Children and families have always been at the centre of Acorns. In 2019 Acorns commenced a partnership with UNICEF and became the first children’s hospice across the UK to be awarded the Bronze Rights Respecting Award by UNICEF.
The award is given as an acknowledgement of an organisation’s commitment to ensuring the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child is embedded into both culture and practice within an organisation.
The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.
Every child has rights, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status.
Acorns is now actively working towards achieving the Silver Award. This work was placed on hold during 2020 due to the immediate need to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are delighted to report that we have a clear roadmap in place to help us achieve the Silver Award by the end of 2021
There are UNICEF Champions at each of our hospice sites and we have planned activities centred around children’s rights to inform and raise awareness in a fun and engaging way for both children and young people visiting our hospices and siblings attending support groups.
We have developed a Declaration of Intent with Acorns teams highlighting our commitment to the CRC, and we are continuing to have conversations with care colleagues on their understanding of the Rights of Every Child. There are also displays across our hospices to further demonstrate our commitment.
Our aim is for all Acorns care teams and care volunteers to understand the Convention for the Rights of the Child, and Acorns services and responses to our young people is synonymous with these rights.
