Insights
Read thought leadership from our trustees and the things we’ve learned from our work.
Launching our COVID-19 research report with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland
Today we launch our #ScotYouthandCOVID2 report with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland. The repot tells the story of our Virtual Participatory Action research project on children and young people’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic so far. Read all about it here!
Hearing Children’s Voices in Policymaking: Lessons for the new Scottish Government policy roundtable
In this blog, Dr Jenny Wood and Dr Maureen McBride reflect on a policy roundtable on hearing children’s voices in policymaking.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: A Strategy to turn our Asks into a Scotland-wide Manifesto
This blog presents the strategy, constructed with our Young Consultants on the #ScotYouthandCOVID2 project, to turn their Asks to the Scottish Government into a manifesto for as many children and young people as possible. Key themes include representation, communication, cooperation & collaboration, being heard, and considering timelines.
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Our Asks to the Scottish Government
In March, we resumed workshops for STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS). ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who participated in our...
COVID-19: In Conversation with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland
In March, we resumed workshops for STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS). ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who participated in our...
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: Our Post-Pandemic Vision
Last month we resumed workshops for STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who participated in our...
COVID-19 for Children and Young People: New Experiences and Best Practice
In workshop 4 of #ScotYouthandCOVID2 we reflected together with our Young Consultants on how the project had gone so far, anything new that had emerged over the Easter Holidays, and within each taskforce group looked at how we might learn from best practice for developing recommendations to the new Scottish Government administration. The findings relate to wellbeing, remote schooling and the return to school buildings.
COVID-19: Communication and Relationships Matter for Children and Young People
Two weeks ago we resumed workshops for STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), #ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who participated in...
COVID-19: growing challenges for youth one year into the pandemic
Last week, we began workshops for STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who participated in our...
COVID-19 and the big changes for children and young people since June 2020
Two weeks ago we announced the beginning of STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Children and Young People in Scotland. Supported by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), ScotYouthandCOVID2 has recalled the Young Consultants who...
Announcing STAGE 2 of Covid-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People!
We're are excited to be announcing today STAGE 2 of APiC's COVID-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People! The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYCPS) approached us asking that we recall the Young Consultants who participated in our...
Child-friendly planning: RTPI Scotland webinar
In November 2020, our Dr Jenny Wood spoke at RTPI South East Scotland Chapter event on child-friendly planning. You can watch the event again here.
Celebrating a new book by APiC’s co-founders on Place, Pedagogy and Play
Place, Pedagogy and Play is a new book co-edited by APiC co-founders Matluba Khan and Jenny Wood. Its publication follows ground-breaking research from colleagues across the globe, and features contributions from our both our co-founders and co-director Jamie...
APiC co-founder Jenny Wood on why we should listen to children when designing urban space
Children see the world in a different way to adults, but urban planning policies rarely take this into account. By focusing on adult needs and views, children are often planned out of our public spaces – and their needs are relegated to specific areas such as...
COVID-19 Research Report: Children and Young People’s participation in crisis
This blog accompanies the publication of #ScotYouthandCOVID, our COVID-19 Research Report on Children and Young People’s participation during lockdown. The report provides the full story of our COVID-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People. You can download...
Our trustee Sean on working with children to cut air pollution and climate warming
Air pollution has a particularly damaging effect on children. They’re still growing and breathe faster than adults do. They also live closer to the ground, where the most polluting gases from vehicles accumulate. Pollution from traffic has been linked to problems with...
Our co-founder Matluba Khan on redesigning playgrounds for outdoor learning
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the education of at least 1.5 billion school students. That’s more than 90% of the world’s children. Although many schools in the west, along with private schools in the developing world, have continued some school activities...
Covid-19 Remote Learning: Small Changes, Big Difference for Scotland’s Children and Young People
This blog, the fourth about our Covid-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People, details further outcomes from Workshop 3 that relate to remote learning and the growing attainment gap. Taking the 5 big Covid-19 challenges discussed in workshop 2, our young consultants were unanimous that remote schooling is having the greatest impact on their well-being.
A Child-Friendly Scottish Planning System
This blog sets out how to create a child-friendly Scottish planning system. It summarises our response to Scottish Government’s ‘Call for Ideas’ for the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which will be the overarching framework that sets out statutory responsibilities of planning at all levels.
What are the Covid-19 Challenges for Scottish Children and Young People?
Covid-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People This blog, our third about our Covid-19 Project, details outcomes from Workshop 2. Taking the 5 big changes identified in Workshop 1 as a framework, teams discussed the Covid-19 challenges for Scottish Children...
Covid-19 Changes for Scottish Children and Young People – The Big 5
Covid-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People In this blog, the second in our series, we outline the big 5 Covid-19 changes for Scottish children and young people. They are the outcomes of a Workshop led by young teams from across Scotland, in a project...
Covid-19 Project with Scottish Children and Young People: Project Overview
Do Scottish Children and Young People have a right to contribute meaningfully to the Covid-19 Crisis Response? During lockdown, young people's views have largely been missing from the news and the crisis response. Noting this in early April 2020, A Place in Childhood...
UK planning policy mainly fails children, but London, Wales and Scotland begin to show the way
This summers’ publication of the Mayor of London’s proposed revisions to the London Plan was welcomed by children’s rights advocates who have been pushing for a stronger policy on children and young people’s play, recreation, and independent mobility. Wider reaction...
Participation of Children and Young People in the Local Development Plan with the Planning (Scotland) Bill
Context Children’s and young people’s access to, and freedom to play in, the natural and built environment has been in decline for decades. However, access to inclusive child-friendly environments is a fundamental right under the UN Convention on the Rights of the...
Urban planning is failing children and breaching their human rights – here’s what needs to be done
Dr Jenny Wood, APiC Co-founder Children are being left out of decisions about the environments created around them, when really, their needs should be at the heart of them. In the UK, children are becoming less healthy – physically and mentally – and spend more time...
Five steps to make children’s rights a reality in the Scottish planning system
The Scottish planning system is undergoing reform. Following an independent review, the Scottish government are now considering changes, and amidst their proposals is increasing recognition that children are often excluded from considerations of place. Having...