February’s Right of the Month is Article 28 (the right of the child to an education on the basis of equal opportunity)
February’s Right of the Month at Auchinleck Academy is Article 28: the right of the child to an education on the basis of equal opportunity. We know that despite secondary education being provided free in Scotland, there are still many young people who struggle to access it. At Auchinleck we are currently looking at ways of creating a variety of pathways for pupils for next year when we move to the Robert Burns Academy. It is important that our pupils have a say in this process and many of our S2-S6 pupils have already started, or completed their option choice interviews with the guidance teachers. We aim to ensure that our pupils are given a range of choices that challenge and stimulate them by encouraging vocational learning and making good use of our school partners.
We work hard to ensure that pupils attendance rates are high and that they enjoy their time in school. Over the past few weeks pupils have been involved in an exercise where they will vote for their favourite House names for the new school. It is important that pupils take part in this process as it is their school and all pupils should feel supported in taking up their right to an education.
December’s Right of the Month is Article 12 (respect for the views of the child)
December’s right of the month at Auchinleck Academy is Article 27: the right to an adequate standard of living. We know, however, that child poverty is on the rise in Scotland, and therefore many children and young people are unfortunately not accessing this right. Some of our pupils and staff have therefore been taking action to try and combat child poverty in our local community. With support from Mary Patterson, Home/Community Worker, pupils have set up a food bank in the school to help local families that are experiencing hardship. They have also started a uniform recycling project, and there are plans to introduce a ‘winter warmer’ coat exchange initiative in the near future. Some of our S3 pupils who won the Children’s Rights/ Global Goals ‘Idea for Change’ project last session came up with the idea to package and distribute left over food from the canteen- this is now happening at the end of each day and is available to anyone who needs it. We are also planning a Christmas jumper/dress down day on the 20th December. Pupils and staff can bring in £1 or an item for our food bank to wear their own clothes or a festive jumper. All proceeds will go to Hillside, a charity which supports children and families in our local communities.
There were also lots of activities going on in Auchinleck Academy last month to promote children’s rights. November’s right of the month was Article 12: Respect for the views of the child . To celebrate this right and mark World Children’s Day on the 20th November, Mary Patterson arranged a special event to showcase some of the work that is going on in the school to support children’s rights and ensure that young peoples’ voices are listened to and taken seriously. Pupils also had the opportunity to meet with representatives from local organisations that support young people’s rights, and talk to them about matters that are important to them.
November Right of the Month is Article 12 (respect for the views of the child) – Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life.
November Rights Fact of the Month: Universal Children’s day was established by the United Nations in 1954 to promote children’s welfare around the world. It is held on the 20th November, the same day as the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Rights of the Child in 1959 and signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.
October Right of the Month is Article 6 (life, survival and development): Every child has the right to life. Governments must do all they can to ensure that children survive and develop to their full potential.
October Rights Fact of the Month: Diseases such as measles, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, diphtheria and whooping cough are easily and cheaply preventable by vaccination. Yet every day 16, 000 children under five die as a result of these preventable diseases, usually because they don’t have access to the health care and life-saving vaccines that they need.
August & September Right of the Month: Article 42 (knowledge of rights) Governments must actively work to make sure that children and adults know about the Convention.
August & September Children’s Rights Fact of the Month: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the human rights of every person under 18. It applies to every child without discrimination, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status. The Convention explains what governments must do to make sure that children’s rights are promoted, respected, protected and realised.
June’s Right of the Month:
Right of the Month for June is Article 31 (leisure, play and culture): Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural activities.
June’s Rights Fact of the Month:
Rights Fact of the Month: Children’s rights are based on what children need to live, survive and thrive. Children need all of the rights in the Convention.
April and May’s Right of the Month
Right of the month for April and May has been Article 22: If a child is seeking refuge or has refugee status, governments must provide them with appropriate protection and assistance to help them enjoy all of the rights in the Convention.
In PLP classes this month pupils have been learning about the refugee crisis in Europe, and the reasons why so many children and their families are being forced to flee from their homes in search of safety in other countries. Pupils also learned about what it means to be a refugee during the recent Global Goals Interdisciplinary Project. In the Modern Languages department S2 pupils carried out some research into the conflict in Syria, and found out that many children in Syria and other war torn countries are being denied some of their basic rights, such as the right to protection from violence, the right to education and the right to health and health services. They also reflected on how it must feel to have to leave their home at short notice, possibly never to return, with only a small bag of belongings.
March’s Right of the Month
Auchinleck Academy’s Right of the Month for March has been Article 24, Health and Health Services: Every child has the right to the best possible health. Governments must provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment and education on health and well-being so that children can stay healthy. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.
To raise awareness of this right and to celebrate World Water Day, all pupils watched a presentation in PLP time about the importance of having clean water. They learned that Global Goal six for Sustainable Development commits world leaders to ensuring that everyone has access to drinking water by 2030. Pupils were surprised to find out that 663 million people in the world currently do not have access to safe, clean water. Pupils then took part in a class quiz to test their knowledge about water. They also contributed to a penny collection which raised £42.42 to add to our funds for Jebbeh Kiazolu school in Liberia. The money we have raised will help Mary’s Meals to keep providing nutritious food and clean water to the children and young people of Jebbeh Kiazolu. This is yet another great example of Auchinleck Academy pupils supporting other young people to access their rights- well done!
February’s Right of the Month
Article 29 (Goals of Education) – Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
Rights Fact of the Month: Rights are INALIENABLE. This means that you cannot give them away or sell them, and no one can take them away from you.
In order to ensure that all pupils in our school enjoy this right and can reach their full potential, members of our Inclusion Group have planned a series of assemblies to raise awareness of the various different learning, health, social, emotional and behavioural needs that many of our young people have, and the support that they are entitled to. Last term we celebrated ‘Dyslexia Awareness Week’, and so far this term the focus has been on understanding Autism. Senior pupils have delivered presentations to pupils and staff in order to raise awareness of what Autism is and how we can all support Autistic pupils in our school to achieve their best, and to feel safe, happy, included and respected at Auchinleck Academy. Further work to raise awareness of Young Carers, Mental health, and Hearing Impairments is planned for the coming months.
In addition to this, Auchinleck Academy is continuing to support the children of Jebbeh Kiazolu school in Liberia to access their right to education, through our ongoing sponsorship. We recently received photographs and an update on their progress, and were pleased to learn that even more pupils there are now benefitting from a daily meal provided by Mary’s Meals. Being fed at school allows these young people to attend their classes on a full stomach and properly engage in their learning.
We have also recently launched the start of a new ‘Backpack Challenge’, an initiative to provide some of the poorest children with backpacks and other basic items for school, which will help them to access their right to education . Over the last three sessions Auchinleck Academy has sent 73 completed backpacks to children in Malawi and Liberia, thanks to the support of our pupils, parents, staff and members of the community. If you can help out with this again all donations would be much appreciated and can be handed in to the school office, or to Mr Deeney in the Technical department. It is not necessary to give a full backpack – even just giving a single item from the following list will help:
Backpack/school bag, exercise book/notepad, pencils, pens, crayons, eraser, ruler, sharpener, pencil case, towel, shorts/skirt & t-shirt, or dress, flip flops/sandals, small ball e.g. tennis ball, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, spoon.
January’s Right of the Month:
January’s right of the month at Auchinleck Academy has been Article 2: Non Discrimination(nobody should be discriminated against because of their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, language ability family background or any other status). To learn more about this right, S1 Pupils have been participating in anti-bullying lessons in PSE and have also attended workshops delivered by Centre Stage and Nil By Mouth which focused on respect, and tackling prejudice and hate crime. Next week all pupils will attend assemblies delivered by S1 pupils to raise awareness of this right and to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
December’s Right of the Month:
Article 30 (children from minority groups): Every child has the right to learn and use the language, customs and religion of their family, whether or not these are shared by the majority of the people in the country where they live.
Rights fact of the Month:
Rights are UNIVERSAL. This means that they are for all people (children and adults) everywhere, all of the time. The basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled are stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Children require extra protection and have an additional set of rights. These are set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which is an international human rights treaty.
November’s Right of the Month:
November’s right of the month is Article 38: Governments must not allow children under the age of 15 to take part in war or join the armed forces. Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war.
