Lambeth Council is working with the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Child Friendly Cities & Communities programme. Following six months of consulting over 1,500 children and young people as part of the programme, Child Friendly Lambeth (CFL) is now implementing its Action Plan. The Action plan is a document that will guide the council’s journey towards becoming recognised as a UNICEF UK Child Friendly Community. The Child Friendly Lambeth team, Councillor Kind, member for Families, Children and Education, Councillor Judith Cavanagh, and UNICEF UK’s Child Friendly Cities & Communities (CFC) team met recently for a progress review.
At the review, UNICEF UK assessed how well the CFL team performed against the agreed programme action plan and noted good progress. Of note, they commented on Lambeth’s excellent commitment to cross-borough positioning, strong dedication from senior leaders and elected members, excellent engagement work with children and young people.
Lambeth was also praised for including children and young people, as well as their rights, into significant council commitments. UNICEF UK also noted that the Child Friendly Lambeth programme was well known among the council staff and saw “excellent” examples of child friendly communications through videos and child friendly documents.
As part of the review, UNICEF UK also made recommendations for its continued work, which included ensuring a child rights-based approach is clearly evidenced. Latifa Bangura, Child Friendly Lambeth Ambassador said: “This is such an exciting period to be an Ambassador for the CFL programme, as we are really working towards making changes to the lives of the children and young people in Lambeth. I really like that we get to continue to engage and listen to children and young people and create action. I’m so pleased to see that UNICEF UK were able to acknowledge how much work has gone into this stage.
“I’m honoured to be part of this journey towards making Lambeth one of the safest boroughs in London and a great place for children and young people to grow up in. I love it here and can’t wait to continue improving it”
Councillor Ben Kind, Member for Children, Families and Education said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the outcomes of our collaboration with UNICEF UK. The dedication and hard work poured into this programme have been phenomenal. What truly stands out is how the voices of our children and young people have directly shaped our focus on safety and security.
UNICEF UK has highlighted our exceptional efforts in involving children and young people in the development and design of our regeneration initiatives. I’m especially excited about our upcoming young inspectors programme. This initiative will empower young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, to evaluate and improve the services we offer. Their first task will be to assess our local provision for special needs, ensuring it meets their expectations and requirements.
We remain committed to embedding the perspectives of children and young people into every facet of our work. They are at the heart of everything we do, and their input is crucial in making Lambeth a safer, more inclusive place to grow up.”
Sarah Handley, Programme Manager for UNICEF UK’s Child Friendly Cities & Communities programme, commented: “We commend the hard work that has already gone into promoting and upholding children’s rights by Lambeth Council and its local partners. Lambeth now has recommendations to take forward, to ensure eventual recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly Community so that all children and young people growing up in the borough can truly have a say in, and benefit from, the decisions and services that shape their lives.”
Child Friendly Lambeth is a partnership between Lambeth Council and UNICEF UK. The ambitious three-to-five-year partnership sees councillors, council staff and local organisations promoting children’s rights – as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – to guide decisions that affect children and young people in Lambeth.
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About Child Friendly Cities & Communities
Child Friendly Cities & Communities is a UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) programme that works with councils to put children’s rights into practice.
The programme aims to create cities and communities in the UK where all children – whether they are living in care, using a children’s centre, or simply visiting their local library – have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit from, the local decisions, services and spaces that shape their lives.
The programme is part of Child Friendly Cities – a global UNICEF initiative launched in 1996 that reaches more than 30 million children in over 40 countries.
In the UK, we provide training based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and support councils, their partners, and children and young people, as they work together on an ambitious three-to-five-year journey towards international recognition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City or Community.
For more information visit unicef.org.uk/cfc
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) raises funds for UNICEF’s emergency and development work for children. We also promote and protect children’s rights in the UK and internationally. We are a UK charity, entirely funded by supporters. For more information visit unicef.org.uk
