Rights Respecting Schools Award – Silver: Rights Aware

Our school is committed to achieving the Silver: Rights Aware level of the UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA).

The Rights Respecting Schools Award is a UNICEF UK programme that places children’s rights at the heart of school life. It supports schools across the UK to embed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into their ethos and culture, helping to improve wellbeing, promote positive relationships and enable every child to reach their full potential.

We are proud to have already achieved the Bronze: Rights Committed Award and are now working towards Silver, which recognises that children, young people and adults have a shared understanding of children’s rights and use this understanding in everyday school life.

Embedding Children’s Rights Across Our School

Children’s rights are increasingly visible and understood across our school community. We have:

• Rights displays throughout the school to raise awareness of the UNCRC

• Delivered rights-focused assemblies, including exploring how rights link to our behaviour policy

• Completed staff and pupil questionnaires to establish our starting point and develop a shared understanding of children’s rights

To achieve the Silver: Rights Aware Award, our focus is on embedding the articles of the UNCRC within the curriculum so that pupils can name their rights, understand what they mean and recognise how they are respected in school.

School Ambassadors Group

We have established a School Ambassadors Group, made up of children from across the school, to ensure that pupil voice is meaningful and inclusive. Through this group, children are supported to express their views, contribute to decision-making and promote children’s rights across the school.

The group also includes a parent governor, teaching assistants, teachers and members of the Senior Leadership Team, ensuring a whole-school approach. The group is led by Mrs Kaur.

Our Rights-Respecting Ethos

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is shared with children, young people and adults across our school community. This shared understanding is used to support:

• Improved wellbeing and positive relationships

• School improvement

• Global citizenship, justice and sustainable living

Actions and decisions that affect children are rooted in, reviewed through and resolved using children’s rights. Children and adults work collaboratively to develop and sustain a school community based on equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation.

Children are empowered to enjoy and exercise their rights and to promote the rights of others locally and globally. Adults, as duty bearers, are accountable for ensuring that children experience their rights in practice every day.

To find out more follow the links

https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/