Child Power: Growing Children’s Activism to End Child Poverty

We want to say…poverty stops children having a good time, people need food and homes, things need to be cheaper, and there needs to be more clubs working without needing money

Member of Children’s Parliament, aged 8

Poverty shapes every aspect of a child’s life and future and is the single biggest breach of children’s human rights in Scotland. Not having enough money affects how children learn, play, and feel. It impacts their most important relationships and their lifelong outcomes. Despite this, children’s voices are often missing from the national conversation on how Scotland tackles child poverty. Child Power aims to change that.

Children’s Parliament and Save the Children are working with children in Scotland to:

  • Ensure children from low-income families in Glasgow identify and influence change on issues important to them, working in partnership with community organisations.
  • Engage, motivate and champion child activists across Scotland and develop a replicable model to support others to do the same, working with partners at a national level.
  • Increase decision-makers’ awareness of what matters to children and help them to meaningfully involve children in decision-making around tackling child poverty.

We’ve done our work, what will YOU do?

Read the summary report on the children’s views and their fabulous event here:

Children’s views on tackling poverty in Scotland (2026)Download

To kickstart our current work on child poverty, Children’s Parliament and Save the Children carried out an initial exploratory project. From October 2025 to February 2026, we worked together with 32 children aged 8 –10 years in a Primary 5 class at Oakwood Primary School. Children were supported to explore the causes and impacts of child poverty in communities and to share their views on Scotland’s attempts to tackle it through an event that they hosted themselves for MSPs, MPs, councillors and decision-makers.

Previous Children’s Parliament work exploring Child Poverty

“The Weight on Our Shoulders” consultation on the Child Poverty Bill and Delivery Plan (2018)

“A better start in life” a consultation with children to explore their views on and ideas for the Best Start Grant (2018)

“School should be a joyful place” further work addressing the poverty-related attainment gap evidenced within Scotland’s schools (2016)

Date: 2026
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