A huge, heartfelt 'Thank You' from all of us here at Just for Kids Law for your generous support in 2024.
Your unwavering belief in justice for all children and young people has maintained us through some difficult moments this year.
We talked last year about the tough decisions we needed to make to ensure we could be there for young people facing difficult challenges in the years to come. As we come to the end of 2024, we are so proud of the whole team and how we have faced this year of change, living our values of integrity, compassion, courage and respect.
The confidence to move forward in our new structure would not be possible without your generosity. We are a smaller charity this year, and as our Interim Chair of the Board Shauneen Lambe says "This year has also been a time for focus - narrowing the work provided by Just for Kids Law, dedicating itself to the arena in which it excels and leads – children in contact with the criminal legal system."
As we look forward to a new year, our ambition for the children and young people we support remains high. Your support is more important than ever to help them address their challenges so they can look to the future.
Warm wishes for the festive season and for a healthy, happy 2025.
Thank you,
Louise, Aika & Natasha
Just for Kids Law & Children's Rights Alliance for England Co-Leads
CELEBRATING OUR AMAZING TEAM!
We all celebrated when Trainee Solicitor Aisha Rahal qualified and took on a role as Youth Justice Lawyer in the crime team. Aisha is making a difference through her knowledge, passion and focus on building positive relationships.
In Their Defence: Fighting for Youth Justice One Child at a Time
Earlier in the year, we were delighted to announce that Aika Stephenson, our Co-Lead and Legal Director, published a new book ‘In Their Defence: Fighting for Youth Justice One Child at a Time’
It is a must-read for anyone interested in children’s rights, youth justice and anyone with caring responsibilities. With real life case studies and useful information and contacts, the book is something that can be referred to for help too.
No new parent expects their offspring’s childhood to be tainted by arrest or conviction. That only happens to other people’s kids, right? Wrong. In this compelling book, written by one of Britain’s top experts in youth justice, Aika Stephenson reveals the extraordinary cases she deals with daily. From the obviously vulnerable to the A-grade student from a stable upbringing, Just for Kids Law, the campaigning charity co-founded by Stephenson in 2007, has helped thousands of children and young people overcome the difficulties they face.
‘Every day in my job is an adventure, a battle for justice, heart-breaking, and a joy. But very few people truly understand the law that dictates the lives of our young people, and I want to share that with the public – both the heart-warming successes and the shocking failures of the system.' Aika Stephenson
From playground mischief to issues with immigration status, from housing to those facing years behind bars for a crime their friend committed, this book lays bare what really goes on behind the scenes, from the police station through to the young offenders’ institution and everything in between. It is an important and revelatory book that confronts the issues that face all young people today.
You can purchase the book here or from any independent bookseller.
Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) was the only children’s organisation to submit a report to the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, successfully influencing the list of themes which inform the areas to examine with the UK Government.
Praise from the Legal Aid Agency Review
The support a child receives from a Just for Kids Law lawyer was reviewed by the Legal Aid Agency this year, and has been deemed to be ‘competent plus’. This may not sound very exciting to non-legal ears, however, anecdotally 'competent plus' is a difficult threshold to achieve and the second highest rating overall.
The review praised our proactive approach, and the value added to cases. Internally the representation was reviewed by our new trustee Hemini Patel of Lawrence and Co LLP. Hemini concurred, acknowledging that limitations with legal aid mean that no child represented by a for-profit firm would be able to receive the level of support that they can within Just for Kids Law, or get the positive outcomes that Just for Kids Law achieves for their child clients.
We know that the service and support we provide to young people could never be achieved without you, our supporters, both individuals, trusts and foundations. Your loyalty and faith in the value we provide does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
As Just for Kids Law heads into its first year of maturity (we turned 18 years old!) we will focus on stability before growth and growth where we see the greatest need which aligns with our specific strengths. This includes a new internal structure with 3 Co-Leads; Director of Development, Legal Director, and Director of Policy. We believe this structure will focus on sustainability, the direct support a child needs and the problems we see on the ground can be addressed with policy makers.
The Youth Justice Board has committed to a ‘Child First’ approach when children are in contact with the criminal legal system, and we have always committed to that approach even when it put us in conflict with people in power. As one mother said "you are responsible for your child in every aspect of their life until the police take them away. Then you are not allowed to see them or the way they are living, everything is taken from you"
These children will continue to be a part of their communities and their families and all of us have a part to play in how that looks. We look forward to your support as we and others try to improve this.
CELEBRATING OUR AMAZING TEAM!
Mandeer Kateria joined us as Senior Policy and Public Affairs Advisor, and has already made a positive impact, heading to Geneva to report to the UN.
Ensuring the Covid Inquiry scrutinises the impact of the pandemic on children
We used the opportunity of securing Core Participant Status in Module 2 of the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry to ensure it scrutinised how well the UK Government considered children’s rights as part of its decision-making during the pandemic.
Ahead of the public hearings for Module 2 commencing, we published a report in September 2023 with Save the Children; ‘What about the Children?’. This powerfully highlighted how the pandemic impacted on children and what needs to change as a result. The report was endorsed by Anne Longfield, former Children’s Commissioner for England as well 42 organisations and academics and secured a significant amount of media attention.
As the public hearings for Module 2 got underway, we undertook extensive and diverse work. This involved submitting a witness statement and making written and oral opening and closing submissions. These highlighted how non-pharmaceutical interventions disproportionately negatively impacted children and evidenced how the UK Government failed to sufficiently consider children’s rights during the pandemic. We also suggested questions for Counsel to the Inquiry to ask key witnesses and our Counsel directly questioned key witnesses. These included former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor during the Pandemic, and Micheal Gove, who was Cabinet Secretary. Our closing submissions included clear recommendations to address the harm caused to children during the pandemic and ensure that the rights laws and processes are in place so that children’s rights are considered in Government decision-making. We expect the report into Module 2 to be published in early 2025.
Alongside our engagement with the Inquiry as core participants, we also continued to undertake broader advocacy to make sure the Inquiry hears directly from a diverse range of children and young people, including those living in different settings during the pandemic. We were pleased that following our work the Inquiry announced it would commission a bespoke piece of research to hear from a broad range of children. This research began in April 2024.
We collaborated with Save the Children, delivering a joint letter to the Chair of the Inquiry to raise our concern about the delay in setting a timetable for the module that would focus specifically on children and young people. Our letter was covered in the Daily Telegraph and subsequently, the Chair announced the opening of the children’s module in May 2024. We are now confirmed as core participants of UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 8: Children and Young People which will commence in spring 2025.
CELEBRATING OUR AMAZING TEAM!
We had a number of amazing volunteers, work experience and pro bono expertise this year. Special mention to Georgina Woodward of Kingsley Knapley who's month of expertise was timely and invaluable.
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