introducing the system - Children’s Convenor

Who we are and what we do

Three independent public offices make up the Children’s Tribunal Service for Guernsey and Alderney:

Child, Youth and Community Tribunal
Office of the Children’s Convenor
Children’s Convenor and Tribunal Board

Our purpose is to make decisions that help improve the lives of children and young people in Guernsey and Alderney and to:

Provide a single point of referral for all concerns about children and young people at risk
Ensure that enquiries into children and young people’s circumstances take place
Make important legal decisions to ensure that children and young people receive the support and services that they need to be safe, loved, respected and responsible
Uphold the rights of children, young people & their families
Recruit, train and support members of the Child, Youth and Community Tribunal
Influence change and drive improvements in the broader landscape of child protection, welfare and rights.

Click here for our introductory guide, or here to download our previous strategic report from 2017-2020.

How we do it

Giving children, young people and their families a positive and constructive experience where their rights are respected and they are treated fairly and lawfully
Having children & young people at the heart of all decisions and actions
Working collaboratively with our partners; valuing their contribution and responding to their feedback
Creating a culture of respect, support & partnership working towards our aspiration to be a trauma informed and responsive service
Committing to reflection, learning and continuous improvement
Sharing information, knowledge, data and experience to raise awareness and shape policy and practice

Our behaviours

Child centred

Acting in the best interests of children and young people and guided by their views and experiences

Respectful

Considerate and compassionate in our conduct and behaviours; approachable, helpful and honest

Fair

Grounded in law and rights treating everyone with dignity and based on their individual needs

Creative

Not being complacent but enquiring of ourselves and others to help us improve
Open to imaginative and new approaches and ideas

Community focused

Recognising our social and wider responsibilities and the contribution we can make to building and sustaining the health and wellbeing of our community

Measuring performance

We will take a balanced approach to measuring performance focusing on three key areas:

1. Strategic Implementation?

Are we achieving our strategic aims?

2. Organisational Effectiveness

How well are our operations working?

3. Organisational Efficiency

Are we operating efficiently?

Strategic themes

Care

Delivering our services in an environment that is supportive, traumainformed and non-adversarial where rights are respected and upheld.
Ensuring our staff and Tribunal members are valued and supported

Connect

Increasing participation and engagement of children and young people in the development of our services and in the decisions made about them
Nurturing our relationships with children, young people and their families, our partners, the community and the environment recognising that relationships are the agents of change

Collaborate

Working effectively with our partners to agree protocols and standards to improve outcomes for children and young people and ensure they get the right help at the right time
Share information and data to inform understanding and raise awareness of the roles of the Tribunal and Convenor and the issues faced by children and young people within our communities

Change

Continue to develop effective services in imaginative and innovative ways
Increase our use of technology to enable more connections to take place electronically or by remote means

The Annual Business Plans of the Convenor and President will set out the actions that will be delivered each year to progress these strategic aims. We will review these action plans and our performance against them on a quarterly basis.