Rights Respecting School
We are extremely proud to have been reaccredited as a GOLD Rights Respecting School in October 2022.
We are extremely proud to have been reaccredited as a GOLD Rights Respecting School in October 2022.
What is a Rights Respecting School?
The UNICEF Right Respecting Schools Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. For a school to receive accreditation, it must evidence that it has reached the three RRSA Strands.
The three RRSA Strands
Strand A: Teaching and learning about rights
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is made known to children, young people and adults, who use this shared understanding to work for improved child wellbeing, school improvement, global justice and sustainable living.
Strand B: Teaching and learning through rights – ethos and relationships
Actions and decisions affecting children are rooted in, reviewed and resolved through rights. Children, young people and adults collaborate to develop and maintain a school community based on equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation; this includes learning and teaching in a way that respects the rights of both educators and learners and promotes wellbeing.
Strand C: Teaching and learning for rights – participation, empowerment and action
Children are empowered to enjoy and exercise their rights and to promote the rights of others locally and globally. Duty bearers are accountable for ensuring that children experience their rights.
Achieving Gold: Rights Respecting means there is evidence that:
- Our school has explicitly adopted a child rights approach based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and has embedded it in school policy, practice and culture.
- Children, young people and adults in our school have a thorough understanding of child rights, and rights respecting attitudes and language are embedded across the school.
- RRSA has had a positive impact on children and young people’s learning and wellbeing.
- Students see themselves as rights respecting global citizens and are advocates for social justice, fairness and children’s rights at home and abroad
Rights through the Curriculum
Rights are woven through everything we do. Some of the places rights are explicitly taught are:
- Our school VERSE
- Reflecting on children’s rights in key stories on our reading curriculum and our reading spine
- Writing about rights in our writing curriculum
- How the treatment of children and the perception of their rights has changed over time in history lessons
- How children’s rights are met or not met around the world in geography and PSHE lessons
- How children can invoke and respect their own rights related to their health, fitness, wellbeing and privacy in PSHE, PE and computing lessons
Impact of the Rights Respecting Schools Award at Springfield
Our recent reaccreditation report highlighted the following areas of strength and impact:
- A school with inclusion at its heart, where pupils are treated fairly, listened to, and feel safe
- The empowerment of children to be activists for their rights and the rights of others
- Children have an exceptional knowledge of rights and how they apply to their own lives and the lives of others in the wider world
- Natural links to relevant rights are fully embedded across the curriculum in a way that enriches the learning for all children
- A strong commitment to children’s rights and to RRSA from leaders at all levels tied into the vision and values of the school.
What our governors say
“Rights are an integral part of the school. It is so embedded, we see it in everything.”
The rights-based approach “…gives children confidence through understanding that they have rights – these things are not given to them as a favour but as their entitlement”
What our staff say
“In this school, everyone feels welcome.”
“We are developing a sense of collective empowerment.”
“We want children to know that the world belongs to them and that they are building the future now”
What our children say
“Rights are for every single child all over the world”
“You have them from birth and you don’t have to earn them. No-one should take them away”
“All teachers listen to us”
When someone’s rights are not respected we should “…stand up and say why it’s not right – you should take a stand”
What our pupil Rights Ambassadors say
“Everyone’s voice is heard”
Please click on the link to open our RRSA Reaccreditation Report: Springfield Community Primary Gold Report October 2022
Useful resources
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
ABCDE of Rights
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NOUwasPrGv_9fa4uSprAc4HF6NA69wEBas_9Fhh4La4/edit