The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is an initiative run by UNICEF UK

UNICEF UK

UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF National Committees based in industrialised countries. The National Committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work. In 2007, UNICEF UK raised £41.3 million for UNICEF’s work...

, which encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of its ethos and curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

. A Rights Respecting School not only teaches about children's rights

Children's rights

Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...

, it also models rights and respect in all its relationships, whether between children or between children and adults.

Effects of the RRSA

The initiative started in 2004 and is running in over 600 schools in the UK (primary and secondary). It has demonstrated an improvement in child well-being. Many schools have reported a decrease in bullying, an improvement in achievement and participation, a positive effect on attitudes and global awareness and a more inclusive, caring school atmosphere.

Adults and young people have reported that the language of rights and responsibilities, based on the CRC, empowers them to relate to each other better and to engage in decision-making more collaboratively. The effects of the Rights Respecting School initiative can be seen not just through school councils but also through the inclusive, participative way the whole school works during lessons, meal times, play, class and through parents’ involvement.

Required standard

The Award is open for all schools: nursery, primary, middle, secondary and special. For a school to receive the RRS Award, they must show evidence that they have reached the required standard in the following four categories, all of which contain elements contributing to the development of an active global citizen:

1. leadership and management for embedding the values of the CRC in the life of the school.
2. knowledge and understanding of the CRC.
3. rights respecting classrooms.
4. pupils actively participate in decision-making throughout the school.

There are two levels to the Award. Level 1 describes a school which has made good progress across four key aspects of school life: leadership and management; pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the CRC; classroom climate and culture; and pupils’ active participation in decision-making. A Level 2 is awarded to schools which demonstrate that these principles are fully embedded in the life of the school.

Further reading

• About RRSA
• Feature article
• About the CRC
• Briefing paper on RRSA

External links

• Rights Respecting Schools Learning Community
• UNICEF UK
• UNICEF International