Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA)

At Birchwood Grove we are proud to have achieved a Gold Award R by UNICEF. We have put the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of our practice. We believe that the Rights Respecting ethos should be the core of our school.

We began our journey by spending time talking to both the staff and the children about some of the key articles (rights) from the convention that we feel are most relevant to us in school. We chose 6 rights that we feel are most relevant to our school. From here we have set up our Kite Council and recruited Rights Respecting ambassadors who help promote children’s rights and help others understand how they can respect their own and others’ rights. They have also worked hard at promoting Global awareness and sustainability in line with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Over the last three years as a school community we have worked hard to broaden our understanding of the articles to include all those in the convention and these have formed the basis of our charters (classroom and around the school), policies and assisted with our curriculum planning.

In September 2017 we were assessed for the UNICEF Rights Respecting Gold Award. The assessors spent a day working alongside the school's pupils, RRSA co-ordinator (Mrs Williamson), the leadership team, staff, governors and parents. In their report they noted that:

The whole school community has embraced the principles and values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to underpin Birchwood Grove’s inclusive ethos.
Respect is an integral part of the school’s everyday practice.
The journey towards RRSA level 2 has empowered pupils to take a greater role in the life of the school.
Pupils have been encouraged to develop an outward-looking perspective upon the world both in the local and global contexts.

To read the full report please click here.

Our six school rights

Kite Council Meetings

Year 6 Global Assemblies

Ambassadors

UN Convention on the rights of the child