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Children's Rights and Legal Frameworks (X3231)

30 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

On this module, you'll develop a foundation in key legal and policy frameworks affecting work with children and young people across a broad range of contexts. The module is structured around the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, providing a global perspective on children's rights and legal frameworks. You'll study:

• children's rights, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right to education and initiatives like Free Primary Education in developing countries and UNICEF's Child Friendly Schools campaign
• international conventions such as the Salamanca Declaration, the UN Human Rights Declaration and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
• the UK's relationship to these international conventions and its comparative approaches to child policy in the EU
• the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the European Social Charter
• policy approaches to improving child welfare in the UK, including Every Child Matters, Rights Respecting Schools and Student Voice campaigns
• child protection procedures in the UK, supported by specific case studies
• legal frameworks and policies on migration, including the status of unaccompanied children in the UK
• statutory duties related to vulnerable groups in the UK, such as Looked After Children
• global and historical perspectives on inclusion, special educational needs, and disability legislation
• discrimination, including UK equalities legislation and institutional racism
• statutory duties for schools, including the National Curriculum, assessment and inspection frameworks
• professional codes of practice relevant to work with children and young people.

Teaching is delivered through weekly lectures, seminars and group tutorials, with a focus on preparing for the Open Book Examination, including practice sessions.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.