‘AN ASSEMBLY FOR CHILDREN’ – BARNARDO’S INTRODUCES CHILDRENS MANIFESTO

– Charity calls on politicians to commit to making the next Assembly an Assembly for children –

– One in four children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty –

Barnardo’s Northern Ireland today hosts an event at Parliament Buildings to introduce its calls for the next Assembly as the election nears. The charity’s goal is to transform the lives of more vulnerable children by building stronger families, safer childhoods and positive futures. To do this, it recognises that public, private, community and voluntary sectors need to work together, and believes the next Assembly needs to be an Assembly for children.

NI Commissioner for Children and Young People, Koulla Yiasouma, said: “I welcome this manifesto from Barnardo’s Northern Ireland which serves as a reminder of the critical role that voluntary sector organisations play in securing best outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people.  The calls represent tangible steps that must be taken to progress the realisation of children’s rights.  I look forward to seeing how the Northern Ireland Assembly works to implement these calls from the first day of the next mandate.”

Barnardo’s Northern Ireland’s first manifesto call, Stronger Families, calls on the new mandate to prioritise children’s mental health and wellbeing so that children in Northern Ireland can receive the right support at the right time. It is looking to the next Assembly to fully implement and fund the commitments made in the Mental Health Strategy 2021 – 2031, and to ensure primary school counselling is available to all children, including investing in the development of the counselling workforce.

Director of Barnardo’s Northern Ireland, Michele Janes, said: “Currently children referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services face long waiting lists and often ‘age out’ before they even receive their first appointment. Our manifesto calls for a commitment from the Assembly that will allow children to develop resilience and good mental health through universal early intervention and renewed focus on education and specialist support.”

The second manifesto call, Safer Childhoods, seeks to close the legislative gaps to protect children in Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility and providing children with as equal protection from assault as adults. It also calls on the implementation of a standardised Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum.

Michele continued: “For too long, children and young people in Northern Ireland have lacked the legal protection that is afforded to their peers elsewhere in the UK.  This must be put right and children in Northern Ireland must have the same protection from assault as adults. Barnardo’s Northern Ireland also believes that we need to raise the age of criminal responsibility, and that children in contact with the youth justice system should be treated as children, first and foremost.

“We also want to see a standardised, well-informed RSE curriculum introduced to all schools to help educate young people about healthy relationships, consent, and boundaries.”

In its final manifesto call, Positive Futures, Barnardo’s Northern Ireland calls for the adoption of a trauma-informed approach for all systems, services and policies that impact children and young people, and the delivery and implementation of a robust and ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy to protect and support children and families.

Michele concluded: “We want children to have the best chances in life and achieve their full potential. The transition to adulthood is challenging and many children growing up in Northern Ireland today will have experienced some form of trauma, whether that is growing up in poverty, domestic abuse, parental substance misuse, or intergenerational trauma from the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland.

“All government strategies, policies and services delivered to children and young people must be trauma-informed and recognise that each child has particular needs that must be addressed alongside the support they are receiving.

“Finally, nearly one in four children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty, and little has changed in the past two decades. A day one action for the next Assembly and Executive must be to deliver and implement a robust and ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy which will eradicate poverty and shift the dial on this harrowing statistic.”

Cody, a member of Connected Minds, a strength based Mental Health and Wellbeing project led by Early Intervention Lisburn, said: “I’ve been coming to Connected Minds since it began. When I first joined I was shy and in a bubble but now I am much more confident and vocal. If I could be heard by the Assembly, I would ask them to talk face to face with young people to see what our points of view are on issues like mental health, instead of sending surveys and all that, they need to reach us directly.”

Barnardo’s Northern Ireland is the province’s largest children’s charity and operates more than 45 services. It has delivered support to around 18,000 children, young people and families in the last year. It developed its manifesto calls based on experience and insights from the services it delivers, expertise from its frontline workers, and the voices of the children and young people it works with.  

For more information visit @barnardosni or search #BarnardosManifesto and #AnAssemblyForChildren.