Eileen Munro wrote in her final report that a child-centred system must recognise that children have rights, including the right to participate in decisions that concern them (Munro, 2011b). Children have made clear that participation is not just about being asked for their views: it is about understanding and being understood, about knowing that their voices have really been heard and how they have been considered. At the heart of this is respect for the child and their experience of their world.

It is a significant step forward for children that the Munro Review frames an improved child protection system in terms of rights and that the Coalition government has supported this approach. While children's right to a voice has been represented in key children's legislation for some time, further action is needed to ensure that they are consistently able to benefit from this right.

The Children's Commissioner has the remit to promote children's rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This has led to a programme of work gathering children's views and experiences of child protection. The perspectives represented here are drawn from research commissioned by the Children's Commissioner with children still involved in the child protection process (Cossar et al, 2011) and from consultations with children, including those for the Munro Review.

The purpose of this chapter is threefold: to look at what children and young people1 have said about the child protection system, and in particular whether they feel their voice is heard; to explore how far the Munro Review has reflected these views; and to suggest what it would mean to have the child's voice at the heart of the child protection system. In so doing, this chapter will outline a rights perspective on child protection.

Hearing and acting on the child's voice is only part of what is needed for a child-centred system but it is fundamental. The challenge is to make it a reality for children and young people.

Children's views of the child protection system

Many of the children who met the researchers confirmed the picture we have from earlier studies: they want to see more of their social worker and they want to have greater continuity of relationship with a worker who really gets to know them (Voice, 2005).