Seven key steps to ensure best interests of children

A number of meetings I have attended this year have left me wondering about rights-based practice: what it is, whether we all have a common understanding, and to what extent we can ensure that good outcomes for children and young people will be made real.

Wales is a country that has a policy commitment to children's rights. We were the first country in the UK to appoint a Children's Commissioner and the first to legislate so that ministers have to pay "due regard" to the UN Convention and to children's rights. Fantastic, you might say. But what does this mean if you are a play worker, youth worker, nurse, teacher, counsellor, lawyer, GP, dentist, optician, social worker, police officer, advocate, volunteer, elected representative – or indeed, anyone whose role includes providing assistance, support or a service to a child or young person? To what extent does our policy commitment to children's rights shape our practice, regardless of professional discipline? And, if you are a parent, carer, friend or relative, what does a child-rights approach mean to everyday family life?