I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Chief Executive of the Children’s Law Centre. It is a real honour to step into this role and to join such a dedicated and passionate organisation at this important point in its journey.
First and foremost, I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Paddy Kelly who led the Centre for 28 years with extraordinary commitment and vision. Paddy’s leadership and tireless work have been central to building the Children’s Law Centre into the respected and trusted advocate for children and young people that it is today.
As we look ahead, 2027 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Children’s Law Centre—a significant milestone for all who have contributed to its work over the years. This is not only a time to reflect on how far we have come, but also a chance to renew our commitment to protecting and promoting children’s rights for the future.
I want to take this opportunity to recognise and thank the CLC team—our staff, our Board, and the young people involved in Youth@CLC. Each of these plays a vital role in ensuring that the Centre remains a strong, independent, and impactful organisation. Their passion, expertise, and lived experience are what make our work possible and meaningful.
Over the coming months, we will begin the process of developing a new strategic plan. This will be a collaborative effort, guided by the voices of children and young people, and shaped by the expertise of our staff, Board, members, youth advisers and partners. Together, we will map out the next chapter for the Children’s Law Centre, ensuring we remain responsive to the challenges children and young people face today and into the future.
I am very excited to be on this journey with you, and I look forward to working alongside all of you as we continue to strengthen children’s rights and make sure that every young person’s voice is heard.
Back to School, Back to Crisis for Children with Additional Needs
The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) is once again encountering a surge of pupils without suitable school placements as the new school year begins. This is a pattern seen every year, particularly around transition year pupils and pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). However, CLC legal advisers believe the crisis is deepening, with the issues no longer confined to pupils in transition year groups.
Children and families are being left in limbo, often for weeks or even months, due to delays in making placements ready. Even where a placement has been identified, work to prepare schools can drag on, leaving children without access to education and representing an annual breach to children’s human rights.
The Children’s Law Centre continues to support these children but has once again called for urgent action by the NI Executive to address delays in finalising statements, failure to plan for specialist placements and the lack of suitable placements.
Rachel Hogan, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser at CLC said: “For many years, disabled children have been treated like second class citizens as regards school placement, ranging from unsuitable placement or delayed placement to no placement at all.
“We are now seeing knock on effects with children in non-transition year groups being left without a suitable place. The NI Executive needs to end this deepening crisis, ensuring the Education Authority and other public bodies work collaboratively to stabilise the special education system and ensure every child can fulfil their right to an effective education.”
Liam Mackle, Advice Manager at CLC added: “We have been working to support individual children through this distressing time and working to raise the issues directly with the Education Authority. Delay in planning for the additional needs of pupils means that even those who are being placed, might not be able to enter those placements for weeks or months while suitable arrangements are being put in place.
“Likewise, statements being finalised late has a further knock-on effect on school transport services being delayed, meaning many pupils can’t get to school.”
A Call to Action
The Children’s Law Centre has raised this issue repeatedly over the years with the Education Authority, the Department of Education and the NI Assembly’s Education Committee. Last year, young CLC client Aurelia visited Stormont to discuss the issue with MLAs.
This annual back to school crisis amounts to systemic human rights breaches and ongoing discrimination on the grounds of disability. Too many disabled children are being treated as second class citizens in the education system, with their futures put on hold.
The placement crisis is not new, but the harmful impact on children and families is deepening. Urgent, systemic action is needed to ensure that every child with SEND can access their right to education without delay, disruption, or discrimination.
Exploring School Absence in Northern Ireland: Voices of Young People
Chronic school absence has been a growing concern across Northern Ireland, with rising numbers of young people disengaging from education. But too often, conversations about this issue overlook the voices of those most affected — the young people themselves.
This project set out to change that.
Through a series of honest, powerful video interviews, we asked a small group of young people to share their experiences, challenges, and hopes around school attendance. The stories that emerged are complex, deeply personal, and help us understand how the education system is, or isn’t, working for many children and young people.
The young people involved have been failed by the education system in various respects, but are now speaking out as child rights defenders to help secure changes for future generations.
The young people we spoke to have lived through school systems which they feel have not had the capability to support them, whether due to bullying, mental health struggles, unmet health and social care needs, ill equipped physical environments, rigid expectations, or a lack of genuine connection with the adults and peers around them. Yet their insights also point the way towards more compassionate, responsive, and inclusive solutions.
These interviews highlight key themes, including:
The impact of mental health on attendance and engagement.
The importance of positive teacher student relationships.
Experiences of bullying and feeling unsafe in school.
Barriers related to special educational needs and disability.
A desire for more flexible, relevant, and student centred education.
The need for a sense of belonging and acceptance within the school community.
One thing that was clear throughout the entire project, was that young people want to be heard and taken seriously. A failure to do that will result in a failure to tackle the problem.
What You’ll Find
Below, you can watch and listen to the young people in their own words. Young people who have taken a brave decision to speak out and become child rights defenders.
Each video offers a unique perspective, some heart breaking, others hopeful, but all are united by a call for change rooted in lived experience.
Meet the Young People
Alex: Once enthusiastic about school, Alex’s experience of bullying and feeling unheard by staff led to significant disengagement and school avoidance. He reflects on feeling unsupported and unmotivated.
Chris: Speaks candidly about the impact of school on his deteriorating mental health, and the stress of feeling unseen and misunderstood, especially when trying to mask neurodivergent traits.
Ian: Shares the barriers he faced due to the lack of accessibility in his school, highlighting how systemic inaction limited his educational opportunities.
Owen: Reflects on the trauma of being dismissed and punished in primary school and how a lack of empathy led to early disengagement. A compassionate teacher made a lasting positive difference, even if, in the end, it was too late to prevent him from leaving school.
Kanye and Lukas: Talk about the role of friendship, inconsistency in learning experiences and feeling misunderstood, showing how school environment and relationships shape attendance and achievement.
A Call to Listen and Act
These stories are not isolated. They reflect broader patterns that need urgent attention. By truly listening to young people we can begin to design systems that work with them, not against them.
Children’s Rights and Chronic School Absence: A Rights Based Approach
Chronic school absence isn’t just an educational issue — it’s a children’s human rights issue.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), every child has the right to an effective education (Articles 28 and 29). More than that, they have the right to be listened to (Article 12), to mental health support (Article 24), and to access all of their rights without discrimination (Article 2).
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) also sets out clear obligations on states to ensure disabled children enjoy their rights in school on an equal basis with others. Every disabled child has the right to access education without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity (Article 24); and they must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, with their views given due weight (Article 7). Schools, transport, communication, and learning materials must be physically and practically accessible to all pupils (Article 9); and disabled children must not be left behind due to systemic neglect, inaccessible environments, or untrained staff (article 5).
The young people we interviewed told us clearly: they often didn’t feel respected or heard in school environments. Their mental health needs were not effectively supported. Their additional needs were not being met and reasonable adjustments were absent or hard fought for. Their differences were misunderstood by those around them and their voices were missing from decisions about their own education.
Watch the Interviews
Thanks
We are grateful to the LFT Charitable Trust who, in recognising the importance of this participative research project, provided a grant to enable its completion.
We would also like to thank all the young people who took part in the project as well as Strive NI, Larne YMCA and Barnardos for their help throughout the project.
On 7 July 2025, Together joined colleagues from the Rights of the Child UK (ROCK) Steering Group to launch the Post-Conference Report from the ROCK Annual Conference 2024 – a day that brought together over 90 children’s rights advocates, decision-makers and academics from across the UK, Jersey and Iceland.
Held in Edinburgh on 17 September 2024, the conference was hosted by Together in partnership with the ROCK Steering Group, with generous funding from Elevate Great (formerly Cattanach).
The conference offered a vital opportunity to reflect on progress – and gaps – in how children’s rights are being taken forward in law, policy and practice across the UK. Speakers shared updates from each jurisdiction, drew on international experience, and explored how best to respond to the UN Committee’s 2023 Concluding Observations.
Throughout the day, there was a strong call for action: to push for full incorporation of the UNCRC across all UK jurisdictions, strengthen systems for monitoring and accountability, and ensure that babies, children and young people are meaningfully involved in shaping decisions that affect them.
The Post-Conference Report captures these priorities and outlines practical next steps. These include a commitment from ROCK to develop a coordinated UK-wide strategy for incorporation, alongside stronger cross-sector collaboration and improved tools to support implementation.
ROCK is a coalition of voluntary organisations and individuals working together to embed children’s human rights into law, policy and practice.
ROCK’s work is guided by its Steering Group, which comprises representatives from leading child rights alliances across the UK, including: Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights); Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE); Children in Wales; Wales UNCRC Monitoring Group; Children’s Law Centre; and UNICEF UK.
The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) is pleased to announce the appointment of John O’Doherty as its new Chief Executive Officer. John will take up the role in August 2025. The appointment follows the news that Paddy Kelly, the Centre’s founding Director of over 27 years, will step down this summer.
John O’Doherty, who comes with years of extensive experience in leading an NGO and working as a leading human rights defender, will lead CLC in the next phase of its work and development.
Commenting on the announcement, outgoing Director, Paddy Kelly, said: “It has been a huge privilege to lead the Children’s Law Centre for over 27 years. In that time, we have secured major protections in children’s rights and changed the lives of tens of thousands of children and young people directly through advice, legal representation and advocacy.
“I am delighted to be handing over the reins of CLC to John. I have no doubt that he will successfully lead the organisation in the next stage of its work to vindicate the rights of children. He brings years of experience of working in the voluntary sector, including advocating for the realisation of rights. He will bring drive and energy to the work of advancing children’s rights and I’m confident he will make a significant impact in the growth and development of the organisation.”
John O’Doherty will be joining the Children’s Law Centre having worked for the past two years as the Director of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the Community Foundation Northern Ireland. Previous to that, he worked for 14 years as Director of The Rainbow Project. His appointment comes after a competitive open recruitment exercise, undertaken by the Centre’s Board of Trustees, supported by CO3’s Engage Executive Talent.
The Board and staff at CLC would like to congratulate John on his appointment and look forward to working with him to secure and vindicate the rights of all children and young people in Northern Ireland.
Children’s Law Centre Service during Covid-19 Health crisis
We are not receiving post at present, all communication to be sent by email.
As a result of the current health crisis, and in accordance with government advice, all Children’s Law Centre staff are now working from home. We will continue to deliver services to the best of our ability and within ongoing restrictions.
What about Children’s Human Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic?
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recently set out that “…restrictions must be imposed only when necessary, be proportionate and kept to an absolute minimum” and that “States should respect the right of every child to non-discrimination in its measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic as well as take targeted measures to protect children in vulnerable situations…States should ensure that responses to the pandemic, including restrictions and decisions on allocation of resources, reflect the principle of the best interests of the child.”
For answers to your legal FAQs on how COVID-19 impacts on children’s rights click here>>>
Brief note on children and the Mental Capacity Act (NI) 2016 and temporary changes to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards during COVID-19 emergency, click here>>>
If you are concerned about how COVID-19 may impact on children’s enjoyment of their legal rights and you require further legal advice please email: info@childrenslawcentre.org
You may contact individual Children’s Law Centre staff via email. Please initially contact Sarah McAuley on reception@childrenslawcentre.org
If you have already been in contact with a member of staff please contact the relevant member of staff directly.
Email addresses for Children’s Law Centre staff are below:
reception@childrenslawcentre.org
sarahmcauley@childrenslawcentre.org
barbaramuldoon@childrenslawcentre.org
catherine@childrenslawcentre.org
claire@childrenslawcentre.org
dianehammond@childrenslawcentre.org
eamonnmcnally@childrenslawcentre.org
samnelson@childrenslawcentre.org
emmaroseduffy@childrenslawcentre.org
helenrafferty@childrenslawcentre.org
kathrynstevenson@childrenslawcentre.org
liammackle@childrenslawcentre.org
mariamccloskey@childrenslawcentre.org
paddykelly@childrenslawcentre.org
rachelhogan@childrenslawcentre.org
Sinead@childrenslawcentre.org
If you wish to contact our legal advice service you may continue to do so by emailing: info@childrenslawcentre.org
Please note that CHALKY our Free Phone Advice Line has been suspended until further notice.
We will continue to monitor government advice and hope to be able to return to a full service as soon as it is safe to do so.
Please stay safe and well.
Children’s Law Centre Management Committee and Staff
This includes requiring each country, every five years or so, to make a report on their progress to an international committee of experts on children’s rights (this is called: ‘The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’). This Committee will then visit those countries to check if they are doing what they should be for children and let them know where they need to improve.
People should think about ways to make sure everyone knows about the Convention, regardless of their age. There should be training around how to do this, especially for those who work with children and young people.
Countries are free to give children and young people more rights than the Convention lists; they just can’t take away the rights that are given by it.
the government should always try to make sure that your rights:
are realised in practice
actively help you to live a safer and happier life
It also means that the government should take steps so that you and the adults who work with children and young people all know about the UNCRC.
The age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland is 10, however the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child say that this is too low and have asked our government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old.
The government must do all that they can to protect you and look for your family so they can reunite you. If your family cannot be found, the government must provide you with the same support and protection as any other child that has been separated from their family.
This includes being taken from where you live against your will and forced to live somewhere else.
It is your right to learn and practice your language, customs and religion. The government must do all that they can to support you and make sure you do not face unfair treatment or discrimination as a result of this.
Our government should make sure you can participate in fun activities you like e.g. places to meet and socialise with friends, sports, youth clubs and cinemas. You should also have opportunities to enjoy cultural life and customs for instance taking part in special events and activities.
The government should;
Make sure primary education is compulsory and free
Develop different types of secondary education, for example vocational training, and offer accessible guidance to all young people on their options
Offer financial support for young people who cannot afford further education
Work to reduce dropout rates from school
Make sure all school disciplines are appropriate, for example teachers should not use violence or harm children or young people
Your education should:
Respect human rights and freedoms
Respect the environment
Respect your family, identity, language, your values and the values of communities different than your own
Prepare you for life when you leave school for example understanding, peace, tolerance, equality and friendship with people of all backgrounds
The government should help your parents/guardians to provide for you. This includes supporting you, or a parent/guardian on your behalf, to make a claim for social security benefits, offering support and training, clothing, food and housing.
This support and training should also include teaching you about the effects of drug use and the government should protect you from any harm you might suffer if your parents/guardians are using drugs.
You have the right to clean water and nutritious food so that you can stay healthy. You should also be taught about nutrition, hygiene and how to keep yourself safe.
The government should make sure you have access to education, training, health care services, rehabilitation service, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities necessary for your development, especially if you have a disability.
The government should do as much as they can to make sure you grow up happy, healthy and safe.
This includes providing you with child-care or other arrangements if your parents/guardians are working.
If you are living in conflict, it may be in your best interests to place you in a different country.
Your other rights must still be met, for example keeping in contact with your parents where it is safe to do so.
Some examples of being in the care of the government are when you are living in;
care homes
foster care
hospitals
residential schools
boarding schools
prisons
detention centres
rehabilitation centres
If it has been decided that the best option for you is alternative care (e.g. foster care, a children’s home or being adopted),
there should be independent checks to make sure that your rights are respected.
You have the right to keep in contact with your family if they are living in a different country, and to leave your country to live with your family, where possible.
Applications to reunite a family involving children can be made by children who are outside the UK,
to join their parent(s) with leave to remain in the UK, subject to meeting requirements set out in the Immigration Rules.
Being kidnapped also includes being taken from where you live against your will and forced to live somewhere else, e.g. being sent to a different country against your will.
The government must understand that your parents and family are important people in your life.
The government must also see that, generally, as you get older and more mature you should have even more say in these types of decisions.
For example;
If your parent is in prison you have a right to visit them if you want to, so long as this is in your best interests.
If you are in care, your parents may still be involved in decisions affecting your life. They should be helped to do this in a way that respects your rights and is in your best interests.
This includes help for survivors of:
violence
sexual violence
neglect
exploitation of any kind
abuse
torture
armed conflict
trafficking
This also applies to young people who are suspected of having breached immigration laws, such as asylum seekers and refugees.
You should be protected from anyone doing anything to your body that you do not want them to do, this includes physical punishment in school or for someone to touch you, to take inappropriate pictures of you, or to use images of you in a negative or inappropriate way.
Some types of harm include physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation. There are also traditional practices in some cultures which can cause harm to children, such as forced marriage, food restrictions, scarring/branding and other body modifications.
The government must help to make sure that people are never violent or harmful towards you and they should take steps to prevent you from harming yourself in any way.
You are free to join a peaceful protest about issues you feel strongly about e.g. climate change and your privacy should be respected when doing this, but you don’t have a right to meet others for unlawful purposes e.g. to cause harm to other people.
Some young people living in places like residential homes, juvenile justice centres or hospitals, may find it difficult to have their own space. Regardless of where you are living, you have a right to privacy.
Everyone should have access to the media and the internet, including young people whose freedoms are limited e.g. those in the Juvenile Justice Centre. Young people with a disability or where English is not their first language should get the help they need to access the media. You should be protected from harmful media for example material that shows graphic violence.
You can express yourself in different ways such as talking out loud or posting things on the internet. Your parents/guardians can guide you in this but as you get older and more mature, your ability to hold beliefs that are different from others must be respected.
For example, if your religion/beliefs are different from other students at your school, your teachers should make sure you have the chance to practice your religion and customs during school hours, if you want to. You should be able to follow your own beliefs as long as these beliefs respect and don’t cause harm to others e.g. you don’t have the right to reveal private information or say harmful things about a person that are not true.
Your identity is made up of many different parts, including:
Your name and nationality
Your race, culture, religion and language
Your appearance, abilities, gender identity and sexual orientation
The government should not interfere with your right to any of these and they should be able to help if any of these things are taken away from you.
For example;
Children in care – This means that your name should not be changed, unless you want it to be.
Stateless children – being stateless can affect whether you can go to school or to the hospital. The government should not have any laws that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or gender to cause statelessness.
If you are in care you have a right to have a say in where you are going to live. If you are in a hospital you have a right to have a say when there are different treatment options available to you. As you get older and more mature you should have even more say in these types of decisions.
The government should do as much as they can to make sure you grow up happy, healthy and safe.
This means all adults, like your parents/guardians, teachers, social workers, doctors and the police. When adults make decisions that will affect your life they must always think about what’s best for you and make sure you have a say in these decisions, where possible.
Discrimination can be direct or indirect. For example;
Direct: If someone did not get a job because they had a disability or a different skin colour.
Indirect: If everyone had to climb up a flight of stairs to get to an after-school club, this would discriminate against children who couldn’t do that because of a physical disability.
Training
Training
Due to the current Covid 19 Public Health Emergency all CLC’s face to face Training Calendar Events are postponed until further notice. We are hoping to offer online training seminars in the near future. Dates for online events and booking details will be posted to this page in due course…
The provision of training and information events are integral to the work of the Children’s Law Centre. All training delivered by CLC is directly informed by legal, policy and legislative developments relevant to children and young people and is underpinned by the key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the UK Government in 1991:
Article 2 – Non discrimination
Article 3 – Best Interests of the Child
Article 12 – Voice of the Child
CLC training aims to support all stakeholders in making children’s rights a reality in this jurisdiction by:
Raising awareness and understanding of children’s rights
Promoting the protection and mainstreaming of children’s rights
Links to online booking feature for future use?
Youth Participation and Advocacy
Youth Participation and Advocacy Project
The work of the Children’s Law Centre is guided and informed by the views of children and young people, particularly youth@CLC, our youth advisory panel.
Youth@CLC work closely with our Youth Participation and Advocacy Worker and other youth forums/young people in schools to raise awareness of children’s rights issues in Northern Ireland and advocate for positive change in children’s lives using children’s rights.
Youth@CLC inform our work and government policy affecting children through:
Participation in consultation responses
Running children’s rights projects and campaigns
Policy Work
Policy Work in CLC
CLC’s policy work ensures that where proposed governmental policies or legislation will impact on children and young people, government is reminded of its obligations to deliver on children’s rights as it is set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Some of the policy work we do includes:
Making consultation responses
Providing policy briefings to decision makers, partner organisations, children and young people and the general public
Delivering policy training
Making written and oral submissions to NI Assembly Committees
Carrying out consultations with children and young people and representing the views of children and young people to government
Legal Services
Our values
Our legal services are child focussed and the child is always our client.
We ensure that public authorities, tribunals and courts recognise children as rights holders with the right to express their views and have those views taken into account.
We strive to ensure that when decisions are being made that impact on the lives of children we represent…
The voice of the child is always heard ,
The child’s best interests are at the heart of decision-making
All children have equality of access to their legal rights, regardless of their age, background or circumstances
Chalky – Free phone Advice Line 0808 808 5678…(phone and email icon and address)
Our CHALKY legal advice and information service was launched in May 2000. We provide a free child friendly legal advice and information service, which deals with over 2000 issues annually. Our service provides free advice by phone or email to children and young people, their parents/carers and professionals with legal queries relating to difficulties in school, access to services for disabled children, special educational needs, mental health service provision, homelessness, family law issues and other general legal queries.
We can provide advice on children’s rights relating to the following areas:
Family Law
Being Looked After
Youth Justice
Mental Health Law
Access to Medical Services
Access to Family Support Services
School Admissions
Suspensions and Expulsions
Special Educational Needs
Social Security Benefits
Employment
Leaving home
The Human Rights Act
Equality and Discrimination
Housing
Immigration
Do you know you Rights series link here
Free Legal Representation for Children and Young People
We also provide free legal representation, particularly at SENDIST and Mental Health Review Tribunals and undertake strategic litigation following the criteria contained within our Casework Policy.(link to)
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New Digital Information and Advice Service for Children and Young People only (under 18)– Live Now!
Ree Rights Responder and Live Chat
Young people (aged 13 – 17) who would prefer to access information on their rights online can access our Children’s Rights chatbot REE- Rights Responder, which also offers a connection to an online legal advisor through REE live Chat for those young people who may need additional information and advice on their rights. See Ask an Expert in Youth Section for more information on REE.
