Rights Respecting School

The staff and children of St Nicolas C of E Academy have worked incredibly hard to achieve the Silver Rights Respecting school award.  We are now heading for Gold.

What is the Rights Respecting School Award?

The Rights Respecting school award (RRSA) is an initiative run by Unicef to encourage schools to place the Rights of the child at the heart of the school ethos and curriculum by embedding the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) into all aspects of school life.

St Nicolas C of E Academy aims to create an environment that not only fosters academic achievement but also meets the social, emotional and diverse needs of all children in a nurturing and respectful way.

As we work towards our goal of becoming a Rights Respecting school our journey will support us to enable all our pupils, your children, to realise their own rights and the rights of other children, locally, nationally and globally enabling them to become citizens of the world.

Ultimately the award will thread through all aspects of school life creating a positive and safe environment that fosters mutual respect for all children where they can reach their full potential and become confident, happy, tolerant and respectful individuals who are accepting of differences and diversity.

What is Unicef?

UNICEF is the world’s leading charitable organisation working for all children and their rights. It runs operations all over the world supplying food, shelter, clean water, education and medication etc to children wherever they need it.  In 1989, almost all governments around the world promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). These rights are based on four guiding principles of what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential. Unicef works tirelessly to help children access those rights.

We are currently working towards gaining our Silver: Rights Respecting Award. To achieve this, we must meet four standards as set out by Unicef.

The RRSA Standards are:

About: Strand A – Teaching the whole school about rights so that the whole school knows about children’s rights and this knowledge is used to improve child well-being and the school, as well as advocate for global justice and sustainable living.

Through: Strand B – Teaching through rights is concerned with the planning and structures that underpin school life, ensuring that the operational structures of a school are rights respecting.

For: Strand C –  Teaching for rights is about looking out to the wider community and beyond, empowering students to become active global citizens.