Child Friendly Redbridge

A borough that champions
children’s and young people’s rights.

A borough that welcomes
children’s and young people’s views.

A borough that amplifies
children’s and young people’s voices.

What is Child Friendly Redbridge?

Residents have told us that they want Redbridge to be a great place for children and families so we have been working with UNICEF UK and their Child Friendly Cities & Communities initiative to make our community a more child friendly place.

The global programme encourages local services to commit to fulfilling children’s rights. The aim is to create a city or community where the voices, needs, priorities and the rights of children play an integral part in public policies and programmes, as well as being involved in the decision-making process.

A child friendly community is a community that is fit for all.

Councillor Kam Rai, Leader of Redbridge Council

"Five years ago, Redbridge embarked on a long-term programme to ensure that children are listened to. We've been building a Redbridge that values the opinions of our young people, and that recognises the importance of making meaningful change in a way that supports our children, allows them to flourish, and where children's rights are placed at the heart of everything that happens in the borough.

This greater focus on listening to children means real, tangible changes: designing play spaces that children have helped plan, creating safer routes to school based on children's experiences, and developing youth services that truly meet their needs. It means our children feel valued, heard, and empowered to shape their community.

This has been an enormous challenge, but one Redbridge Council's services, decision-making members, and indeed many partner organisations across the borough, have joined together to take head-on. We are working towards being recognised by UNICEF UK as a child friendly borough, which will give us great validation for our and our partners' commitment to upholding children's rights. We are making sure children's rights are protected across every part of life, especially for those who are some of our most vulnerable citizens.

What matters most to me isn't just the UNICEF recognition, but creating a Redbridge where my children, your children, and all young people feel they truly belong and have a voice that matters. That's the legacy I want us to build together. You can read about some of the projects and the change we have made, with local partners, to help ensure children's rights are put at the heart of what we all do in Redbridge, and you can find out more about children's rights and how you can help uphold them."

Read the full statement here

We have been working to become a Child Friendly Borough for nearly five years.

Take a look at some of the amazing work that has been done over the past few years... and watch this space! There is a lot more exciting work to come!

News & Updates