UNICEF Rights Respecting Award

Greenvale school has been awarded the Silver Rights Respecting School Award by UNICEF UK.

 UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children, and young people to respect the rights of others in school. Silver is given to schools that make excellent progress towards embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum. There are over 1,300 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales that have achieved Silver and over 600 schools that have been awarded Gold, the next step up and highest accolade granted by UNICEF UK.

 Headteacher of Greenvale school, Katie Denton, said: “It is important for our students to know their rights, they will go in to the community and we want them to be safe. The RRSA links directly to Greenvale’s ethos and values, having the rights framework helps us to know where to go further. It helps us to hold ourselves to account”.

 Achieving the silver rights respecting award means that there is evidence that:

• Your school is explicitly embedding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in its policy, practice and culture.
• You are promoting knowledge and understanding of the Convention throughout your school community.
• You are putting into action and developing the plans outlined on your Action Plan for Silver, which you submitted to achieve Bronze: Rights Committed.
• You are beginning to see the positive impact of these actions on children and young people, staff, and on the school’s ethos, practice and environment.
• Children and young people are beginning to see themselves as rights respecting global citizens and advocates for fairness and children’s rights, both locally and globally.

 The Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies and practice. A Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.

 The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools initiative is aimed at schools across the UK, including those in an early years setting. Currently, it works with nearly 5,000 primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children and young people with special educational needs and pupil referral units across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Schools have reported a positive impact on pupil behaviour, relationships and well-being by enhancing pupils’ self-esteem, leading to less truancy and bullying, better learning and improved academic standards.

 Rights Steering group

 The students at Greenvale school have decided to name their steering group “WM we are 1” which stands for Waters Road and Mayow Road we are one. The steering group consists of 15 students across each key stage. Their role is to ensure that the whole school is aware of the Rights Respecting Schools Award, to provide a link between the children, all staff members, the governors and the wider community and to plan and deliver fun events around the school.