Who we are

Established in 1996, Children’s Parliament is dedicated to the realisation of children’s human rights in Scotland.

Our Priorities

We work with children up to the age of 14.

We work in both general and targeted ways. Our targeted programmes involve children who face challenges in their lives and include children who are seldom heard.

We use creative approaches in all of our work, these offer children the chance to participate in ways that are fun and at a level best suited to their ability and interests.

Demonstrate
We work with partners locally and nationally to demonstrate a children’s human rights approach in practice.
Influence
We work with children and partners to influence national legislation, policy and practice to systematically implement the UNCRC.
Build Capacity
We work with individuals, organisations and public bodies to build their capacity to deliver children’s rights.
Grow the Movement
We help drive cultural change across civil society to create a nation that values children and delivers their human rights.
Strengthen our Organisation
We continuously improve our systems and processes to deliver our goals.

Our Values

We will deliver our priorities in a manner which embodies our organisational values, which are:

Unfeart – Because we speak truth to power and we are prepared to be different

Creative – Because we will find the path we need to make rights real

Kind – Because it allows us to connect and understand the world through others’ experiences

Fair – Because we recognise that equity requires each child to have what they need and that this will be different for every child.

Our history

1996
2025

Children’s Parliament was co-founded by Cathy McCulloch OBE and Dr Colin Morrison in 1996.

Children’s Parliament’s dream is that children grow up in a world of love, happiness and understanding. Our mission is to inspire greater awareness and understanding of the power of children’s human rights and to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across Scotland.

Through our rights-based, creative practice, we provide younger children from diverse backgrounds with opportunities to share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings so that they can influence positive change in their lives at home, in school and the community.

Our local, national, and international work supports the development of a children’s rights-based culture in Scotland and ensures that children’s voices are actively engaged in shaping our world.

Children proudly showing their work of a re-imagined town centre

To mark the organisation’s 21st birthday in 2017, our Co-founders, Cathy and Colin, created a short video to share the history of Children’s Parliament activity so far.