The event at Meithrinfa Medra, Llangefni, will be Sally Holland’s last formal event as Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
An Early Years Children’s Rights resource pack; a specially produced pack by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales will be launched officially at Meithrinfa Medra, Llangefni, on Thursday morning, April 7th in the company of Sally Holland, The Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
The pack contains a series of resources and activities that have been developed to introduce young children’s rights to early years practitioners.
The launch will take place from 10am-11am, and some of the speakers at the event will include Mudiad Meithrin’s Chief Executive, Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, and Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland.
Sally said:
“From the moment they are born every child has certain rights. The rights are part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and outline what children need to grow up to be happy, healthy, and safe. Learning about these rights helps children understand the way they should be treated by the adults around them, and gives them the power to act if they feel they have been treated unfairly. There are lots of creative ways to help the youngest children enjoy learning about their rights, and to become familiar with the broader concepts behind those rights. I want every child in Wales to be fluent in the language of their rights, and it’s never too early for them to start learning about them.”
Vanessa Powell, Mudiad Meithrin’s Lead Officer for The Foundation Phase said:
“When I was working with colleagues on co-authoring the curriculum for funded non-maintained nursery settings I went to look for resources for early years practitioners on children’s rights. The curriculum has been developed from the child’s perspective with the child’s voice heard strongly throughout the document. There were no specific resources available in Welsh for children under 5 and so Mudiad Meithrin and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner started working together to develop bespoke resources. We are very proud of the resources that have been developed and the training that has been created to complement the resources.”
Mudiad Meithrin helped pilot the pack at one of its Cylchoedd Meithrin to ensure it is suitable for pre-school age children. This is what Debbie Ivins – leader of Cylch Meithrin Cwtsh Pentrebaen said after piloting the activities in the pack:
“We feel that introducing the children’s right to be happy, safe and healthy in Cwtch Pentrebaen, at home and in their communities, is a very good foundation for their future. We believe we are on track to achieve ‘healthy, confident individuals who are ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.”
Training on Children’s Rights was carried out by officers of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales earlier this month for Mudiad Meithrin members, and is provided through Mudiad Meithrin’s training department, Academi.