Case study
the right to be safe
Katy*, seven, knew she had a right to be safe.
She understood that she was entitled to be well looked after including having food, shelter and warmth.
Katy (not pictured here) was involved with social services because of issues at home. During a meeting she told her social worker that home was not a place where she felt safe.
Her social worker said Katy’s understanding of her own rights gave her the tools and the words to talk about what was happening at home. Using the language of rights, learned at her Level 1 rights respecting primary school, she explained that she had a right to be protected but that her parents were not keeping her safe.
“Katy probably would not have disclosed that she felt unsafe at home to her social worker had she not had that understanding of what her rights were.”
Learning about rights at school helped Katy to articulate that she wasn’t feeling secure at home, that her parents weren’t meeting her needs, and that this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
The headteacher said: “Katy probably would not have disclosed that she felt unsafe at home to her social worker had she not had that understanding of what her rights were.”
Katy was eventually placed with another family. Even though this was a very difficult process, Katy understood the reasons why she had to be removed from her home.
She told adults at school that she knew she had the right to be safe and to be well looked after and that, because her parents weren’t able to do that, she had to move away.
*Child’s name changed and is not pictured here.
