We want people to take our words and put them into action
Member of Children’s Parliament
We’re pleased to share the early stages of a vital new multi-year project, which we are delivering in collaboration with Save the Children. Having secured funding from the Robertson Trust’s Beyond Pledges fund, we’ll be spending the next two years supporting children’s activism, ensuring the views of children are at the centre of Scotland’s action to reduce child poverty.
Titled, ‘Child Power: Growing Children’s Activism to End Child Poverty’, the project is now underway in Easterhouse, Glasgow. Throughout 2026, we will focus on supporting children in the locality to campaign for the change they want to feel in their lives.
Then, in 2027, the learning from this first phase of the work will be used to support groups of children working with other organisations across Scotland. The overall ambition of the work is to kickstart a sustainable movement of child activism.
It’s ambitious – but as our partner and funder recognise, ambition is needed for Scotland to reach its target of reducing child poverty to 10% by 2030. At present, the Scottish Government’s 2026 review shows an alarming 21% (1 in 5) children are currently living in poverty1.
We’ve done our work, what will YOU do?
Our collaboration with Save the Children on this topic started last year, with a short project running from October 2025 to February 2026. This work was specifically aimed at finding out what children think about the causes and impacts of child poverty today. Children shared their views, so that adult decision-makers could consider them ahead of the May 2026 Scottish elections. The children did a fantastic job of promoting their ideas at their February event, which they chose to call, ‘We’ve done our work, what will YOU do?’.
At the event, children highlighted concerns across a range of areas. They talked with adults about how experiencing poverty might affect their relationships and health. They felt that their relationships with friends and family are really important for children to feel happy and safe, and they recognised that not having enough money to get by can be really stressful for the adults in children’s lives.
The children recognised that poverty can also be a trigger for bullying or missing out on positive life experiences – they thought it was really important for all children to be able to go out for treats and to do things like going to friends’ birthday parties or attending clubs.
Lots of what children shared can be associated with the high financial costs of basic needs, such as food, clothing, bills and housing. The children also spoke about the cost of toys and the technology that they enjoy using, which helps them to feel connected with friends.
All of the participating children stressed that home should be a warm, safe place and that their community should provide safe and fun places to play.
To find out more about the children’s views, their event, and the project, read the summary report here:
