The Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Jersey (OCCJ) has today published its Annual Report for 2025, setting out progress made in promoting and protecting the rights of children and young people across the Island.

The report reflects a year of both challenge and achievement, with the Office operating at reduced capacity for much of 2025 while continuing to deliver on key priorities including children’s participation, policy influence and international advocacy.

Jersey's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Dr Carmel Corrigan, said:
“2025 was a challenging year for the OCCJ in a variety of ways, with staff absences and vacancies impacting our capacity to deliver as we would have liked. However, progress has been achieved across our key priorities, alongside important work to strengthen both how the Office is structured and how we deliver on our public-facing duties. Working directly with children and young people remains at the heart of what we do – this is where the magic happens – and initiatives such as our World Children’s Day event show how powerful it is when children are heard and their views are taken seriously in shaping decisions that affect them.”

Key highlights from 2025

Championing children’s voices
The OCCJ continued to place children and young people at the centre of its work through the Our Say, Our Right project and wider woirk with the Youth Advisory Group (YAG). These initiatives demonstrated how meaningful participation can work in practice when children are supported to engage, build understanding and shape conversations with decision-makers.

World Children’s Day 2025
A major highlight of the year was the OCCJ’s World Children’s Day event, which brought together children, young people, Ministers, education professionals and service leads. The youth-led event focused on the right to be heard (Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), featuring a film created by young people and discussions led by them. The event concluded with decision-makers committing to actions to better include children’s voices in policy and practice.

Influencing policy and strengthening accountability
Throughout 2025, the OCCJ contributed to Scrutiny panels, policy development and legislative discussions, ensuring that children’s rights remained central to decision-making.

At an international level, the Commissioner represented Jersey in Geneva during the UN examination under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), helping to secure important Jersey-specific recommendations on child poverty and educational inequality.

Building a stronger, more effective organisation
The OCCJ undertook significant organisational development during the year, including restructuring, recruitment to advisory panels, relocation to more accessible premises, and progress toward a new website and updated visual identity.

Looking aheadThe report also outlines priorities for 2026, including the launch of a new website, publication of research on child poverty in Jersey, and continued work to strengthen participation and rights-based policy making.

Dr Corrigan added:
“Looking ahead to 2026, the Office will continue to focus on what matters most: listening to children and young people, using evidence and rights-based analysis to hold decision-makers to account, and strengthening the foundations needed to protect and promote children’s rights in Jersey.”