Save the Children Project
Inspiring Local and National Change: Tackling Child Poverty in Cardiff
There are 180,000 children living in poverty in Wales, with an estimated 23,000[1] living in Cardiff. Child poverty is not inevitable or acceptable. Children should not be denied their right to an adequate standard of living, going without necessities such as healthy food, warmth and clothing. Poverty impacts on all aspects of their life including educational attainment and health.
Save the Children is outraged by child poverty and working across the UK to help bring an end to it by providing opportunities and support to young people, children and families to tackle child poverty in their own communities.
An example of Save the Children’s work in Wales is a new project set up in partnership with Cardiff City Council and the Children and Young Peoples Partnership to inspire local and national change in Cardiff. This project sees Save the Children supporting the development of a Cardiff Child Poverty Strategy and Action Plan and is being carried out in two main ways:
1) By providing hands on support to develop the strategy, by drawing on Save the Children’s expertise and our current child poverty solutions work (www.childpovertysolutions.org.uk)
2) By working directly with children, young people and the families affected by poverty to develop and support their active involvement and ensure that the strategy is informed by the real life experiences of those it is seeking to help. We will support them to campaign and advocate for changes that will benefit them and their peers.
Gemma Bartlett, Poverty & Education Programme Officer at Save the Children is leading on this work and currently working with two Communities First areas to begin work on child poverty.
A series of workshops will begin in early October to explore inequalities experienced as a result of poverty, and possible solutions. The young people will identify the issues that are most important to them and build campaign strategies to present their views to key local decision makers to influence local service delivery and the child poverty strategy and action plan.
Primary schools in each area will also be visited to engage young children and seek their views on poverty and inequality.
Gemma will be consulting with additional groups of young people on the draft child poverty strategy and action plan for Cardiff.
Regular updates on the project’s progress will be posted on the extranet for ongoing information.
If you would like to be part of this work or have any questions please contact Gemma on 02920396838 or through e-mail: g.bartlett@savethechildren.org.uk
[1] At present the UK method of measuring child poverty at 60% median income is not disaggregated to a Local Authority level. The under 19 population 81,427(census 2001). Child Poverty figure estimate based on 2007 DWP figures for children living in workless households and set against 2005 figures which showed that in work poverty accounted for 42% of the total number of children living in poverty in Wales.
© Inclusion Cardiff 2009-2011
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