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Children’s Rights and Entitlements Policy

Policy statement

At The Wonder Years:

• We promote children’s rights to be strong, resilient and listened to by creating an environment in our setting that encourages children to develop a positive self-image; which includes, for example, their heritage arising from their race and ethnicity, their languages spoken at home, their religious beliefs, cultural traditions, home background and their educational needs.
• We promote children’s rights to be strong, resilient and listened to by encouraging children to develop a sense of autonomy and independence.
• We promote children’s rights to be strong, resilient and listened to by enabling children to have the self-confidence and the vocabulary to resist inappropriate approaches.
• We help children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers, and with other adults.
• We work with parents to build their understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of safeguarding all our children.

What it means to promote children’s rights and entitlements to be ‘strong, resilient and listened to’.

To be strong means to be:

• secure in their foremost attachment relationships where they are loved and cared for, by at least one person who is able to offer consistent, positive and unconditional regard and who can be relied on
• safe and valued as individuals in their families and in relationships beyond the family, such as preschool, school or friends
• self-assured and form a positive sense of themselves – including all aspects of their identity and heritage
• included equally and belong in early years settings and in community life;
• confident in abilities and proud of their achievements
• progressing optimally in all aspects of their development and learning;
• to be part of a peer group in which to learn to negotiate, develop social skills and identify as global citizens, respecting the rights of others in a diverse world
• to participate and be able to represent themselves in aspects of service delivery that affects them as well as aspects of key decisions that affect their lives.

To be resilient means to:

• be sure of their self-worth and dignity
• be able to be assertive and state their needs effectively
• be able to overcome difficulties and problems
• be positive in their outlook on life
• be able to cope with challenge and change
• have a sense of justice towards self and others
• develop a sense of responsibility towards self and others
• be able to represent themselves and others in key decision making processes

To be listened to means:

• adults who are close to children recognise their need and right to express and communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas
• adults who are close to children are able to tune in to their verbal, sign and body language in order to understand and interpret what is being expressed and communicated
• adults who are close to children are able to respond appropriately and, when required, act upon their understanding of what children express and communicate
• adults respect children’s rights and facilitate children’s participation and representation in imaginative and child centred ways in all aspects of core services