A UNICEF Rights Respecting School

Welcome to our Rights Respecting Schools page. We are a UNICEF Rights Respecting School and we are delighted to have been awarded the Gold Award, the highest level of the award. This is granted to schools who have fully embedded the principles of  the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

What is a Rights Respecting School?

A UNICEF Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are heard, taught, practiced, respected, protected and promoted. Children and the school community learn about children’s rights by putting them into practice every day.

Being a Rights Respecting School is not just about what children do but also importantly, what adults do. In a Rights Respecting School, children’s rights are promoted and realised and adults and children work towards this together. 

The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of school’s planning, policies, practices and ethos.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) - What is it?

It is a list of children’s rights that all children and young people, everywhere in the world, have, no matter who they are, where they live or what they believe in.

The UNCRC has 54 articles, 42 rights are for children and young people up to 18 years of age. The others are all about how governments and adults should work together to make sure children and young people can access their rights. 

Children’s rights are all the things that children and young people need to make sure that they are safe, have the things they need to survive and develop, and have a say in decisions that affect their lives.

Click here to read the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Our School Charters

At the beginning of each academic year all classes create a Class Charter. Each class choose the rights that they feel are most important to them and decide on the actions that are expected of both children and adults in the class. The purpose of this charter is to give all members of the class a voice through which a mutually agreed upon set of standards and expectations are achieved. Here is an example of a Class Charter (click here for a closer look).

Our Whole School Charter

Our whole school has worked together to create a Whole School Charter, we call these our ‘Bangabandhu Values’. This is our joint agreement about our expectations of how every member of our school community must be rights respecting.  

Our Playground Charter

Children and adults have worked together to create our Playground Charter, agreements on how we will all respect the right of everyone to play, rest and join in.

Click here to view our Playground Charter.

Children’s Rights and British Values

The aim of both of the Rights Respecting Schools Award and our school is to help children achieve their potential and be responsible citizens. Being a Rights Respecting School helps children learn respect for themselves, others, critical thinking skills and informed democratic decision making. Children are taught to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and understanding. 

Our rights respecting ethos embeds the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We enable our children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. We teach children to distinguish right from wrong and to create and respect Class, Playground and Whole School Charters. We encourage children to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative and to understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living in our community and around the world. 

OutRight Campaign