Our vision is of ... no child poverty

Children in Northern Ireland face many problems including poverty, neglect and abuse, inequality and inadequate services.

25% of children live in poverty, 45,000 live in severe poverty, and almost one in five live in persistent poverty. 6% of children in Northern Ireland are affected by a disability and the most common types of disabilities are linked with chronic illnesses, learning difficulties and social / behavioural difficulties.

Recent statistics for Northern Ireland show that between 2000-2009, during a period of economic growth, the number of young people classified as Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)doubled to 52,000. The ongoing split between early years (DE) and childcare (OFMdFM) is resulting in some of our most vulnerable children being denied access to a high quality early childhood provision. In 2009, only 29.7% of children eligible for free school meals entitlement (FSME) achieved five passes at GCSE compared to 63.6% of their peers who did not qualify for FSME.

Over 20% of children suffer significant mental health problems and the incidence of mental ill health among vulnerable children is higher. This includes those with disabilities, living in poverty, those in conflict with the law and care experienced children. There is a high level of unmet need in relation to the availability of adequate Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provision. Almost 200 children in Northern Ireland were detained on adult psychiatric wards between 2007 and 2009.

Young males under 18 continue to be detained with adults in Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre, which is a category C prison and is not a child appropriate institution. Children in Hydebank do not have adequate access to education, healthcare, including CAMHS, leisure, including time out of their cell and outdoors. There are inadequate systems of child protection and ineffective complaints mechanisms.

In order to realise our vision of a Northern Ireland where no child or young person lives in poverty, disadvantage or exclusion politicians and political parties should:

• Commit to ensuring the NI Executive develops a more co-ordinated and joined up provision for children and young people, building on some of the good practice at local level, and looking creatively at pooling mainstream budgets around shared outcomes. Service provision should recognise the additional resources that may be required to ensure equality of access and benefit for children and young people with a disability.
• Proceed promptly with publication and implementation of a robust Northern Ireland Child Poverty Strategy that includes detailed delivery action plans with an identified department taking lead responsibility in delivering the strategy. The Northern Ireland Child Poverty Strategy must be viewed as an opportunity not only to mitigate and alleviate child poverty, but as an opportunity for the Executive to better target and allocate diminishing resources.
• Implement a cross-departmental, target driven and resourced strategy for NEET young people.
• Establish a fully integrated system of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) vision. There should be lead Ministerial responsibility for fully integrated early years and child care services underpinned by a commitment to co-operation by all relevant departments.
• Hold schools accountable for closing the attainment gap between rich and poor children and support them by targeting extra resources at pupils living in poverty.
• Commit to the increased provision of excellent quality child and adolescent mental health services available to all children and young people who require them and to the full implementation of the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities.
• Commit to the removal of all under 18s from detention with adults in Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre.