choosing the badges (priorities) to focus on for the next 2 to 4 years to enable Torbay to be recognised as a UNICEF Child Friendly Community.

Leader of Torbay Council David Thomas said: “We are delighted to be able to join forces with local children and young people and partners from a range of organisations across Torbay to work with UNICEF UK towards becoming a Child Friendly Community.

“This Discovery Day was really just the start of our journey, this is a process that will take up to five years, and we are very excited to be choosing the ‘Badges’ that Torbay will be focusing on going forward.”

Sarah Handley, Child Friendly Cities and Communities Programme Manager at UNICEF UK said: “When local decisions are made and services like health, education and policing are delivered in line with a child rights-based approach, whole cities and communities benefit. Torbay has made a commitment to upholding the rights of every child and their Discovery Day was an important part of making sure that children and young people’s voices are at the heart of making that commitment a reality for all.”

Councillor Cordelia Law, Chair of Torbay’s Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Board, who also attended the event, said: “The Discovery Day was a fantastic event, and sharing a table with three wonderful young people from Oldway Primary School, confirmed my commitment to a Child Rights Based Approach to our Young People in Torbay. Our children are 23% of our population, but 100% of our future! I look forward to finding out which badges our young people choose.”

The work towards becoming a UNICEF Child Friendly Community sees councillors, council staff and local community and voluntary sector partners turning to children’s rights to guide decisions that affect children and young people in Torbay.

The right of the child to have their views heard and taken seriously for example, will mean that children will have a say in council decisions – from major policies, to decisions around the care they receive – as well as the opportunity to design local services and spaces.

The goal of the programme is to make communities places where all the local children and young people have a positive and meaningful input, so they can benefit from the plans, decisions, spaces and services they use and that impact their lives where they grow up.

In addition to the children attending the event, other children and young people in Torbay provided their views to enable us to choose the Badges via a series of engagement events at schools, colleges and community groups.

More information about UNICEF UK’s Child Friendly Cities & Communities programme is available on the UNICEF UK website.