05 March 2019
A fundamental new plan for Jersey’s children, young people and families, which aims to make sure Jersey is the best place to grow up and also improves everyday lives, is launched today.
The Government of Jersey has developed the new Children and Young People’s Plan, 2019-23, to achieve better outcomes for children and young people so that they have the brightest futures possible.
The four-year plan is being revealed today, at d’Auvergne School, by the Children’s Minister Senator Sam Mézec, who has described this new plan as a “milestone in Jersey’s history”.
For the next four years, everyone who works with children and young people across the Government of Jersey will use the Children and Young People’s Plan to help them decide what they need to do to ensure that all children and young people:
• Grow Up Safely
• Live Healthy Lives
• Learn and Achieve
• Are Valued and Involved
Senator Mezec said: “This new plan is a way of describing the Government’s hopes and ambitions for all children and young people in Jersey – it is a milestone in Jersey’s history.”
Developing and implementing a new Children’s Plan for Jersey was recommended by The Independent Jersey Care Inquiry panel in its findings on July 3, 2017.
Senator Mézec added: “The vision of this plan has been shaped by children and young people themselves, along with those who deliver services to them. I would like to thank everyone involved in developing and producing this significant new plan for Children and Young People in Jersey. We want this to make a difference, not just to the services this Government delivers, but to children and young people’s everyday lives.”
A new Children’s Strategic Partnership Board has been formed, chaired by Senator Mézec and made up of representatives from across Government and independent organisations, who will monitor and oversee the progress of the new plan.
The Care Inquiry panel also recommended that the new Children’s Plan should be written in a way that is easily understood by children and young people. Children and young people from all parts of the island have helped to identify the priorities described in this new plan. They have participated through their school councils and youth groups by writing poems, drawing pictures and composing songs to ensure key issues do not get forgotten. Parents, families and front-line practitioners have also been consulted to ensure that all aspects of childhood in Jersey is considered in this plan.
The final version of the new Children’s and Young People’s Plan was agreed by the new Council of Ministers in November 2018 and in January, this year, a workshop was held and attended by pupils from 30 schools who helped to design the plan.
Media students from Highlands College made a film of the workshop, which can be viewed here on YouTube.
gov.je