Children’s Rights Information

Children’s Rights

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989. The United Kingdom approved the UNCRC in 1991.

The UNCRC describes what every child needs to survive, grow and thrive in order to live with dignity and achieve their potential. There are 54 articles of the UNCRC, the first 42 of which describe what every child and young person from birth to 18 years old should experience.

The Convention is based on four general principles:

  • Equality: the UNCRC applies to all children (Article 2)
  • The best interests of the child must be a top priority (Article 3)
  • Every child has the right to life, survival and opportunities to develop to their full potential (Article 6)
  • Every child has a right to be heard and listened to in matters that affect them (Article 12)

What are children’s rights?

Children’s rights are entitlements to fundamental human dignity. They are:

  • Universal – and they apply to EVERY child
  • Interrelated, interdependent and indivisible – all the articles of the UNCRC are linked and should be read alongside each other to provide the full range of a child’s entitlement to dignity
  • Inalienable and inviolable – children’s rights cannot be given or taken away: they are innate to the humanity and personhood of each child.

 

As a school community we strive to ensure children’s rights are promoted, supported and fulfilled in all we do. We recognise the importance of pupil voice and aim to engage our learners as active participants throughout their time at Carlogie. We are currently engaging with Unicef’s Rights Respecting Schools award and are currently working towards our Gold Award, having achieved our Silver Award in June 2023.

 

Useful resources/links to support learning children’s rights at home: