On the 20^th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Welsh Assembly Government has launched an action plan that sets out the steps it plans to take to make children and young people’s rights a reality over the next five years.

The Action Plan, ‘Getting it Right’, which has been published in response to the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2008, sets out 90 key actions across a wide range of policy areas, including:

• A new National Advocacy and Advice helpline service for children and young people, backed with £459,850 of new funding;
• Addressing negative perceptions of children and young people, particularly in the media, through promoting positive achievements of children and young people and celebrating the success that they achieve;
• Working to eliminate all types of bullying through new anti bullying guidance and the promotion of  initiatives such as anti bullying week;
• Developing a new play policy and providing more opportunities for children and young people to engage in the music, arts and sport.

The Assembly Government has said that the Action Plan will subject to regular review and updating to ensure that it keeps abreast of new developments in policy and strategy.

The Action Plan is available to download from the Welsh Assembly Government website.