🌟 Going for Gold (Rights Respecting Schools)🌟

At St. Joseph’s RC Primary, we are delighted to share that we are working towards achieving our Gold Rights Respecting Schools Award, with our accreditation assessment taking place on Monday, 2nd December. We are proud that we have already achieved our bronze and silver awards, when our rights journey began back in January 2024.

This award, developed by UNICEF UK, recognises schools that place children’s rights at the heart of everything they do — in policy, practice, and daily life. It celebrates schools where the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is not just taught, but lived and breathed throughout the school community.

💛 Our Rights Respecting Journey So Far

Our journey began with the ambition to ensure that every member of our school community understands, respects, and promotes the rights of every child.
Since then, we have:

Explored children’s rights in assemblies, classrooms, and beyond, linking them to everyday learning and experiences.
Formed our Rights Respecting Steering Group, which is pupil council–led by Miss Lisi, ensuring that pupil voice is at the heart of our work.
Ensured that every pupil can be an active participant in building our rights culture.
Developed a shared language of rights, helping children feel empowered as rights holders and understand the role of adults as duty bearers who help protect and promote those rights.
Reviewed our school policies and practices to make sure they reflect a rights-based approach.
Strengthened our sense of community, empathy, and respect — key values that guide life at St. Joseph’s.
Lived and practiced our rights and values every day as part of our Catholic faith.

🏡 Working Together: Home, School, and Community

We believe that achieving the Gold Award is not just a celebration for our school, but for our entire community. To help everyone understand and support our Rights Respecting work, we’ve created a few helpful resources:

📘 Our Parental Leaflet:
Learn more about the Rights Respecting Schools Award and how children’s rights are promoted at St. Joseph’s.

🤝 Our Home–School Agreement:
Our vision for a shared commitment between pupils, parents, and staff to uphold respect, kindness, and fairness in all we do.

🌍 Adults as Duty Bearers – Our Sway Presentation:
An insight into how adults in our school community champion and protect children’s rights every day.

Find out More by clicking here!

🌈 Looking Ahead

As we prepare for our Gold assessment, we’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come.
Our children are confident in talking about their rights, thoughtful about the rights of others, and passionate about making a difference — locally and globally.

Whatever the outcome in December, we know that being a Rights Respecting School is not just about an award — it’s about who we are and what we believe in:
Every child has rights, and every voice matters.

✨ How Our Rights Respecting Work Connects Across Learning and Faith

UNCRC Article Links: Children learn that every child has the right to be heard, to learn, to be safe, and to be treated fairly (Articles 12, 28, and 19).
SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators: We promote every child’s right to be Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, and Included.
Global Goals: We connect our learning to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, helping children understand their role in building a fairer, more sustainable world.
MetaSkills: Through our learning experiences, pupils develop key skills such as self-management, social intelligence, and innovation, supporting lifelong learning and confidence.
This Is Our Faith: Our Catholic values guide us to live out our rights through love, respect, and service, following the example of Jesus in all we do.

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