Manchester has launched a charter which aims to put the voices of babies and young children at the heart of council policy.
For several years Manchester has been clear in its ambition to become a UNICEF Child Friendly City.
By centring children and young people the Council wants to build a city and a future for the next generation and beyond, ensuring that everyone has the right to a happy, fulfilling and prosperous life.
To achieve this, the Council has recently run and completed a pilot programme under the banner of ‘Bee Heard in Early Years’.
This charter set out a number of expectations and standards which we expect early years settings to aspire to, ensuring that the voices of children and young people are heard, that they are respected and that their hopes and ambitions can be recognised and acted upon in a meaningful and lasting way.
Those expectations are:
- To have a ‘Children’s Rights Advocates’ in each setting.
- Sign up to the charter to commit that they will embed children’s rights in the policies and procedures of the setting.
Bizzie Kidz Nursery, who took part in the trial, had this to say:
“We plan to provide clearer communication about the importance of play in early childhood development and what children are learning during their time at nursery.
“In addition, we aim to raise awareness of children’s rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), particularly the right to play, learn, and be supported in reaching their full potential.
“By sharing this information, we hope to strengthen our partnership with families and ensure a shared understanding of how we can work together to support every child’s development and well-being.”
So far, six early years settings have completed the process to become Early Years Children’s Rights Charter settings, embedding the principles of the charter into their work.
These settings will receive a training workshop on children’s rights, have a peer support visit to learn and reflect on how the principles of Bee Heard can be implemented and will be able to participate in a wider network to share good practices within early years settings.
Due to the success of this pilot, the Council aims to roll it out to additional settings throughout the city from the autumn of 2025.
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People, said:
“We know that the voices of younger people can often be drowned out in the wider world. However that does not mean that they are not as equally important.
“What this charter is hoping to set out is establishing a core set of principles for early years settings to aspire to and promote, ensuring that any child which passes through its doors feels valued and given every opportunity to succeed.
“We believe we are the only Local Authority in the country to have put a charter like this in place, a fact which underlines our commitment to the principles of what makes a UNICEF Child Friendly City.”
