Barnardo’s Northern Ireland today hosts an event at Parliament Buildings to introduce its calls for the next Assembly as the election nears. The charity says that public, private, community and voluntary sectors need to work together, and believes the next Assembly needs to be an Assembly for children.
The organisation’s manifesto focuses on mental health and wellbeing, safety and protection, trauma, and poverty.
Its recommendations include:
- Ensuring availability of primary school counselling to all children
- Closing legislative gaps to protect children, including raising the age of criminal responsibility
- Implementation of a standardised Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum
- A trauma-informed approach for systems, services and policies that impact children and young people
- Implementation of a robust and ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy
Director of Barnardo’s Northern Ireland, Michele Janes, said: “We want children to have the best chances in life and achieve their full potential. The transition to adulthood is challenging and many children growing up in Northern Ireland today will have experienced some form of trauma, whether that is growing up in poverty, domestic abuse, parental substance misuse, or intergenerational trauma from the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland.
“Finally, nearly one in four children in Northern Ireland are growing up in poverty, and little has changed in the past two decades. A day one action for the next Assembly and Executive must be to deliver and implement a robust and ambitious Anti-Poverty Strategy which will eradicate poverty and shift the dial on this harrowing statistic.”
Cody, a member of Connected Minds, a strength based Mental Health and Wellbeing project led by Early Intervention Lisburn, said: “I’ve been coming to Connected Minds since it began. When I first joined I was shy and in a bubble but now I am much more confident and vocal. If I could be heard by the Assembly, I would ask them to talk face to face with young people to see what our points of view are on issues like mental health, instead of sending surveys and all that, they need to reach us directly.”
Barnardo’s Northern Ireland is the province’s largest children’s charity and operates more than 45 services. It has delivered support to around 18,000 children, young people and families in the last year.
For more information visit @barnardosni on social media, or search #BarnardosManifesto and #AnAssemblyForChildren.
