A call to action right here, right now!

These were among the opening words of one of the children who co-hosted PRT’s Right here, right now! event on 7 May 2025. Generously funded by the Firebird Foundation, the event was attended by children and young people with experience of a close family member in prison alongside policymakers and practitioners from different sectors, including education, health, social work, prison, police, probation, housing, local community, academia, and voluntary sector organisations. Its purpose was to explore why a children’s rights approach to support for children with a parent in prison is needed and, crucially, how we can achieve that collaboratively.

Janet Daby MP, Minister for Children and Families, assured us of the Government’s commitment to ensuring children are sensitively recognised and offered support at the earliest opportunity and throughout their family member’s justice journey. The reason this is so important was powerfully portrayed through All Things Considered theatre company’s performance of 8 hours there and back. Told through the stories of three fictional children, every word of the script had been said by a child or young person with experience of a close family member in prison. The play brought to life the challenges children face in communities that at best ignore them and all too often stigmatise, bully and judge them. As someone who attended Right here, right now! said:

In exploring what it means to have a children’s rights approach to support for children with a close family member in prison, I took participants back to what children and young people said they wanted when I was developing Child Impact Assessments:

• “I want someone to ask how I’m feeling and how I’m doing.”
• “I want to be really listened to when I’m talking.”
• “I want to be asked what would help me, what do I need.”
• “I want to be included in decisions about me.”
• “I want to be allowed to change my mind about a decision I have made.”

Children who are listened to, respected, supported, included and understood – that is a children’s rights approach. Child Impact Assessments are a tool that can be used to
to draw out how children are feeling about what is going on at the different stages of the justice journey and what they need to support them. At their core, Child Impact Assessments are about kindness and compassion.

Throughout the day we heard from children, young people and young adults with experience of a parent or close family member in prison. They were not there tokenistically; they were involved in every aspect of the programme, and their messages were clear and powerful:

• “We don’t often feel listened to.”
• “We don’t need more reports, we want action.”
• “We need action that leads to children being supported, not further stigmatised.”
• “Be kind and compassionate.”
• “Talk to us! Ask us what we want and need. We want to be included in decisions that affect us. We can no longer be ignored.”

Their input had a powerful impact:

Jenny McCabe outlined how Birmingham Pathfinder ensures a relationship-first approach to support, so that it is trusted and sustained. They don’t close cases, rather they build an ecosystem of specialist advisors, counsellors and supporters who can be called on as needed. As Jenny said, “Our approach is trauma-informed, relational, adaptive and strengths-based. We are ambitious for change in the way systems work. We show it is possible to do things differently.”

The day was about learning, even for those of us who have been in this field for a long time. For me, it was a reminder that experts by experience, of any age and stage, are so much more than their story of having a family member in prison. They are leaders, advocates, professionals in their own fields and must not be defined by one element of their life. Other learning included understanding more about the challenges faced by children and young people with a parent in prison and knowing what is needed to support them better:

But learning for its own sake is not enough. Right at the start of the day, Pia Sinha, CEO of PRT, laid out the vision:

With this in mind, participants were invited into roundtable discussion groups, co-hosted by children, young people and young adults with their own experience, to create an action plan for change. As highlighted in a previous blog, turning words into action is hugely important: it assures children and young people that they are being listened to; empowers them to be changemakers; and it transforms the practice of the adults who are supporting them or making decisions that impact them. A summary of the recommendations that emerged from the roundtable conversations can be found here.

While events like Right here, right now! are important, they cannot just be a one-off occurrence; they must lead to lasting change. Participant feedback suggests that attendees were inspired to act. As one attendee said:

Sarah Beresford, PRT Associate

Sarah can be contacted directly on sarah.beresford@prisonreformtrust.org.uk