Keith's Blog
November 2nd, 2011
First Minister Carwyn Jones and the pupils of Willows High School took part in my tenth anniversary celebrations.
Ten years ago, a landmark report into the wide scale abuse that took place in the care system in north Wales was published. It was called Lost in Care, and included in its 72 recommendations was a call for the establishment of the UK’s first Children’s Commissioner for Wales; an independent champion to protect and promote the rights and welfare of children in Wales.
On 5 October 2011, I found myself standing as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Office in the Senedd, surrounded by friends, colleagues and well-wishers. I was stood next to His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC, counsel for Clywch, the first inquiry of this Office led by my predecessor. He gave a powerful speech that not only paid tribute to the work of my predecessor, the late Peter Clarke, but provided an overview of the Office’s accomplishments so far. I couldn’t help but feel a huge sense of pride an honour of what we’ve achieved as an Office and as a country when it comes to realising children’s rights. I also felt a huge sense of duty to preserve what we’ve got and to drive for more change.
His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC speaks at the launch of my annual report.
Earlier in the day I invited 60 students from five secondary schools to join my celebrations. They gathered in Siambr Hywel, eager to have their voices heard and to engage in a question and answer session with Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones. Their questions ranged from, “Would you consider lowering the voting age to 16?” to “What’s the hardest thing about being the First Minister”. They also took part in an electronic vote in which 66% said that they believed that adults and decision makers were listening to them more now, than in previous years. But, only 37% felt that they were involved in decisions made in their schools, whilst a whopping 86% didn’t feel that they were involved in decisions made in their community.
The issues raised by this group of young people serves as an important reminder that there is still a lot to be done to improve the lives of children and young people in Wales. The 5 October marked not only the office’s tenth anniversary but also the day I launched my fourth annual report as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. This was a key opportunity for me to highlight all the areas that concern me most about the current state of childhood in Wales, I like to see it as a state of the nation for practitioners and policy makers alike.
Secondary school pupis discussing the issues that most affect them.
But turning aspiration into reality is the challenge for us in Wales. I have spoken in the past of the implementation gap and that still remains – but perhaps it’s worth us refocusing on what that means for the child.
What are the elements that lead to the inequality of outcomes and what are those inequality of outcomes? We need to meet them head on.
My key call from this year’s annual report was for the new Welsh Government and service providers across the board to take stock of how we deliver public services to children and young people. We have gold-plated policies and strategies in Wales, but I’m yet to be convinced that they are strategies which work together and work on the ground to improve the lives of children. Too often I hear from children, young people and their families who are struggling to access help and support.
We need these strategies to focus on the practice and outcomes agenda by equipping the workforce appropriately. We also need to ensure we can hold service providers to account when the standards to which we should all aspire are not achieved.
The commitment and skills of professionals are clear for all to see, it’s just about harnessing those energies to enable every child in Wales to reach their full potential.
Here is a virtual copy of the Annual Report & Accounts:
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September 30th, 2011
“What’s through here?” I asked. “Not sure” came the reply: ”And I don’t know who’s got the torch but let’s have a look”. We stepped into the darkened space and three pigeons flew out at us.
It was like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock film. The pigeons escaped through a broken window – which is how they got there in the first place, no doubt. Several yelps later we were back downstairs with increasingly exaggerated tales of how we were nearly “savaged” by some irate pigeons.
I was visiting Us UnLtd inFlint. They are part of an initiative being driven forward by Llamau, a charity working to help a group of homeless young people take an entrepreneurial role in shaping their own future. UsUnLtd’s vision is to empower homeless young people in Flintshire. The young people developed a business plan for a shop, a centre to provide learning and skills training, a cafe and accommodation with an opportunity to acquire important life skills.
Pigeons aside, it is now a year on from the first time I met these young people and their shop is now open inFlint.
It is really great to catch up with the young people and see the amazing progress they have made. The shop sells a number of items but the t- shirt printing service is proving to be a bit of a winner.
I took the opportunity to order a bespoke t-shirt with designs of my choice. So the front has the Us UnLtd logo on it:
And on the back there is a birthday cake design to celebrate the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ tenth birthday:
Pretty cool I’m sure you will agree. If you ever need any t-shirts printing then this is the business for you – all orders are welcome and all the profits are put back into the social enterprise to build up the capacity to support homeless young people in Flintshire.
So how did I end up getting attacked by pigeons? Well, I was visiting Us UnLtd’s next project, to convert a building across the road from the shop into a new centre to provide learning and training opportunities. Grant applications are in and fingers are crossed. It will take a lot of work to the bring building up to scratch but the potential is enormous and all of this is being driven forward by the creativity, vision and sheer hard work that Us UnLtd are putting in.
I have met some of the young people involved with this project a couple of times before and every now and again a message on Twitter will update me on their progress. All the young people involved have overcome some tough things in their lives. They all face continuing challenges as they build lives for themselves, setting up their own homes, finding work and going to college to gain qualifications, to name but three. On top of that they give their time to build the Us UnLtd social enterprise.
“We all want to build something that will help others who face the same things that we did.”
There are many people in this world who set out an ambition but not everyone has the determination to see it through. UsUnLtd are pretty determined and the progress they have made in the last 12 months is pretty amazing.
Next time you are inFlint pop in and see them. They are located on Church Street. I know they will be delighted to see you and they deserve all the support they can get.
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September 23rd, 2011
Sometimes when we get drawn into debates about the importance of listening to the views of children and young people, we talk about children’s voices. Sometimes we take that rather too literally, as if it is only the spoken word in a meeting or discussion, or the written word on a returned questionnaire, that can give us those views.
When I left secondary school I did a fine art degree and I still believe paintings are the pinnacle of artistic expression. I can look at a painting by Whistler, Turner, Hockney or Banksy and I ‘hear’ their message, I see and feel their response to the world around them.
This was the case at the ‘A Piece of Me’ exhibition, held by Barnardos Cymru’s Seraf Service, an intensive support programme for children and young people aged 10 to 18 who are either at risk or have been abused through sexual exploitation. The project, funded by The Arts Council of Wales, is being shown in the The Pierhead Building inCardiff Bay. It includes film, art, animation, music, poetry and stories by young people who have received support from the Seraf Service.
I was really pleased to have the honour of opening the exhibition. Art encourages freedom of expression and this exhibition speaks to all who are up for listening and hearing. It is a brave thing to do and I hope that as many people as possible view the work on display.
I would like to thank all the young people and staff at the Barnardo’s Cymru Seraf Service and also the Arts Council of Wales for funding such a worthwhile project.
The invitation described ‘A Piece of Me’ as:
“A gritty exhibition which challenges our minds and perceptions through the eyes of young people’s experiences. It is impossible to leave the exhibition untouched.”
By any definition this is art and creative expression that gives voice to children and young people’s experiences. It is powerful and I would urge you to see it, either in the Bay or when it tours around Wales in the months ahead.
The whole show is very strong but three pieces in particular spoke to me:
This painting is being used as the poster for the exhibition. It shows a child crying on the inside.
This piece is called ‘Blood run cold’ and the caption underneath says: “There are nights when I wake and my blood runs cold remembering experiences I have had.”
This picture is called ‘The Mask’ and shows how you can put on a mask to hide your true feelings. You have to look beyond the mask.
As you tour around you can see children and young people expressing their anger and frustration through art. It is uncomfortable in places. But it concludes with hope, showing the resilience that children and young people have, to do more than to just survive, to achieve their full potential.
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September 6th, 2010
When I was younger my nickname at school was KT. One infamous day we were playing football in the school yard. I remember it well. This lad came pelting down the wing with the ball at his feet. As he was about to shoot I put my foot in for a tackle. I still contend I got the ball first but I might also have given his ankle a glancing blow! As he flew through the air the chant “Towler fowler” was ringing in my ears!
So, when I was in Ysgol Gyfyn Bro Morgannwg the other day to watch a participation rap DVD made by young people it really made me laugh when the line “we have all heard about Robbie Fowler but how many of you know Keith Towler” was performed.
The DVD was made by a great group of young people in the Vale of Glamorgan who were asked to create a bi-lingual rap to help highlight young people’s rights in Wales. The aim of the rap is to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to raise awareness of the National Children and Young Peoples Participation Standards for Wales. With a little help from some tutors and youth workers the group wrote, recorded and produced a music video within four days. It is really good so please do take the trouble to watch it.
Raising awareness about the Convention amongst children and young people is so important. The great thing about this DVD is it is fun, informative and really accessible. The fact that it is made by young people for young people gives it a freshness that is great to watch. I hope that it gets played right across Wales.
It was an honour for me to watch the premier showing and to present achievement certificates to the young people who made it. They might have to get used to their new celebrity status but I’m sure they will cope. Year 9 students were in the audience and they clearly loved it. It was almost as much fun watching those who made the film squirm as they saw themselves singing and dancing. But they have done a great job and they should be proud of what they have achieved.
Many congratulations to all involved.
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July 2nd, 2010
I spent a wonderful morning in Gnoll Park at the Local Aid Schools Challenge this week. The event runs the whole week long and has been going on for twenty years or more. We have enjoyed days and days of unbroken sunshine so I was a little surprised to see rain but it didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the event. And what an event it is.
For those of you who do not know Local Aid it is a local charity working to raise awareness of the needs and aspirations of young people with special needs. The organisation provides specialist equipment, arranges travel support, specialist services and activities for young people with severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviour in local communities in Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea. The organisation supports young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, and promotes the rights of individuals to be supported to reach their potential. They also actively support children and families in need as well as offering fun, choice and opportunity for the children and young people involved.
So what was going on in Gnoll Park? All kinds of activities with all kinds of challenges and all outdoors. The park was full of muddy, wet, happy young people having a fantastic time. They were doing assault courses, pulling rafts across the lake, going down zip wires and water slides and doing all kinds of activities. Each team of young people, and there were 400 or so young people involved that morning, (2,000 during the course of the week), earned points for taking part, completing things, answering questions and for getting the most soaked! Great stuff. All sorts of organisations are involved supporting the event. Police officers, firefighters, PCSOs, probation officers, volunteers, physiotherapists, nurses, teachers, youth workers, play workers, sports officers … the list goes on and on. All taking part in providing learning and fun activities.
I took a walk around the park to get a feel for the whole thing and to chat with the young people. In one stall – SNAP Cymru’s European Social Fund programme: ‘Diversity Challenge – a group of young people were standing in front of a table full of photos of famous people and celebrities. Each one of the people in the photographs had a disability. “So, which one of these people can’t see?” said the organiser. “Well, I think that must be Stevie Wonder” said someone at the front. “That’s right it’s Stevie Wonder but it hasn’t stopped him making some of the best music has it”. Everyone nodded. “Hold on a minute” said a lad to my left “what are disabled people anyway?” His mate turned round to him and said “That’s who we are!” “Oh, I see.” Laughter all round.
I spoke to lots of young people. All having a great time. I don’t know how many times I heard that doing things outdoors is “cool”, “brill”, “fun”, “exciting”, “mega”. But why is it so good? Well the best answer I heard was the one that went something like “Well, I have learned loads, I’m soaked to the skin, I’ve got mud in my tummy button and my wheelchair will need a bit of a clean … but who cares!”
I can’t speak highly enough about this event. It is brilliant to raise awareness about disability but also to see that barriers to involvement and participation can come crashing down. It is all about positive mental attitude and the positive energy this event generates speaks for itself.
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May 17th, 2010
I find it impossible to sit at a nursery table with children where there is paint and paper being used without having a go. What’s more these children were painting with their fingers. Up to their armpits in black paint making pictures of rabbits. Fantastic.
My effort was recognisable as a rabbit in my eyes but I was not too sure that it convinced the children. And then into the kitchen next door where some parents were making cakes and had prepared bacon rolls and coffee for their guests. Tough job this but someone’s got to do it!
I was at the Clase Family Centre in Swansea with Kay at the invitation of Cherrie Taylor and Peter Williams from Faith in Families. In the Church in Wales the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon Board for Social Responsibility runs a number of Faith in Families Projects and I got to visit three of them in Swansea. First stop was Clase and then it was on to the Family Centres in Penplas and Bonymaen. What a morning.
Sometime ago I spoke at a Church in Wales conference and soon afterwards Cherrie wrote to me asking me to visit. She quoted some words I had said at the conference back to me. I had said “the longer I have been the Commissioner the more and more concerned I get about parenting and the responsibilities we have towards parents”. As she greeted me at the door in Clase it soon became clear that everything I was about to see was about providing services and support for children and their parents. Each one of the Family Centres had a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Each one had all sorts of things going on. There were children involved in finger painting, singing songs, planting potatoes and flowers and generally having a great time. I have never seen so much compost inside a children’s play area or seen what fun it could be. So whilst there were children in Clase with painted hands and forearms there were children in Penplas covered in compost. I always think that the scale of mess nearly always equates to the level of fun being had – and these children were all having fun and learning lots with smiles on their faces.
Meanwhile what were the parents up to? Well, they were making cakes, involved in a jewellery workshop, chatting together and meeting the Children’s Commissioner. In discussion with them I heard how much the Family Centres meant to them. One told me that she had been coming for a number of years. She said “Our children have really grown here and so have we”. I heard about the university and college places that some of them had secured, about the activities and training courses they have done, about the debates they have had, how they support each other, about their hopes for the future and how the Centre has been the hub of so much that has been positive for them and their children. Another told me that “My children are safe here and because they are happy that gives me time to get involved in things and to plan for the future. It has made me a better mum. And because I’m more confident my children are benefiting as well”.
The Family Centres also offer contact centres and I was able to look at the facilities on offer. I heard about the partnership arrangements and how much effort goes into securing funding and planning new and refurbished buildings. In talking with the staff you get a sense that here are people with vision and purpose. People who recognise the value of preventative work with families, the benefits of partnership and the payback to be gained for children by investing time and providing opportunities for parents. With increasing numbers of children coming into our care system we need to recognise the value of preventative work more then we do. This work is real. It is clearly making a difference and we need to value it and protect it more than we do.
Driving away from Bonymaen Kay and I reflected on what we had seen and the discussions we had had. Kay said “It’s great isn’t it to spend time with real people who are doing things that can make such a positive difference”. Well said Kay, you took the words right out of my mouth.
With thanks to all the children, mums, dads and staff at the Faith in Families Projects – inspirational people doing what’s right for their children and themselves.
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April 26th, 2010
Whilst the campaigns proceed I have, on more than one occasion, been asked by adults if young people are interested in the General Election. On the basis of my experience over the last couple of weeks I would say that the answer to that is yes they are.
Young people at the Funky Dragon Grand Council were engaged, commenting on the performances of the leaders in the televised debates. Other young people have spoken to me about the extent to which political parties have policies that appeal to young people.
And then today I took a telephone call from Nathan. Nathan is 16 years old and is interested in finding out what the political parties think about lowering the voting age to 16. “If the voting age was lowered they might think more about the issues that are important to young people” he explained. I agreed but said that some people took the view that young people are not interested in politics. “Yes we are” he replied “and what I want to do is ask the parties what they think about it – do you think they will listen to me Keith?”
I encouraged him to get involved. After all it would be a brave or perhaps foolish party who ignored the interest of young voters and those who will be eligible to vote in a couple of years time. For sometime I have heard expressions of exasperation at the disengagement of young people in politics. It would appear to me that this election has stimulated interest in young people.
Lowering the voting age? Answers on a postcard please. Whenever I have raised this before with young people I have heard arguments in favour and against. In the current climate those in favour seem to be in the majority.
What is clear is that it is great that young people like Nathan are taking such an active interest in politics and the policies that will shape their futures.
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March 26th, 2010
Last week I went to the “Violence in Relationships” conference for young people in south Wales. It was organised by South Wales Police and involved around 250 14 to 17 year olds.
It was a very good day. Peter Vaughan, the Chief Constable, opened proceedings by reminding all the young people that being the victim in a violent relationship is completely unacceptable. During the day there were powerful and moving presentations including an inter active play by Geese Theatre Company, three powerful real life stories from young people and one from Pat, an adult who kept her audience enthralled with an emotional account of her own experience as a victim in a violent relationship.
During the day Melvyn and Tam from Funky Dragon ran some questions past the young people. Participants used hand held voting key pads to register their votes. One of the questions asked the young people if they had ever had friends who had been in an abusive relationship.
I was shocked to see that 66% in the morning and 70% in the afternoon said that they did know someone in that position. Most people would agree that prevention is so much better than intervention after the event and the purpose of the conference was to raise awareness and to give young people the confidence to speak out if they find themselves in an abusive relationship.
In my short speech I congratulated the Police for organising such an important day. I spoke about children’s rights but was alarmed to see only 20 hands go up when I asked the young people if they knew about their rights. All too often I hear the argument that young people know all about their rights and nothing about their responsibilities. That is clearly not so.
Luckily, Jamie, Lucy, Mark and Robela were outside in our white Commissioner display van so I encouraged everyone to visit it and pick up information on the UNCRC and details on how they can contact me if they ever need to. Later that afternoon it was clear that they had heeded my advice, the frizbees with our contact details were flying about all over the place.
The day was compered with humor and skill by Kevin Johns. When I finished my talk he referred to me as “Wales’s number 1 white van man”. The cheek of it!
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March 19th, 2010
Elaine described herself as a “pretend Head teacher” but as I was soon to discover that is anything but true. Elaine is the Acting Headteacher at Twynyrodyn Community School in Merthyr Tydfil and I was there to present them with their Investors in Families Award and their Green Flag.
First up it was into the school hall to meet all 300 of the pupils who were gathered together in silence as I entered with Elaine and Mark one of our CCfW volunteers. Two of the children introduced me and I recognised them straight away having met them a little while ago in the Senedd. I remember them well because on that occasion they asked for my autograph - not something that happens to me everyday of the week - so it was great to see them again. After a short speech from me the children sang us songs and then it was photo time as I presented both awards to the children.
Bob from Media Wales was the photographer. He ominously asked me how good my knees were. They were fine before he made me kneel down on a hard floor for photos with all the children! All the children were great and are clearly looking forward to seeing their picture in the local paper.
As part of my input I asked the pupils if they would like to join the Children’s Commissioner for Wales as an Ambassador School. The biggest cheer of the afternoon signaled to me that they were very keen indeed to maintain a link with me and in discussion with some of them it was also obvious that they knew about children’s rights. Indeed the Investors in Families Award signals that the school takes an inclusive approach that fosters respect between children, young people and adults. I felt very pleased and honored that such a welcoming school that has already achieved so much wanted to become an Ambassador School. Mark has taken on the job of liaising with Elaine further about how to get the Ambassador programme up and running in Twynyrodyn.
You know it never fails to amaze me how much enthusiasm there is in children. Even the really little ones today, sitting very neatly in a row in the front of the hall, joined in with the songs and clapped and cheered in all the right places. Some found the excitement too much and struggled to stay awake. The capacity small children have to fall asleep on a sixpence is great but so too is the capacity of some very attentive staff who spotted the sleepy heads and sprang into action.
As we left the sun was shining and the children all ran outside for some extended play time. Reward indeed.
What a great school!
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March 15th, 2010
One of my favourite sounding words is breakfast. To be honest though I usually rush out of the house each morning having missed the most important meal of the day. Not today though.
I have just attended a Business Breakfast hosted by Jane Hutt in Barry College. The theme of the meeting was “Youth in the Vale”. Jane invited me to say a few words and it was a pleasure to be involved in something that was set up to celebrate the achievements of children and young people in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Children and young people were there from Gibbonsdown Youth Forum and the Vale Youth Forum as well as members from schools councils in Cowbridge, Llantwit and Barry and from Barry College Student Union.
I have to say that the cooked breakfast was fantastic. Prepared and served with great skill by the Barry College students. This job of mine is tough at times but you know what? Someones got to do it and if that means sitting down to a hearty breakfast in the company of children, young people and adults … well, I’m up for it!
After Jane and I had spoken we heard from the children and young people and all the things they are involved in. Things like designing questionnaires to find out the views of young people, encouraging as many as possible to get involved in local activities, establishing fair trade status in schools, working on school Eco committees, setting up peer buddying projects, teaching drumming skills to younger children. Fantastic stuff. For the adults present it was inspirational to hear about all the things that children and young people were achieving in their family, social, community and academic lives.
As I drove away from the event having chatted with everyone I left with just one thought in my head – “Aren’t our children and young people wonderful?” As Jane had said in her closing remarks the answer to that question is a resounding “Yes they are!”
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