My Rights, My Say
All children have the right to have their views considered when decisions are being made about the support they get with their learning. Children aged 12 – 15 now have the right to be more involved in decisions that affect them.
Once a child reaches their 12th birthday they have the right to:
- ask their school to find out if they need extra support
- have a say in plans and decisions made about the support they get
- have an advocate with them at meetings to help them share their views and understand what’s going on
- question plans made for them or make an appeal to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal if they are not happy with what certain plans say
- get help to sort out any disagreements about their support.
My Rights, My Say can help children exercise these rights.
The Children's Views service
My Rights, My Say is a partnership between Children in Scotland, Enquire, Partners in Advocacy and Cairn Legal. Each organisation involved offers different services. Children in Scotland is responsible for leading the Children's Views service, which is free to use and available across Scotland.
Professionals can refer to the Children’s Views service if independent support is required to ensure a child aged 12 – 15 is able to share their views in a formal process, such as during an assessment, making a plan or a dispute. This differs from advocacy as it is specific to a formal process, whereas advocacy is led by the child and the issues that they want to discuss, which might not relate to a formal process.
The Children’s Views service is also able to work in partnership with schools, local authorities and other organisations supporting children with additional support needs to develop and enhance practice in listening to children.
Participation and Engagement is a big part of our work, and we offer our expertise to build capacity and develop participatory approaches in a variety of settings. Find out more about our participation and engagement work here.
For more information about the service and to get in touch, please visit the My Rights, My Say webpage: myrightsmysay.scot
Here's a short animation about the Children's Views service called 'You're in Control':
What our partners offer
Enquire
With the right support all children in Scotland can get the most from school
Click to find out more
Cairn Legal
Providing legal representation to support a child making a reference to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal
Click here to find out more
Partners in Advocacy
Provide advocacy to children aged 12 – 15 to have their say about the support they get with their learning
Click here for moreSupport from our services
REACH
REACH can help young people understand their rights to support with their learning and their rights to be included
Click here for more
Resolve
Resolve is currently the largest independent mediation provider to the education community in Scotland.
Click to find out more