Insights
Read thought leadership from our trustees and the things we’ve learned from our work.
Children and Teenagers Shaping the Future of Shetland’s North Isles and South End: Living Well Locally, Phase 3
Children across Shetland’s North Isles and South End have co-created new Living Well Locally Plans—shaping priorities for play, transport, housing, sustainability and community wellbeing. Their ideas now provide a policy-ready roadmap for supporting children’s rights and thriving local places.
Beyond Innovation for Innovation’s Sake: Moving Children’s Rights from Rhetoric to Reality
In an age of polycrisis and polarisation, children’s rights risk becoming rhetoric rather than reality. Participation isn’t risky — ignoring children and young people is. We must fund proven methods, scale what works, and ensure rights shape real-world action. The stakes — and opportunities — have never been clearer.
Designing With Children and Young People: How Co-Design Adds Value Across the RIBA Stages
Discover how co-design with children and teenagers can unlock creative, site-specific insights at every RIBA stage. Our award-winning methods help architects and landscape architects create places that serve younger generations.
Teenagers Have a Right to Play… So Why Do We Design Them Out?
In Born to Play, Dr Jenny Wood argues that society systematically blocks teenagers from enacting their right to play—then blames them for acting out. It’s time we saw the problem for what it is: structural anti-social behaviour towards young people.
Empowering Young Voices: The Children and Teenagers’ Westside Plan with Shetland Islands Council
Discover how A Place in Childhood (APiC) and Shetland Islands Council are transforming community planning by centring the voices of children and teenagers in the Westside Plan 2025. This youth-led initiative empowers young people to co-create their local environments through experiential mapping, creative workshops, and inclusive dialogue.
The Power and Importance of Taking Children Seriously
When children and young people are taken seriously, they thrive—and so do we. Their insights transform how we plan places, build communities, and nurture well-being. At A Place in Childhood, we believe listening to children is not optional—it’s the key to a fairer, kinder world.
Co-Creating the Future of North Yell with Children
At A Place in Childhood, we’re always thrilled to see our ‘How To Guide’ in action. This guest blog comes from our colleague Kate Lonsdale at North Yell Development Council (NYDC), one of Shetland’s most established and inspiring community organisations. We were...
Celebrating Our Award Wins at the Inspire Future Generations Awards 2024!
We are absolutely thrilled to share some fantastic news—A Place in Childhood (APiC) has been recognised at the Thornton Education Trust (TET) Inspire Future Generations Awards 2024 with two prestigious awards! 🏆 The Research Award in Pedagogy or Practice-Based...
How to Engage Children and Young People in Local Development Plans
Meaningfully involving children and young people in Local Development Plan preparation isn’t just a legal requirement – it’s a chance to deliver better, more inclusive and sustainable places for everyone. This blog explores how to do it well.
Celebrating the Children’s Neighbourhood Festival in Falkirk
In September 2024, A Place in Childhood (APIC) collaborated with children and teenagers from Langlees and Bainsford, Falkirk, to deliver the inspiring Children’s Neighbourhood Festival. This vibrant event, rooted in co-creation, celebrated community spirit and showcased the power of young people’s ideas.
The festival, born from a neighbourhood planning project with local schools, aimed to highlight the area’s positive aspects while promoting play, cycling, and environmental awareness. With funding from Paths for All and Falkirk Council, the young participants took the lead—planning activities, designing posters, and learning valuable teamwork skills.
The event featured everything from inflatables and creative arts to climate action stalls and exotic animals, uniting the community in a joyous celebration. It was more than just a fun day—it demonstrated the lasting impact of empowering children through co-creation.
Read more about this remarkable festival and hear directly from the young changemakers in our blog and podcast!
Youth-Led Innovation on Scotland’s National Alcohol and Drugs Services Audit
We’re thrilled to share this short film, co-created and co-produced by the Audit Scotland Youth Advisory Panel! We facilitate the panel, and this inspiring video captures their vital contributions to shaping and celebrating the 2024 National Alcohol and Drugs Services Audit.
Teenagers call for joined-up action on Anti-Social Behaviour in their Communities
Today we publish a new research report on Teenagers and Public Space. This lays our teenager’s views on how to tackle anti-social behaviour from their perspective, and improve places so that they meet the needs of young people.
Exploring Urban Design with Young People Through Cities: Skylines. Part 2: What Makes a 20-Minute Neighbourhood?
In December 2022, we worked with Sustrans Scotland and the Edinburgh & Lothians Developing Young Workforce team to deliver a session on urban design at Tynecastle High School. This second blog in a two part series explores outputs from the session where we used the game Cities: Skylines.
Exploring Urban Design with Young People Through Cities: Skylines. Part 1: Why and How
In December 2022, we worked with Sustrans Scotland and the Edinburgh & Lothians Developing Young Workforce team to deliver a session on urban design at Tynecastle High School. This first blog in a two part series explores how and why we used the game Cities: Skylines.
We’re Supporting the CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO: Will you?
Today we launch The Children and Young People’s Manifesto Scotland with our Young Consultants from #ScotYouthandCOVID3. Will you help them get the word out and involve as many children and young people across the country as possible?
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Learning from Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers and Refugees
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the experiences and needs of young people who are refugees or asylum seekers and have been separated from their families. We also note what they need to be incorporated into the Children and Young People’s Manifesto for Rights in Recovery.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: A Fair and Motivating School System, Part 4
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the third in a 4 part series, our Young Consultants outline how they feel extra-curricular opportunities and transitions between schools and into employment should change in Scotland’s education system.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: A Fair and Motivating School System, Part 3
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the third in a 4 part series, our Young Consultants outline how they feel assessments should change in Scotland’s secondary education.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: A Fair and Motivating School System, Part 2
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the second in a 4 part series, our Young Consultants outline how they feel the curriculum and delivery of learning should change in Scotland’s secondary education.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: A Fair and Motivating School System, Part 1
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the first in a 4 part series, our Young Consultants outline the principles they think are central to a fair and motivating Scottish education system.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People. Young Carers Part 2
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the second of two, we detail the experiences and needs of Young Carers. This blog focuses on the experiences of young carers living across Highland, and what both they and young carers from Edinburgh need us to incorporate into our Manifesto for Children and Young People’s Rights in Recovery.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People Young Carers, Part 1
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, the first of two, we detail the experiences and needs of Young Carers. This blog focuses on the experiences of Edinburgh’s Young Carers to incorporate into our Manifesto for Children and Young People’s Rights in Recovery.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Learning from Primary School Children
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the needs to incorporate into our Manifesto for Children and Young People’s Rights in Recovery for children in primary school.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Learning from Families Outside
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the Asks to add to our Manifesto for Children and Young People’s Rights in Recovery for children and young people who have family members in prison.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Long Covid Kids Manifesto Asks
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the needs to incorporate into our Manifesto for Children and Young People’s Rights in Recovery, for children and young living with Long Covid.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: What it’s like to live with Long Covid
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the experiences of children and young people living with Long Covid.
Our Vision for an Inclusive and Effective National Planning Framework 4
We recently submitted a response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on their draft National Planning Framework 4. Read a summary here of how we think it could become more child-friendly.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Learning during Crisis
In January 2022 we embarked on phase 3 of our #ScotYouthandCOVID project. In this blog, we detail the experiences of children and young people during the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it’s been like to learn during this disruption.
Event: Children, Young People, and The National Planning Framework 4
Play Scotland and A Place in Childhood are inviting representatives of organisations that work with children and young people to a discussion on planning, to help inform responses from the sector to the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) draft, released by Scottish Government in November 2021. We are holding three events 19th, 21st and 22nd February
Minecraft – a creative sandbox for engaging children and young people in urban design
In June 2021, we had the absolute pleasure of working with Sustrans Scotland, St Paul’s Youth Forum, and St Philomena’s Primary School (in north-east Glasgow), on a pilot placemaking project to engage local children using game Minecraft. Working with a team of 10 budding young designers, we alternated between site visits, group discussions, and using Minecraft to explore designs for a new public square in neighbouring Langdale Street. The Minecraft world included a faithful rendering of the local area, with local landmarks and many of the children’s homes.