What’s a Children’sCommissioner?

Get in touch with us!Freephone: 0808 801 1000 or visitwww.childcomwales.org.uk for more info.

What does theCommissioner do?

The Commissioner

works with Children

and young people

to help make

a difference.

It’s the Commissioner and the team’s job to:

Tell children and young people about the Commissioner and children’s rights

Go and meet with children and young people and listen to what they have to say

Work to make sure that all children and young people in Wales are safe

Make sure that everyone hears about children’s rights and takes children seriously

Help children and young people who are worried about something

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30

Someone whospeaks up for children and young people.

They work to make sure thatchildren and young people are kept safe and that they know about and get their rights.

There is a lot of work to do so a team of 30 people workwith theCommissioner.

What’s an Ambassador? §

www.childcomwales.org.ukYou can Visit www.childcomwales.org.uk for more information about being an Ambassador

P

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!There are 3 main things an ambassador does:

No. 1No.2

No.3

No. 1Tell children in their

school all about the

Children’s Commissioner

for Wales

No. 2Tell children in theirschool all about Children’s rights and the UNCRC

No. 3Ask children in their

school what could

be made better

and then work

with other people

in the school to

change things

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d

The ambassadors get lots of help to do these things from their teacher and the Communications andParticipation team at theChildren’s Commissioner’soffice. Being an ambassador is an important job and it’s a lot of FUN!

• Able to listen to what other people in the school think

• Make sure children in your school know about their rights

• Be happy to try and do something different in school

• Ask if you are not sure about something & get help if you need it

• Speak up for yourself

• Speak up for others

• Able to work with other people

• Do things so you can try and make changes for young people

• Organise some things, like putting up posters

• Reliable—will come to meetings and reply to messages

∞

Want to be anAmbassador? §

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

If you want to try and be an ambassador you will have to take part in an election in your school, where all the children vote for the two children they want to be the ambassadors.

Email: ambassadors@childcomwales.org.uk

Website:www.childcomwales.org.uk

XHere are a few tips about what to do if you want to try and become an ambassador:

• Make sure you know what an ambassador does

• Make a list of why you think you would be a good ambassador

• Make a poster to tell people why you would be good as an ambassador

• Talk in class or assembly to tell everyone whyyou would be a good ambassador (plan whatyou want to say beforehand, and practice it with your friends)

What will you get?

• A toolkit telling you all about everything you need to do

• Visits from the Communications and Participation team

• Phone and email support from theCommunications and Participation team

Contact us…

Colwyn BayPenrhos Manor, Oak Drive, Colwyn Bay, Conwy LL29 7YWTel: 01492 523333 Fax: 01492 523336

SwanseaOystermouth House, Charter Court, Phoenix Way, Llansamlet, Swansea SA7 9FSTel: 01792 765600 Fax: 01792 765601

Running an Election —ask your teacher forhelp with this! §A school election is when all of the children in school choose who they want to be theirambassadors. Here’s what might happen in an ambassadors election

The two young people with the mostvotes get to be the ambassadors.One girl + one boy MUST be chosen

b

No. 1 No.2

No.3

No. 1Everyone in the class

looks at the information

and talks about it

with their teacher

to find out what an

ambassador is, what

they will have to do +

WHO WANTS TO BE ONE!!!

No. 2The pupils that want to be an ambassador say who they are and why they would be a good ambassador.

No. 3In class people say whothey think should be anambassador by filling in the nomination form.The people with themost nominations will go forward to a wholeschool secret vote!

No.4No. 4All the pupils in the

school get to vote, in

a secret ballot, where

nobody knows who has

voted for who…

The two ambassadors, get their special Ambassadors’ Packs, with loads of information, and things that will help them to do their job.

Election Voting Forms

Nomination Form

§Vote for me!ºPhotocopy these forms and

hand them around your class during nomintations.

I would like to nominate

to be an ambassador because

Self Nomination FormName

I think I would be a good ambassador because

nn

Election Voting Forms

Place a xnext to your choice

§Vote for me!

1

ºPhotocopy these forms and hand them around your class during nomintations.

2

3

4

Hello Ambassador

§

Get in touch!Freephone: 0808 801 1000www.childcomwales.org.uk

b

Being an ambassador is an important job and this toolkit has been written to help you. It might sometimes be hard work but it should also be fun!

You‘ll find more information about other ambassadors and the work they have been doing by looking on the ambassadorspage on the website.

www.childcomwales.org.uk

If there is anthing you are not sure about don’t forget that you can ask for help from your teacher or any of us.

Call our freephone number:

0808 801 1000

and ask to speak to the Communications and Participation Team.

Or Email:

ambassadors@childcomwales.org.uk

Or write to the Communications andParticipation Team at the Children’sCommissioner’s two offices.

Well done, you’ve been chosen to be an ambassador by the children and young people in your school.There are 3 main things ambassadors do:

P

No. 1No.2

No.3

No. 1Tell the other children

in your school all

about the Children’s

Commissioner for Wales

No. 2Tell the children inyour school all aboutChildren’s rights and the UNCRC

No. 3Ask children in the

school what could

be made better

and then work

with other people

in the school to

change things

In Colwyn Bay

Penrhos ManorOak DriveColwyn BayConwy LL29 7YW

In Swansea

Oystermouth HouseCharter Court Phoenix WayLlansamletSwansea SA7 9FS

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

Here’s some stuff youneed to know so thatyou can do your job! §

We’re hereto help you!

It’s the Commissioner and the team’s job to:

tell children and young people about the Commissioner and children’s rights

go and meet with children and young people and listen to what they have to say

work to make sure that all children and young people in Wales are safe and help children and young people who are worried about something

make sure that everyone hears about children’s rights and takes children seriously.

Q.

WWW.Find out more about the work we do by looking on our website:www.childcomwales.org.uk b

A.What’s a Children’sCommissioner?Someone who speaksup for children andyoung people.

There is a lot of work to

do so a team of 30 people

work with the Commissioner.

They work to make sure

that children and young

people are kept safe and

that they know about

and get their rights.

What work does the Commissioner and the team do?

b

5Look at me!‘I am an Ambassador at my

school. My classmates voted

for me and I really enjoy it.’

WWW.Remember to check

out our website:

www.childcomwales.org.uk

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

D

Workshops

We run workshops to tell children, young people and adults about the Children’sCommissioner and about children’s rights.

Advice & Support

We have a helpline that children andyoung people can ring for free if they areworried about something. Adults can ringif they are worried about a child or young person not getting what they need.

Advisory Groups

We have 2 advisory groups of young people who help to interview all new staff, look at the way we work, make sure everything we write is easy to understand and other things like that.

Backchat

This is our email survey group that children and young people can join.Members are emailed questions. This helps usto know what childrenand young people thinkabout things.

Events

Each year we hold 2 events for childrenand young people,where they decide some of the things wework on in the following year. We go toother events as well like Eisteddfodau.

Policy Work

We work with people who make decisions, to tell them what children and young people think is important, and how to improve things.

Website

Our website has lots of information for children and young people about theirrights and the work we do.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors work with us to let childrenand young people know about theChildren’s Commissioner and their rights.

§

What does everyone do? iEveryone who is part of the ambassador’s scheme has a different job, we all work together and help each other to make things work.

Your Teacher

• Helps you if you need it

• Keeps in touch with the Communications and Participation Officers

The Communications andParticipation Officers — Us!

• Help you

• Keep in touch with the ambassadors in the schools

• Tell you about the Commissioner and children’s rights

• Tell the Commissioner about the work you are doing

• Put new information about ambassadors on the website

We can do

so much by

working together.

d§

Ambassadors — You!

• Tell other children in your school about the Children’s Commissioner and children’s rights

• Go to meetings about ambassadors and some school council meetings

• Keep in touch with the Communications and Participation Officers

• Tell your teacher how things are going and ask for help if you need it!

• Do a special ambassador project to change things in your school

No. 1The SchoolToilets!

§What’s an Ambassador’s Project? ?

d

In one school the ambassadors decided that they would like to find out what children in their school thought about the school toilets.

To do this they interviewed pupils in the playground using a cassette recorder andmicrophone, asking questions like:

‘What’s wrong with the school toilets?’

‘How can we make them better?’

The information was written down and taken to the next school council meeting. It made teachers aware of how they felt about their toilets.

The main problem was that the tap water was too hot, and there was no soap; both of these have now been sorted out.

The only way to

find answers

is by asking

questions.

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

An Ambassador’s Project is all about children and young people working tomake things better in their school.

Some ambassadors have already donesome great projects, here are just a few:

No. 2Bullying!

No. 3SchoolDinners

So whatcan youimprove?

§Ambassa

dors

Ambassa

dors

rule!rule!Ambassa

dors

rule!

Q

R

A

Another two ambassadors did a piece of work on school dinners. The ambassadors sent out questions to all the pupils in the schoolasking them what they liked and didn’t likeabout the dinners and how they could be better. The two ambassadors then met the cook to tell her what the children thought.

‘the dinner ladies are lovely and always smile’

‘Could we have taster dishes, when there is something new, so we can see if we like it first?’

The meeting went really well and the cook listened to what the children told her.

eBullying isnot ok!

In another school, the ambassadors decidedthat they would like to do some work on bullying. They used a ‘bully box’ and asked children to write down their thoughts about bullying.

They asked questions like:

‘Have you been bullied?’

‘What kind of bullying was it?’

They found out information about who was being bullied and what type of bullyingwas going on. They found out that the mostcommon bullying was name calling followed by pushing and hitting.

They decided to do something about bullying by doing an assembly for the whole school.They acted out a drama that showed differenttypes of bullying, how it made the young people feel and how they could help themselves by knowing what to do if they were bullied.

The assembly also sent out a clear messagethat bullying is not ok!

Is there something you think you

could make better in your school?

If you think so you could:

• Ask the childen in your school

what they think?

• Talk to your teacher about your

idea and what you could do

• Talk to the Communications

and Participation Officer

• Ask the school council what

they think?

Finding out aboutthings in your school

dqq

q

§

mIt’s good to listen

and think of others

Make an ideas box and

ask everyone to write

down things they think

need to be changed and

put them in the box.

Here are a few ideas:

No. 1Make anideas box

Ask children what theythink about things andrecord what they sayon a tape recorder.

Write a questionnaire(ask for some help to do this) and askchildren to fill it in.

No. 3Write a questionnaire

hNo. 2Interviewpeople

X

???When you have

enough informationyou need to talk to your teacher or the Communicationsand ParticipationOfficers about what to do next.

Part of your job as an ambassador is to find out what other children in your school think could be made better.

What happens at theend of the scheme? §Help carry on the good work

Your school will probably want to keep thescheme going and elections for the newambassadors will start in September.

If you are still at the school you might be able to help the new ambassadors to understandtheir new jobs or you may be leaving to go to secondary school.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

dWe hope you enjoybeing an ambassadorfor the Children’sCommissioner forWales and we hope you learn lots of new things.

Each year the ambassadors’ scheme finishes in July. So that means that you will finish being an ambassador too.

XWhen you finish somethingit’s a good idea to thinkabout what parts went well and what parts couldhave been better.

This helps us to make surethe new ambassadors getall the help they need to do their jobs.

You can fill in the form and send it back to us when you finish.

Tell us whatyou think!

Tell us what you reallythought of your time as an ambassador! §

WWW.childcomwales.org.ukStay in touch through our website: www.childcomwales.org.uk

de

Name

Age

School

What part of your job as ambassador did you enjoy doing the most?

What was the worst thing?

Is there anything you think we could do to make the scheme better?

Is there any advice you would give the new ambassadors?

∞

¢¢ ¢

Telling everyone about the work of the Commissioner

d

It’s your job as the ambassador to leteveryone know what the Children’sCommissioner for Wales does and how people can get in touch if they need to.You could:

§bqq

q

What can

I do that’s

different?

How many people have you told today

about the Children’s Commissioner

for Wales? 1–5 6–10 more than that!

Get thinking!

In one school the ambassadors decided to do a workshop session with the infants and the year six pupils.

They put together a colourful Powerpoint presentation with lots of information about the Commissioner and the UNCRC. To get the message across to younger children they used a puppet called ‘WMFFRA’ to explain the information in a fun way and make the presentation come alive.

The session with the infant class was fun, enjoyable and very informative, led and presented by the ambassadors with the help of ‘WMFFRA’!

?

Ambassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

Get busy!

• Ask your teacher if you can put some information about the Children’sCommissioner for Wales on a notice board for everyone to see (you’ll find posters and leaflets in this toolkit)

• Give out our leaflets (get in touch and we will send you some)

Get talking!

• Tell people about the ambassadors and the Commissioner in an assembly

• Tell the school council about theCommissioner and give them some information so that they can tell their own classes

Get arty!

• Make a leaflet or poster about what theCommissioner does and how children andyoung people can get in touch with theChildren’s Commissioner if they need to

Working with theschool council

If we work well

as a team, great

things can happen

WWW.childcomwales.org.ukFor more information, please visit our website: www.childcomwales.org.uk

Remember to Take plenty of notes at your meetings.

§

wAmbassadors Ambassadors rule!rule!

Ambassadors rule!

VTell t

he

world

The councillors represent the views of the children in their class.

It’s a good idea for ambassadors to go to some school council meetings so that:

• You can tell the school councillors about thework you are doing as an ambassador

• They can help you by telling the children in their class about the Commissioner and children’s rights

• They might be able to help you with your ambassadors project

Ask your teacher:

• when and where the school council meets

• ask if you can go along to the meetings

• put the dates in your journal

At the meeting — be ready to talk about being an ambassador

Talk to them about ways they could help you to do your job.

Every school in Waleshas a school council.Your school councilis made up of pupilsfrom your school,who are called school councillors.

The school council is one way that children have more of a say in the waytheir school is run.

There should be a child from every class on theschool council.

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