Dunnet primary school receives prestigious UNICEF UK Award
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Crossroads Primary School in Dunnet is to be awarded a Silver Rights Respecting School Award by UNICEF UK – the first school in Caithness to be awarded Silver.
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school.
Silver is given to schools that make excellent progress towards embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum. There are over 1200 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that have achieved Silver and over 500 schools that have been awarded Gold, the next step up and highest accolade granted by UNICEF UK.
Headteacher of Crossroads Primary School, Pauline Pearson, said: “We are incredibly proud that the school has achieved Silver. We have been working very hard and can now see the positive impact of the RRSA on pupils and the school as a whole.
"We feel it is very important to put children’s rights at the heart of a school, a huge thank you to pupils and staff, and parents for their assistance in achieving this award.”
Five pupils have been made Rights Ambassadors and they led an assembly to teach the rest of the school about Article 23. Eleven-year-old Edward Mills said “They were psyched up to stand in front of the school”. Alex Hendry (11) said “This gave them confidence and that they are going to involve the wider community working towards the Gold Award”.
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.
The UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools initiative is aimed at schools across the UK, including those in an early years setting. This year the programme has received additional support from The People’s Postcode Lottery. This vital funding is helping UNICEF UK continue its work with over 4500 primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children and young people with special educational needs and pupil referral units across the UK.
Schools have reported a positive impact on pupil behaviour, relationships and well-being by enhancing pupil’s self-esteem, leading to less truancy and bullying, better learning and improved academic standards.
