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Welcome to our August e-newsletter, designed to keep you regularly informed of developments surrounding the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020.
We would appreciate your feedback on the e-newsletter and if there is anything you would like us to include or to clarify then please let us know by emailing EndPhysicalPunishment@gov.wales
You can follow the Deputy Minister for Social Services on Twitter through @WG_Communities
The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 20 March 2020 and will come into force on Monday 21 March 2022.
The purpose of the legislation is to help protect children’s rights; it builds on the Welsh Government’s commitment to children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Under the law, parents and other adults acting in a parental capacity will no longer be able to physically punish children in Wales. The Minister responsible for the legislation is Julie Morgan MS, Deputy Minister for Social Services, Welsh Government.
We have created an explainer video, please share this with your colleagues.
There are other useful resources on our website, including a stakeholder briefing note and Timelines.
The Strategic Implementation Group oversees and makes recommendations to ensure the practical and effective implementation of the legislation.
More detailed work is being managed by three task and finish groups:
- Parenting Expert Action Group;
- Data Collection and Monitoring; and
- Training, Operations, Guidance and Diversion
There is also an Expert Stakeholder Group to oversee the communications work.
The Parenting Expert Action Group met virtually on 7 July. The group received updates on the ongoing parenting policy work, parenting communications campaign; the analysis of current parenting programmes in Wales and additional parenting support required as part of an out of court disposal under the Act.
The Strategic Implementation Group met virtually on 21 July, where they were provided with an update on the work of the task and finish groups. They reviewed the progress of the Training, Operations, Guidance and Diversion Group on developing proposals for a diversion scheme; received an update on the work of the Data Collection and Monitoring Group on putting arrangements in place for data collection, particularly in relation to social services and the police; and received an update on the progress of the engagement and communications campaign, particularly the plans for the public awareness campaign over the next few months – more on this below!
Summaries of the meetings of the Strategic Implementation Group and the Task and Finish Groups are available on the Welsh Government website. These summaries are published on the website once they have been cleared by group members.
Our public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the new law is underway. Online advertising and out of home advertising – such as advertising on buses and in service stations – has started. An advan will also visit over 40 holiday hotspots during the summer school holidays so keep an eye out for it!
Here is an example of some media coverage from Pembrokeshire.
During August, we will also be continuing with our targeted PR and engagement work, providing content for specific titles and community radio shows around Wales.
The campaign will then ramp up during September with television and radio advertising before the campaign peaks during January-March 2022 before the law changes on 21 March 2022. Our engagement work will continue throughout.
Parenting. Give it time complements the legislation by promoting positive parenting techniques, with advice from parenting practitioners, professionals and experts on managing behaviour positively and without resorting to physical punishment. It has also developed additional timely content to support parents, particularly through the Covid restrictions.
Don’t forget, you can find these tips and advice at gov.wales/giveittime and follow Parenting. Give it time on Facebook and Instagram.
Our communications team has continued to undertake sector focused media targeting this month and are grateful to the many organisations and individuals who have contributed to a range of articles. We are currently working on articles for SEN magazine, Nursing in Practice, Police Professional and Community Care. We will share the articles once published.
As part of our ongoing media work, we are keen to find individuals who would be happy to be interviewed or act as spokespeople in English and/or Welsh should the opportunity arise. These opportunities may include being interviewed for Radio or TV. If you are happy to put your name forward, please email Rebecca@cambrensis.uk.com for more information.
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