Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO)
- Mr John Collins
- Sep 29
- 1 min read
by Olan Doogan Bellec and Aoibhinn McDermott
During Transition Year (TY), I took part in a Politics trip with Ms McColgan to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO). Following this visit, Aoibhinn and I were invited to join the OCO Youth Advisory Panel, a group of 13–17-year-olds whose role is to ensure that young people’s experiences inform policies affecting children.
One issue we examined was the phone ban in schools. Students had not been meaningfully consulted on this decision, and the Panel unanimously opposed a blanket ban. Over several months we co-produced a submission and a report One Size Does Not Fit All setting out how blanket bans can affect learning, wellbeing, and children’s rights, and proposing more proportionate, school-level approaches.
Recently we have worked on a new project-The UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). Some countries like Scotland have already put their version into motion and has been successful. We have been exploring how incorporating children’s rights into domestic law would enable real remedies when those rights are not upheld. We also helped review the child complaints process to make it more accessible and child-friendly, for example, by recommending plain-language forms, clear timelines, and feedback on outcomes.
All these projects work towards making our lives as children more enjoyable and safer. The OCO will be an experience I will never forget and I thoroughly enjoy working with the team to make our lives the best they can be.
