rights respecting schools award

🌟 We are officially a Silver Rights Respecting School! 🌟

Woodlands Primary School is proud to announce that we have been awarded the UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Silver Award: Rights Aware! 🥈

This prestigious recognition builds on our previous work and highlights our ongoing commitment to embedding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into our school’s ethos, culture and daily practice.

Achieving the Silver Award recognises that:

• Our pupils learn about their rights and understand how these rights apply to children everywhere.

• Our school community actively promotes a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment where every child feels heard and valued.

• Our students are empowered to use their voices to bring about positive change both locally and globally.

We couldn't be prouder of our pupils and staff for their dedication and hard work in reaching this milestone, and we extend a huge thank you to our parents and carers for their continued support. We look forward to building on this success as we continue our journey towards Gold!

What is a Rights Respecting School Award? (RRSA)

The UNCRC is an international treaty that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all children under 18. The Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) helps a school community—children, staff, and adults—to understand and act on these rights.

The initiative is built on the following principles:

• Teaching about rights: Educating children on the specific articles of the UNCRC (e.g., Article 28: the right to education; Article 31: the right to relax and play).

• Teaching through rights: Modelling rights and respect in all relationships within the school, ensuring decisions and actions are rooted in the best interest of the child.

• Teaching for rights: Empowering children to exercise their rights and become advocates for the rights of others, locally and globally.

The overarching goal is to create a safe, inspiring environment where children are respected, their talents are nurtured, and they are able to thrive and become responsible, active citizens.

Level	Name	Description
Bronze	Rights Committed	The school has a plan in place and is clearly committed to becoming a rights-respecting school.
Silver	Rights Aware	The school has made good progress in embedding the UNCRC into its ethos and curriculum.
Gold	Rights Respecting	The UNCRC is fully embedded into the school's policies, practice, and culture, and the children see themselves as rights-respecting global citizens.

Impact of a Rights Respecting School

• Improved Well-being and Self-Esteem: Children understand they are valued and feel safer, knowing they have a voice and that their rights are non-negotiable.

• Better Relationships and Behaviour: There is a common language of rights and respect used by both children and adults, leading to less conflict and bullying.

• Increased Participation: Students are empowered to take an active role in school life and decision-making, such as through class charters or school councils.

• Enhanced Global Citizenship: Children gain a wider, deeper understanding of the world and develop compassion for social justice issues at home and abroad

How can you support at home?

The most impactful way to support the initiative is by discussing and living out the principles of the UNCRC in your daily family life. Discover the stories that shape our values: Explore our snippet from the Rights Respecting Schools Award book list:

KS1: 

KS2:

Rights Respecting Ambassadors

Our progress toward the Rights Respecting Schools Award is actively driven by our Steering Group, which operates with the remit of the School Council. This diverse committee includes pupils, teachers, and support staff. The children meet frequently to champion the pupil voice, ensuring their perspectives are central to our school ethos. Following their input, measurable actions are developed and implemented through a partnership with the school's adults.

Moving Towards Our Gold Award 🥇

Building on our Silver success, we are excited to begin our journey towards achieving the Gold Award: Rights Respecting—the highest level of the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award!

To reach Gold, we will continue to embed and celebrate all the fantastic practices already happening at Woodlands Primary School, while taking our next steps forward:

• Showcasing Rights with Our Children: Ensuring our pupils take an even more active role in leading rights-based learning, leading assemblies and making sure rights are visibly celebrated across every classroom.

• Exploring Global Citizenship: Helping our pupils look further into global issues, understanding how children's rights are experienced around the world and developing empathy for international social justice.

• Making a Difference Locally: Empowering our students to take direct action in our local community through pupil-led initiatives, fundraising and volunteering to create real, positive change.

We are so proud of how far our school community has come and look forward to working together with pupils, staff, and families to reach Gold!