THE United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child has just reached its 30th anniversary; the Scottish Parliament its 20th. It’s an opportune time to examine what’s changed for children in Scotland.

In the years since devolution we have had the opportunity to make our commitment to children clear through embracing some fundamental principles. We recently changed the law to give children equal protection to adults against assault; we are finally increasing the age of criminal responsibility; and the Scottish Government has committed to fully incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law.

There is no doubt about it, children’s policy in Scotland is increasingly moving forward, and it is something we should celebrate. But, as we do, let’s not lose sight of the long and arduous journey that has brought us to this point.

Admittedly, we didn’t get off to a promising start, with the early days of devolution seeing us focus on youth crime and antisocial behaviour. There then followed a number of years of moral panic about children out of control. Frankly, we only started to think about children’s early development when it became apparent that those who had serious behaviour problems as adolescents were often the children who were already known to the authorities on child protection grounds. Many were suffering neglect and abuse, often from their earliest years, and their lives were a testament to the broken system of children’s care, which is now being reviewed.

Thankfully, we have now woken up to the importance of early years support and, if necessary, intervention. The Scottish Government has made a number of welcome commitments to investing in the welfare and mental health of young children, such as Scotland’s Baby Box, the Sure Start maternity grant and the health visitor programme. But, it needs to go further – the NSPCC’s Fight for a Fair Start campaign wants the Scottish Government to ensure that specialist parent-infant mental health support is available wherever it is needed.

When the Equal Protection Bill was voted through by Scottish Parliament last month Scotland became a vanguard for the UK – joining more than 50 other countries to give children their rightful protection in law. But it wasn’t easy. It took a courageous backbencher to lead the charge, and tireless campaigning by the NSPCC and other children’s organisations. And even then, there was heated debate, with the very existence of children’s rights being questioned.

Five months earlier, the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament. Once implemented, the act will raise the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland from eight, one of the lowest in the world, to 12. This is definitely an improvement but still two years younger than the international standard of 14.

So, real progress has been made, but there is still much to do. Scottish Government figures show that almost one in four children in the country are living in poverty and last year more than 14,000 were in care, many of whom will have suffered abuse and neglect.

We must continue to learn the lessons from the past to guide our future. Let’s not be held back by any lack of ambition, courage and urgency in improving the lives of our youngest citizens.

And, the Scottish Government must ensure it meets its commitment to fully incorporate the convention into domestic law by the end of the parliamentary session in 2021. Our children deserve nothing less.

Matt Forde is national head of service for NSPCC Scotland