JERSEY’S new children’s commissioner is to launch a major consultation with young Islanders this week as part of efforts to ensure their rights are respected.
The ten-week engagement process – which will also include opportunities for parents, those who work with children and other adults to give their views – will inform a new strategic plan to be published in September.
Dr Carmel Corrigan, who began a six-year term as commissioner at the start of March, aims to visit up to 20 schools before the end of June and to cover the remainder during the autumn term as part of her efforts to tune into the role.
“I could sit down in my office and write about what I think children in Jersey feel is important, but the only way to properly achieve this is to actually go out and hear what they think, as well as to talk to adults,” she said.
“I don’t know what it’s like to be a child in Jersey in 2024, and even if the strategic plan wasn’t required by law – which it is – it would be an essential part of safeguarding children’s rights.”
Dr Corrigan said the intention was to monitor whether young Islanders had changed their views since a similar survey was carried out six years ago.
Topics which emerged from the 2018 survey included the prevention of bullying, tackling poverty and helping low-income families, as well as the need for better access to healthcare and increased availability of mental-health and wellbeing support.
“The last time we did something on this scale was pre-Covid,” she said. “The world has changed and children’s priorities here may well have changed too. I think we’re still leaning about the impact of the pandemic.”
As well as getting out to schools, and working with members of the Youth Advisory Group established by her office, Dr Corrigan is canvassing opinions through an online survey.
Split into separate categories for those who are over-18, under-13s and those in between, the ten-minute survey is accessible on the homepage of the childcomjersey.org.je website between today and 30 June.
Although keeping an open mind about the issues which would emerge from the consultation, Dr Corrigan said she could envisage some of the potential themes.
“Given what a big part it plays in most children’s lives, I would expect school to feature, potentially alongside issues such as the cost of living and access to mental-health services. There’s so much more demand [for these] than was the case a few years ago,” she said.
Responding to coverage in the UK media suggesting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak favoured restrictions on young people’s access to smartphones and social media, Dr Corrigan acknowledged this was also an issue in Jersey. But the commissioner said that because such usage was so widely accepted and as children had grown up in the era of mobile phones, a strict ban was likely to be unrealistic given the challenge in implementing it.
Since taking up the role six weeks ago, Dr Corrigan has held discussions with ministers, government officials, charities and non-government organisations in a bid to gauge an understanding of the commissioner’s role and build constructive relationships.
“The phrase ‘critical friend’ is used a lot, and it’s important to find a balance between criticism where it is merited and being supportive in finding answers and solutions,” she said. “It’s an exciting phase to be embarking on and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and sitting down in schools so I can begin to understand what children think.”
