Rights Respecting Schools

WHAT IS THE RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL AWARD?

The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination, and participation. The RRSA seeks to put the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s ethos and culture to improve well-being and develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential.

“We believe in treating everybody with respect and dignity because we acknowledge everyone's God given value and unique identity.”

A rights-respecting school is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected, and promoted. Young people and the school community learn about children’s rights by putting them into practice every day.

St Michael's Primary School currently have the 'Bronze' Rights Respecting Schools Award and we are aiming this year to reach the next level - 'Silver' status. Our accreditation is next month (November 2023).

Our current focus is developing Global Citizenship and taking part in the Outright campaign.

OutRight 2023/24 empowers children and young people to learn how climate change threatens children’s rights and how we can protect them!

This campaign is filled with hope and solutions – we’ll be looking at innovative ways that children’s rights are being protected from the impacts of climate change through adaptation and campaigning for climate action!

In 1989 governments adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The rights in the Convention are based upon needs that all children have to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential. Achieving the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) means putting the rights and responsibilities of children at the heart of the school's planning, policies, practice, ethos, and vision. A Rights Respecting school teaches and models rights and respect in all its practice. It also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers/adults and pupils, between adults, and between pupils.

Doing this, we believe, will help our pupils become confident, caring, and responsible young people both in school and in the wider world. By learning about their rights our pupils, your children, also learn about their accompanying responsibilities.

There are 42 child-specific articles in the UNCRC, but they can be summed up as follows:

The right to a childhood

The right to an education

The right to be healthy

The right to be treated fairly

The right to a voice