The Rosewood School is very proud to have been awarded the Gold Rights Respecting Schools Award from UNICEF. 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. Schools who achieve this award 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 Respecting Gold is the third and last stage of the award. It is granted by UNICEF UK to schools that have fully embedded children’s rights throughout the school in its policies, practice and ethos, as outlined in the RRSA Strands and Outcomes

This achievement by TRS was the result of a true team effort from pupils and staff alike to learn about children's rights and show respect for children's rights in all aspects of school life. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is only granted to schools that show a thorough commitment to children’s rights and Gold is the highest accolade possible to achieve. We are delighted with this award and look forward to continuing our Rights respecting journey in the years to come.

 

What does this award mean?

  • TRS 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.

Children and young people also play an increasingly leading role in driving progress.

At Gold: Rights respecting, you are aiming to intensify and broaden:

  • Teaching and Learning about rights: for the whole school community through training, curriculum, assemblies, topics, focus days/weeks, displays.
  • Teaching and Learning through rights: by modelling rights respecting language and attitudes and making strategic decisions that involve students.
  • Being ambassadors for the rights of others: developing as rights respecting citizens.

Why have we became a Rights Respecting School?

  • It develops a common language to build the schools vision and values
  • They are an inalienable set of rights which the children have a right to know (Article 42)
  • Children and young people become actively involved in the learning process
  • Children and young people take responsibility for respecting their right to an education, and the rights of others
  • It is an efficient and effective framework for School Improvement
  • To build good global citizens

What is the impact of being a rights-respecting school?

  • Everyone in the school community has a clear framework of reference
  • Children become advocates for their own learning: “Learning is not what’s done to us anymore – we are responsible for leading it – it’s our right” (Girl aged 10 years)
  • Improved behaviours for Learning
  • Less passive and more active learners
  • Improved results

Convention on the rights of the child

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