At Wessington Primary School we take children’s rights very seriously, that is why we are working with UNICEF to become a Rights Respecting School.
The Rights Respecting School Award
We are currently working towards renewing our Silver Rights Respecting School Award!
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 https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/
The 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.
What does this mean in our school?
In Wessington, we are striving to put the children’s rights as the centre of the school’s ethos. We are doing this by placing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of school’s planning, policies, practices and vision. We are committed to buildings a community where the children’s rights are heard, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.
“The difference that a Rights Respecting School makes goes beyond the school gates, making a positive impact on the whole community!” Our vision is to implement this within our whole school community to celebrate everyone’s rights and respect each other.
To become Rights Respecting School we have set up a steering group call the ‘Rights Respecting School Council. The members of the group are voted annually by their peers and act as a pupil voice to support teaching other children/staff about the award. The Rights Respecting School Council meet every week during lunch times to discuss the rights and think about how they can support others respecting rights through all aspects of school life. In our school, we focus on teaching children about their rights; helping children to have and identify their rights and become global helpful citizens to help other children around the world.