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Including and Supporting Learners of English inherent in the UNCRC form the basis for these documents although the rights themselves are not explicitly stated.
The Children Act and Every Child Matters The Government Green paper, Every Child Matters, was published in 2003 followed by the Children Act in 2004. The purpose of these policy documents was to improve and strengthen children’s services and they were followed by a series of further documents, each focusing on a particular section of services to children and young people. The following extract is from Every Child Matters: Change for Children in Schools, DfES (2004b). Every Child Matters, the Government’s vision for children’s services, was published in September 2003. It proposed reshaping children’s services to help achieve the outcomes children and young people told us are key to well-being in childhood and later life: z z
Be healthy Stay safe
z
Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution
z
Achieve economic well-being
z
The Government has legislated for changes in the way children’s services work together. Every Child Matters: Change for Children explains how the new Children Act 2004 forms the basis of a long-term programme of change. This document is one of a series that describe the implications for different services. All of these documents and others referred to in the text are available at www. everychildmatters.gov.uk. Whether you are a head teacher, a teacher, a teaching assistant, a member of the support staff or a governor, everyone in a school has a role to play. DfES (2004b:1)
UNCRC in Wales: Children and Young People: Rights to Action Since devolution in 1999 policy regarding children and young people in Wales has steadily diverged from policy in England. In 2004, the Welsh Assembly