Life on the Rock.

Children's Commissioner Deborah McMillan.

Press Release from Children's Minister Deborah McMillan.

"I am pleased to share with you our latest research’ Our Life on the Rock.’  This tells the stories of 21 very different young islanders whose collective experiences cover everything from traditional, carefree upbringings to those clouded by poverty, racism, bullying or abuse. 

It is a multi-faceted, in-depth insight into what it is like to grow up in Jersey – childhood explored from every angle, through all kinds of people’s real and unvarnished experiences.

 

What we have set out to do with this project is to engage a cross section of young Islanders in a meaningful way. This means giving them the opportunity to speak and the means to be heard, even if their words paint a difficult or challenging picture. 

 

The study is grouped into different themes, from concrete topics like health, housing or education through to more elusive concepts such as staying safe or bullying and social media. And in line with my mandate to allow the real, unedited views of children and young people to remain at the centre of our work and research, we adopted something known as the ‘Lundy model of participation’ to guide us through this project.

 

We stepped back and let children and young people determine the themes, methodology and interpretation of the study, with minimal interference from the adults involved.

 

A first step in achieving this was to establish children’s advisory groups – thanks to Haute Vallee, Mont A Labbe, Janvrin and Beaulieu schools.  These groups were central in designing what the study should look like (everything from choosing its name through to what themes it should tackle), as well as taking part in the discussion and analysis of ‘life history interviews’ (more on those in a moment), and the secondary analysis of data from our survey of 1,700 local children and young people.

 

The life history interviews were conducted with 21 different children and young people, who range in age from nine to 18 years old, and who come from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Interviews were conducted face to face and spanned a period of several weeks, and those taking part were given a guarantee of anonymity and of special precautions to ensure that, in a small community like Jersey, they would not be identifiable.

 

With our thanks to the wonderful team at the Centre for Children’s Rights, Queens University Belfast – Prof Laura Lundy, Dr Mary-Louise Corr, Dr Amy Hanna, Dr Katrina Lloyd and Dr Michelle Templeton.

 

https://www.childcomjersey.org.je/life-on-the-rock/

 

When I first set up my office, the vision for our collective future was written by children, who expressed the following hope: 'Jersey is a place where the rights of children are realised and respected, and their voices shape their lives.'

Life on the Rock is part of our ongoing work to try to make that a reality.

 

Regards Deborah

 

Deborah McMillan

Commissioner for Children and Young People Jersey"