What is the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA)?
The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School 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. 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.
UNICEF work with primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children with special educational needs and pupil referral units across the whole of the UK to promote a child rights-based approach and to share good practice in improving outcomes for children and young people.
To achieve the UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School Award, we are required to implement four evidence-based standards.
• Rights-respecting values underpin leadership and management
• The whole-school community learns about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The school has a rights-respecting ethos
• Children are empowered to become active citizens and learners.
Recognition of Commitment.
At Trinity Oaks C of E Primary School we are committed to becoming a rights-respecting school. The children will continue to work alongside staff at the school to decide how to develop a whole-school rights-respecting approach. Alongside the Rights Respecting Steering Group which is made up of members of staff, parents and a link Governor, evidence has been submitted to UNICEF to support our application for Recognition of Commitment.
Level 1
The school implements the action plan and makes good progress towards embedding the values and principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum. Assessors visit the school to accredit progress.
This is where we are at the moment. During this year the school plans to start to collate evidence to show the development and implementation of the action plan. We hope to introduce an article from the UNCRC to the whole school on a half-termly basis.
Level 2.
The school has fully embedded the values and principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum across all areas of the school. Assessors visit the school to establish that the Convention is embedded.
