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#FridayReflections #FridayFocus #ChildrensRights #UNCRC #ScotPol #LocalDemocracy #ParentVoices #GiveThemTime #RightsInReality #ScottishEducation #DutyBearers #CommunityVoicesWithout.

Parents will keep speaking up. Until local democracy sees them. Until duty bearers are held to account. Until children under 12 are no longer invisible. Because rights without accountability are just words.

The UNCRC was meant to change the reality for children in Scotland. But as this new term begins, the challenge is clear that many children under 12 remain unseen, and many parents remain unrecognised.

Without accountability, rights are just rhetoric. Without children’s and parents’ voices, democracy misses its foundation.

How do parents gain recognition as rights holders?. How do we hold public sector duty bearers to account?. Who will acknowledge the tensions/conflicts duty bearers face when LA seniors/politicians demand actions that breach children's rights, and those below are powerless to act.

And why are parents accountable for so much, blamed, shamed, and told it's their responsibility . but not recognised in advocating for their children’s rights?. So the questions remain re how do children + families become visible in local democracy + decision-making?.

At local level, powerful adults in organisations, policy, politics + media construct narratives about children (and parents). Deciding what should happen or what needs to happen. But where are the children, especially under 12 in all of this?.

Under Scots law parents carry legal responsibility for their children’s upbringing, health, wellbeing + development. Yet in the rights conversation? . Parents aren’t always recognised as rights holders at all.

So if children have no political representation, who does that leave?. Parents. But parents, advocating alone, don’t stand much chance either.

We wrote to . MSPs. Local Councillors.Scottish Youth Parliament. We wrote to others. And no one could tell us who represents and supports under 12s in their local communities.

Local democracy too often leaves children invisible. The rhetoric is strong but the lived reality is weak. For children under 12, it’s even worse. They are out there alone in local politics with no one to represent them. We know because we’ve asked.

As parents in Scotland, we were told the UNCRC would be transformational. But when you look closer, many of the same gaps stare back. Our Campaign has already exposed it, as has existing evidence. There are no real accountability mechanisms within local authorities.

Local authorities are built on complex structures + hierarchies that protect themselves. If parents don’t know who is responsible, they can quietly avoid the spotlight, dodge scrutiny, and carry on without accountability.

We've worked hard to empower parents, to give them tools to recognise where accountability lies, and where questions, complaints and scrutiny should be directed and we've had some successes. Those local authorities denying children discretionary deferral funding for example.

While the finger of blame often points elsewhere, parents are sent on a wild goose chase, never sure who to speak to, or how to direct their concerns about unmet needs + rights. This confusion conveniently lets those with local devolved powers sidestep scrutiny + accountability.

Who else is standing up for families facing issues in their local communities, at the hands of local authorities?. Authorities who have a legal duty to serve, support, and uphold law + policy. A battle that we have been highlighting for the 7yrs of our existence now.

We no longer need to campaign on deferral policies. That’s been won ✅. But while this platform exists, and people continue to speak to us, I will always use it to amplify children’s and parents’ voices. Because where else can that happen on matters impacting families locally?.