Date published:27 October 2026
Health Minister Robbie Butler has highlighted the importance of a new charter aimed at ensuring children, young people, parents and carers play a central role in decision making.
Our Pact is a shared agreement that sets out how services for children, young people and families in Northern Ireland should support and work with them, ensuring that they are respected, heard, informed and, importantly, involved in decisions about their lives.
Our Pact was developed by the Reimagine Collective, a group of leading regional charities in Northern Ireland, under the auspices of the Children’s Social Care Services Reform Programme.
Co-designed with young people and families, the charter’s purpose is to address some of the issues raised in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services led by Professor Ray Jones.
“Children, young people, parents and carers involved in the social care system want to feel heard and taken seriously.
“They want to understand their choices and know who can help. They want services to be clear, respectful and consistent so they can feel safe throughout their involvement with social care.
“That’s why Our Pact is so important. It was designed to ensure children, young people and their families are at the core of everything that we do. That they are partners in a system, not simply passive recipients.
“Our Pact is a commitment to working together.”
Our Pact is being rolled out as part of the new family support model Together for Families, a major new partnership designed to transform early support for families across Northern Ireland.
Formally launched in September, it brings together The statement signalling their endorsement of Our Pact. That statement can be read here: %20PACT%20Joint%20Statement2.pdf The reform of Children’s Social Care Services is being overseen by the Strategic Reform Programme Board. The Board provides strategic oversight, direction and governance, to deliver reform within children’s social care services, which is intended to address a range of know service challenges and difficulties.
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