Unicef Uk Rights Respecting School Award
UNICEF UK
Rights Respecting School Award
Improves children’s well-being
Knowing that they have a right to participate, to
The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is
have a voice in decisions that affect them arouses
premised on the understanding that for children
their interest and opens the way to exploring the
to want to achieve they have to feel included,
skills, language and concepts required to exercise
that they belong, that they matter.
this right and the responsibilities that accompany it.
Learning that you have certain rights, now,
The UNCRC gives a values framework to the
simply because you are a child provides a
Department for Children, Schools and Families’
starting point for building self-esteem. Bridges
SEAL programme and other projects to build
can be built to the very vulnerable and abused.
social and emotional literacy which enhances
They can become empowered by learning that
their impact on children.
there is an alternative to the negative world of
their early years.
The idea in a nutshell
Children and young people can raise their
From this starting point too, children can begin to
achievement at school and improve the
make connections with the needs and rights of
quality of their own and their families’ lives,
other children. Thus begins the journey of learning
if they learn exactly what their rights and
about our rights and responsibilities and the values
responsibilities are according to the United
that underpin this way of seeing. This approach
Nations Convention on the Rights of the
brings children into early contact with ideas of
Child and use this understanding as a guide
interdependence and the need for cooperation.
to living.
Learning that the way “things are done” in
Children and young people will know how
school is based on rights and responsibilities
to go about making informed decisions and
drawn from the articles of the United Nations
become confident, active citizens if this
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
“rights and responsibilities” guide to living
connects with all children because:
is introduced at an early age and is
reinforced throughout school life.
It appeals to their self-interest
It connects them to children everywhere.
UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School Award
It derives from a higher authority (all but two
is an effective way of inspiring and
of the world’s nations have signed the
supporting schools who want to provide
Convention) and is not simply the school’s
children and young people with a rights-
rules or mission statement
respecting guide to living.
UNICEF UK, Africa House, 64–78 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NB Telephone 020 7405 5592 Fax 020 7405 2332 www.unicef.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1072612
Left: Children at King’s Park Primary School, Bournemouth, discuss
Right: Children present a role play about their vision of a rights-
rights and responsibilites with Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children’s
respecting school to primary school headteachers at a Dorset
Commissioner for England (left), and David Bull, Executive Director
RRSA training day (February 2007). © UNICEF UK
of UNICEF UK (March 2007). © UNICEF UK
Some of the evidence so far
Schools that have used the Rights Respecting
Overall school improvement including less
School Action Plan to embed the values of the
truancy and bullying, better learning and
UNCRC in their school ethos and curriculum
academic standards
have found the following:
Enhanced job satisfaction for teachers
Schools implementing the RRSA promote and
By the end of Year 2, most children:
model rights-respecting behaviour in all aspects
Can distinguish between wants and needs
of school life. By Year 6, children have become
and link needs to rights.
empowered to promote rights-respecting
Can understand the concept of rights and use
behaviour in a variety of contexts. This
the term appropriately in discussion
empowerment comes from the language,
Can understand that rights are linked with
concepts, skills and experiences they have
with responsibilities
developed through a school culture in which the
Know about the UN Convention on the Rights
UNCRC has been embedded.
of the Child (UNCRC) and can refer to
individual rights under the Convention
Schools have found that pupils become more
engaged in discussing, planning and reviewing
By the end of Year 6, most children:
their own learning. Secondary schools working
Can give examples of how their own actions
on the RRSA reinforce the values based on the
have consequences – positive and negative –
UNCRC through peer-education schemes. The
for the rights of others in their everyday lives
peer educators become enthusiastic
and globally
ambassadors for the RRSA as it promotes an
Have a close working knowledge of several
active, participatory ethos in the school
articles of the UNCRC
Can explain how their own rights are linked
Further sources of evidence can be found in:
with their own personal responsibilities
The research of Covell and Howe (2005) on the
Can give a range of examples of abuses of
impact of this approach on schools in Hampshire
rights from the immediate context of school
www3.hants.gov.uk/education/childrensrights
to the global context and can discuss ways of
addressing them
The Office for the Children’s Commissioner’s
Can use the UNCRC as a framework for making
Bullying Today report (2006), which
moral judgements across a wide range of
recommended schools consider the RRSA as a
issues concerning justice and sustainability
way of creating a school ethos that, among other
Can critically evaluate the actions of those
things, successfully reduces the incidence of
with power, including governments, through
bullying. This recommendation is based on its
reference to human rights
own research into RRSA schools.
www.11million.org.uk/bullying.html
At schools with RRS action plans, teachers,
children and parents have reported :
Edward Waller, Head of Education, UNICEF UK
edwardw@unicef.org.uk
Improved pupil self-esteem
Pupils’ enhanced moral development
You can find out more about UNICEF’s Rights
Improved behaviour and relationships
Respecting School Award and register at the
More positive attitudes towards diversity in
RRSA interactive website
society and the reduction of prejudice
Pupils’ development as global citizens
www.unicef.org.uk/rrsa
