CYP Matters

Respect and listening

Podcasts from the Edge – Beyond Empathy
Made collaboratively with young people (who happen to live in places that are considered disadvantaged) this suite of podcasts uses a unique blend of fictional and informational stories, where young people are leading conversations about anything and everything that is important to them. More >

We asked Australian children what they needed from their communities. Here’s what they said
Researchers asked 130 Australian children aged between seven and 13 years what makes communities strong, supportive, and fair. The children’s responses highlighted five themes that matter; good relationships, feeling safe, inclusive places, household resources, public good and infrastructure – things that also matter to adults. More >

Report of the first Children and Young People’s Consultation
This report summarises findings of a global children’s questionnaire on their views and experiences of the following; Impact of climate change and environmental damage; Thoughts and feelings about climate change and environmental damage; Access to education and support; Having a say and being taken seriously; Access to information. The findings will inform the development of the first draft of UN General Comment No 26. More >

Enjoying and achieving

Health and Learning Are Deeply Interconnected in the Body: An Action Guide for Policymakers
An increasing number of policies and programs around the world now reflect the understanding that adult-child relationships, other early experiences, and environmental exposures influence child wellbeing and development. By supporting children’s early learning and nutrition their readiness to achieve in school is improved. More >

Cambrai Primary School nourishes students with free breakfast, lunch
School breakfasts are growing in popularity across the state with cost of living pressures taking a toll on many households. Students from the small regional South Australian town of Cambrai are being served up more than just an education. More >

The longitudinal Australian study of students with autism (LASA)
The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between children on the autism spectrum, subtypes of autism, experiences of intervention, and school support with developmental and behavioural trajectories. More >

Our Yarning free book collection reflecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences
When Nurrunga and Ngarrindjeri woman Julie Owen was learning to read, she never came across stories about Aboriginal Australians. The Our Yarning collection not only allows Aboriginal children to see their lives depicted on the page, but also hopes to address higher rates of literacy among Aboriginal children. More >

Participation

Youth Engagement Evaluation Framework
Any youth engagement resource, process, or activity should ideally be co-designed with young people, be rights-based and be responsive to what is important for young people. More >

 Children and young people must be part of the solution to climate change
As a result of climate change, temperatures are set to rise to dangerous levels in the next ten years, and children and young people are far more likely than previous generations to experience extreme weather in their lifetimes, with vulnerable children and young people particularly at risk. More >

Prepared for adult life

Connecting Pathways to Employment with the Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) Model
Employment rates for people with disability have remained stagnant in Australia – the new WISE-Ability model describes how to create a supportive work environment and how to develop pathways out of this supportive environment into appropriate and safe forms of employment for people with disability. More >

Health and wellbeing

‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing (2022)
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, children and their families have experienced unparalleled disruptions to their daily lives. Although the pandemic is far from over, it is important that we understand how children have dealt with these changes and ensure that policy and decision making moving forward can minimise negative impacts. More >

Cities with more vegetation mean ‘better health behaviours’ in children
This study found that children who live surrounded by more natural spaces are more physically active, spend less time doing sedentary activities, get more hours of sleep and are more likely to walk or cycle to school. More >

Can universal child allowance help lift children out of poverty?
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the first rise in extreme poverty in a generation, with children bearing the brunt. UNICEF 2021 data shows that a further 100 million children were pushed into various degrees of poverty, including those in societies with relatively high-income levels. More >

Redefining Progress: Global lessons for an Australian approach to wellbeing
Australians believe people’s wellbeing should be the guiding purpose of government. This view is broadly shared by both elected representatives and bureaucrats. Despite this, the tools available to decision-makers do not always readily account for the things that matter most to the people they serve, and Australia does not yet have robust, tested frameworks that ensure government decisions advance wellbeing. More >

The first 2000 days: Giving our kids the best start for a healthier life: Podcast
How critical are the early days of our life’s journey and how influential are they in preventing future health issues? Professor Helen Skouteris and Dr Alexandra Chung discuss policy-relevant findings from evidence around prevention in the first 2000 days in a child’s life (conception to 5 years). More >

REBOOT! Reimagining physically active lives: 2022 Report Card
Physical activity is vitally important for child health, development and learning. Active kids are more likely to become active adults and this benefits us all, with reduced burden on our health systems. The 2022 Report Card shows that this year’s grades are largely unchanged from 2018. More >

Safe and nurtured

Working together to keep children and families safe
This practice paper focuses on improving cross-sectoral relationships between child protection and child and family welfare practitioners, who are often required to work together to keep children and families safe. More >

I’m putting tech giants on notice: protect our kids
Online safety is often considered secondary when compared with cybersecurity, or even physical safety. We need to change our thinking around online safety and make it a core consideration in design and development of digital services if we are to protect our children and communities. More >

Family, domestic and sexual violence: national data landscape 2022
Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health, welfare and social issue in Australia and can have a lasting impact on individuals, families and the community. It can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, but predominantly affects women and children. More >

New Ways for Our Families
A significant contributing factor to high rates of involvement with child protection and youth justice systems for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) children and young people is the presence of domestic and family violence (DFV). This research project explores how services and systems can better respond to their needs. More >

How dark is ‘dark advertising’? We audited Facebook, Google and other platforms to find out
The rise of online advertisements has led to a kind of ‘dark advertising’; often only visible to their intended targets, advertisements disappear moments after they have been seen, and no one except the platforms knows how, when, where or why. More >

Still unseen and ignored: Tracking community knowledge and attitudes about child abuse and child protection in Australia
In September 2003, the first results of a national community attitude tracking study about child abuse and child protection were released. At that time, it was concluded that as a community, violence against children was tolerated. In 2021, 18 years after the first report was published, child abuse remains out of sight and out of mind. More >