Rights Respecting Schools

Twiss Green Community Primary School aims to be a school where every aspect of a child is focused on and developed, including how they feel about themselves, their learning and their future. We want all of our pupils to develop as happy and confident people who can express their views clearly and thoughtfully. To support this, we are working towards status as a “Rights Respecting School”. This is an award which is given to schools on behalf of UNICEF.

UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. In 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). These rights are based on what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential. These are rights that all children have. They cannot be taken away and it is adults who have the responsibility to ensure their rights are met. The core rights that we focus on are:

All children have the right to learn and go to school.
All children have the right to say what they think and be listened to.
All children have the right not to be harmed and should be looked after and kept safe.
All children have the right to relax, play and join in with artistic and cultural activities.
All children have the right to develop their personalities, talents and abilities to the full.
All children have the right to be healthy.
All children have the right to privacy.

The ‘Rights Respecting School’ award (RRSA) will help our pupils to grow into confident, caring and responsible young citizens both in school and within the wider community. By learning about their rights, our children will also learn about the importance of respecting and standing up for the rights of others. Currently, we have achieved the Bronze award: Rights Committed status and are working towards the Silver.

Our pupils are encouraged to reflect on how their behaviour and actions affect those around them, which allows us to build and maintain a positive and safe learning environment for all, both in the classroom and around the school site.

We really hope that you will feel able to support us and your child in working towards our goal of being a ‘Rights Respecting School’. If you would like more information or if you would like to work as a parent/carer member of our ‘Rights Committee’ please contact Mrs Kelly (lkelly@twissgreen.net).

If you would like more information about the work of UNICEF or a Rights

Respecting School then please visit: www.unicef.org.uk/rrsa.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, is the basis of all of Unicef’s work. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

Read the full convention here

Read a summary of the UNCRC here

Read a child-friendly version here

What makes the UNCRC so special?

The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.

Every child has rights, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status.

The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important that another. The right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28).