Safeguarding unaccompanied children

Exactly one year after it was promised by the then ministers for immigration and children, the government published its safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied children on 1 November. The strategy’s introductory and welcome message is that refugee and migrant children are children first and foremost, and must not be defined by their immigration status. It makes…


CCLC secures a residential independent specialist college for a young person with SEN

CCLC acted for a young person (AB) in an appeal before the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). CCLC were instructed to represent AB in the case of Mr C (on behalf of AB) v X Council. AB appealed against the sections of her Education, Health and Care Plan issues by her local authority relating to…



Care leavers and the ‘local offer’

New duties introduced under the Children & Social Work Act 2017 will include a requirement for local authorities to set out exactly what support they are offering to care leavers and the extension of help of a personal adviser to all care leavers up to the age of 25.


CCLC seeks Justice First Fellow for 2018

The Justice First Fellowship Scheme was established by the Legal Education Foundation and is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, City Bridge Trust and a number of law firms.


The EU (Withdrawal) Bill and protecting children’s rights

In advance of the second reading of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on Thursday 7th September, Coram Children Legal Centre, with other key children’s charities, has called for an amendment to the Bill to ensure that children’s rights are protected.


Lawful and unlawful exclusions

Evidence from our Child Law Advice Service suggests that the number of children out of school through unlawful exclusions may be significantly higher than officially recorded.


What will Brexit mean for children?

What is the government’s current position and what is it proposing for the status of European children after the UK finally leaves the EU? Following the vote to leave the EU in June 2016, European citizens were left in limbo about their status in the UK, as were British citizens living abroad. Of the three…


CCLC patron Brenda Hale appointed first female president of the Supreme Court

We are delighted that our patron The Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond is to become the first female President of the Supreme Court. Baroness Hale was confirmed in the role in an announcement by Downing Street today. Baroness Hale began her legal career as an academic at the University of Manchester, and after…



New website for the Refugee Children’s Consortium

The RCC began as, and remains, a lobbying group that brings together organisations with expertise in refugee and/or children’s issues. Together we contribute to the debate on how refugee and migrant children’s rights can best be protected in an increasingly hostile environment.


Home Office ‘deport first, appeal later’ policy ruled unlawful

Today the Supreme Court ruled that the Home Office policy of ‘deport first, appeal later’ was unlawful. This is of particular importance in light of the recent extension of out-of-country appeals to all human rights applications. Under the Immigration Bill 2016, the Secretary of State gained the power to certify the claim of someone appealing…