Being a Rights Respecting School

We are a GOLD Rights Respecting School, awarded by Unicef UK’s Rights Respecting School programme.

As a  Rights Respecting Gold status school, our focus is to help our children learn ABOUT THE RIGHTS, learn THROUGH THE RIGHTS, and FOR THE RIGHTS.

Unicef is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school. Gold is the highest accolade given by Unicef UK and shows a deep and thorough commitment to children’s rights at all levels of school life. There are over 500 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that have received Gold.

The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is based on an analysis of what all children need in order to thrive.

Ensuring all children’s’ needs are being met to enable them,

• To survive as a fit and healthy person.
• To be protected from harm and abuse.
• To develop physically, mentally and socially.
• To participate as an active citizen.

Children’s Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Children’s rights are central to all aspects of the Rights Respecting School Award

UNICEF aims to promote children’s rights in schools through the RRSA in two ways: by supporting schools to ensure that rights are embedded in their ethos and policy-making; and by offering resources and activities to ensure that children and young people can learn about children’s rights in the classroom and beyond.

Teaching children about the Convention of the Rights of the Child means that they can find out about the legal and human rights and responsibilities that underpin society. By learning about the Convention, children can discover that:

These rights are:

Universal – Rights are for all children and young people across the world.

Inherent – All humans are born with rights

Indivisible – No right is more important than another. They are a whole package and interlinked.

Inalienable – You cannot give them away or sell them and no  one can take them away from you.

Unconditional – They are not a reward and not dependent on a responsibility or performing an action to get them. They are universal and for everyone equally.