UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award
The Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils. Who is the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) for?The RRSA is a UK-wide initiative for all children and all those working with or for children in formal education. It is being successfully implemented in all settings – Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Special Needs and Pupil Referral Units – across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. How does the RRSA link with other school initiatives?The initiative unifies a range of educational priorities in all UK jurisdictions; the global dimension, SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning), community cohesion and sustainable development. What impact does the RRSA have?A three year qualitative study by researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Brighton found that "The RRSA has had a profound effect on the majority of the schools involved in the programme." |
RRSA and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)The universality of the CRC provides a clear link for pupils between building up their rights-respecting school, understanding their rights and responsibilities and the need for children’s rights to be realised everywhere. Children and young people in rights-respecting schools develop a stronger sense of the need to act for global justice. |
