Congratulations to everyone!
We were delighted to announce we have been presented with the Silver award, meaning we are ‘Rights Aware’. We proudly display this achievement with a banner in our school grounds.
What is the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award?
We are very proud at Bournmoor Primary School to be awarded the RRSA. The RRSA is an award given to schools on behalf of UNICEF, who are the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights.
The RRSA seeks to put the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 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.
At Bournmoor Primary School our ethos and values are closely linked to the UNCRC, which is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation.
Rights at Bournmoor
At Bournmoor our children learn to understand their own rights and feel empowered about their education. We recognise that rights and responsibilities are equally balanced and will encourage our children to take responsibility for their actions, helping them to respect the rights that every child has. We believe this will support their development into responsible, confident young citizens both in school and the wider community.
Every Month we have an Article of the Month that we look at, for example:
- Article 24 – The right to clean water, nutritious food, a safe environment and medical care
- Article 6 – The right to life and survival
- Article 8 – The right to an identity
Rights Respecting Assemblies
We have Rights assemblies to continue the discussion, but to also introduce our Article of the Month and its significance in the children’s lives. This is an opportunity to talk as a whole school and to sing our ‘We’ve All Got Rights’ anthem.
We refer to our Rights in lessons but also in discussions with the children. We do this by linking to Rights that children see around the school. Promotions of Rights are all around the school linking specific Articles to relevant areas.
Displays in our school to promote our Rights Respecting ethos:
RRS mascot Rocket
When Rights Respecting was first launched in our school, the children created their own mascots. The winning mascot was ‘Rocket, the Rights Respecting Dog’, he is proudly displayed on every single rights article around school to remind the children about their rights in the UNCRC and about the respectful actions that we must agree to make so that everyone can enjoy their rights.
Each class has their very own ‘Rocket’ so children as young as 3 years old can be introduced to rights, discussing ‘wants and needs’.
Rights at Bournmoor
At Bournmoor our children learn to understand their own rights and feel empowered about their education. We recognise that rights and responsibilities are equally balanced and will encourage our children to take responsibility for their actions, helping them to respect the rights that every child has.
We believe this will support their development into responsible, confident young citizens both in school and the wider community.
The Steering Group
We refer to our staff as ‘Duty Bearers’ and the children as ‘Rights Holders’. Additionally, we have a group of children who are the Rights Respecting Steering Group. They worked hard with staff to help us develop as a Rights Respecting school.
How can you help?
We welcome support from parents/ carers and the community to help us develop RRSA at Bournmoor Primary School.
Questions for discussion at home:
- What is the difference between a want and a need?
- What are the rights of a child in the UNCRC?
- How many articles do you know?
- Do children in different countries have the same rights as you?
- Should all schools be rights respecting schools?
- How do you respect your rights and the rights of others at school and at home?
- What could we do to help children whose rights are not respected?
- Should all children know about their rights? Why?
Try using the language of rights and responsibilities at home and discuss how you can promote these values at home.
What is the UNCRC?
In 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). These rights are based on what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential.
The UN convention consists of 54 articles in total, with each article referring to a right.
You may hear your children talking about particular articles from the Convention including:
Article 12: The right to say what you think in all matters affecting you and to have your views taken seriously
Article 28: The right to an education
Article 19: The right to be safe and protected
Article 31: The right to relax, play and join in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities
Article 24: The right to good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment to stay healthy
