Does the English Child Protection System Enable Children and Young People to Exercise Their Rights Under the Un Convention on the Rights of the Child. Discuss Critically with Reference to Current Legislation, Literature and Research.

*Does the English Child Protection System enable children and young people to exercise their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.* Discuss critically with reference to current legislation, literature and research.
The ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)’ (UNCRC) is a human rights treaty designed specifically to cater to children and young people around the world. It was created because it was felt that already existing treaties, such as the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (1948), did not cover a number of child-centric problems and therefore left holes in child protection systems around the world through which a number of children were suffering. Countries that agree to and ratify the treaty are expected to adhere to the articles within it, consequently improving the level and nature of care given to children, which in turn would give them the best possible chances to develop to their maximum potential.
The UNCRC was ratified by the United Kingdom in 1991 and since then the English Child Protection System has seen radical change, and uses the UNCRC as its basis for reform and expansion. A number of laws and policies were brought into effect or amended in the United Kingdom after the ratification of the UNCRC, such as ‘Every Child Matters (2003)’ and ‘The Children Act (2004)’. What this aimed to do was improve life for all children in the United Kingdom, particularly those children in vulnerable situations, who were not confident enough, or who were not informed enough to know that the law could serve and protect them. (DFES, 2003) Unfortunately, the child protection system in England is not flawless, the laws are not perfect and as a result a number of children are still suffering. This essay aims to discover whether or not the English Child Protection System is doing enough to help the children meet their rights as laid out in the UNCRC.
The English Child Protection System is an all encompassing term...