⭐ Our Progress Towards Gold

A growing record of our journey as we learn about rights, live our rights and take action for rights.

📖 Our Journey So Far

August

🌟 Our Journey Towards Gold Begins
📜 Creating Our Class Charters

September

🎨 Designing Our Rights Respecting Mascot
🙏 Creating Our Rights Prayer
🔎 Checking Our Understanding of Rights
🏆 Meet Our Rights Respecting Mascot

October

🌍 Wildfires, Children’s Rights and the Global Goals
🎶 St Francis’ Comes Alive with Music!
💻 Connected by Code: P6 Goes Global!
🗣️ You Asked… We Listened! Our Pupil Voice Box Is Here!
🎤 From an Idea to a Whole-School Talent Show!
🏃 Their PE. Their Choice!
🌍 Making Rights Accessible to Every Family
🤝 Our Languages, Our Strength: Pupils Supporting Pupils
💛 Creating Calm Spaces Together
✍️ Young Writers, Big Voices!
🎨 Beyond the Face: Hear My Voice!
🍿 Popping with Success!
🎃 Our Halloween!
⚽ Football Fun with Glasgow Life!
🍂 Autumn Creativity in the Great Outdoors!
🌳 We All Belong at St Francis’: Our Family Tree
💬 Everyone’s Voice Matters at St Francis’!

 

November

🎆 Firework Safety at St Francis’! 🚒
🌍 Rights in Every Language
🎤 A Pupil-Led Article 12 Challenge!
🐋 Working with Whales: Learning to Protect Our Oceans
🌟 Pupils Taking the Lead: Our Article 31 Assembly!
🪔 Sharing Our Culture: Pupils Take the Lead!
⭐ How to Catch a Star!
🎃 Perfect Pumpkin Instructions!

 

🌟 Our Journey Towards Gold Begins

A new school year brought an exciting new chapter in our Rights Respecting journey at St Francis’.

Having achieved our Silver: Rights Aware Award, we are proud of how far we have come, but we know our journey does not stop there.

This year, we are setting our sights on Gold: Rights Respecting! ⭐

💙 Building on Our Silver Success

Our Silver Award recognised the progress we have already made in developing our understanding of children’s rights.

As we move towards Gold, we want to build on these foundations and make sure that rights are not only something our pupils know about, but something they can recognise and experience throughout everyday school life.

Know It. Live It. Act On It.

Our journey towards Gold will focus on three simple ideas:

•  KNOW IT
  Developing our knowledge and understanding of the UNCRC and the rights of every child.
•  LIVE IT
  Making sure rights can be seen and experienced through our learning, relationships and everyday life at St Francis’.
• ACT ON IT
  Using our understanding of rights to speak up, take action and make a positive difference for ourselves and others.

⭐ Our Next Step: Gold

Over the months ahead, our pupils and staff will work together to deepen our understanding of rights, strengthen participation and find meaningful ways to put children’s rights into action.

This page will follow our journey, celebrating the steps we take, the voices of our pupils and the difference our Rights Respecting work makes along the way.

August marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for St Francis’. Our journey towards Gold starts here! 💙⭐

 

 

📜Creating Our Class Charter

Putting rights at the heart of every classroom

September marked an important first step in our continued journey towards becoming a Gold: Rights Respecting School.

Across St Francis’, pupils and staff worked together to design and create their Class Charters. Each class explored articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), discussing what these rights mean and how they can be experienced in everyday school life.

Pupil voice was central to the process. Children shared their ideas, listened to one another and helped decide which rights were particularly meaningful within their class. Together, they considered the rights-respecting actions that can help ensure everyone feels safe, included, respected and able to learn.

🗣️ Our Rights Link: Article 12

Every child has the right to express their views on matters that affect them and to have those views taken seriously.

Creating our charters gave pupils a meaningful opportunity to contribute to decisions about their classroom and helped develop their understanding that rights belong to every child.

Also Linking to Article 29: Goals of Education and Article 28: Right to Education

Article 29 tells us that education should help children develop their abilities and encourage respect for human rights and for others.

By creating and using our Class Charters, pupils are developing their understanding of rights, respect and how their actions can help create a positive, rights-respecting classroom.

Every child has the right to an education. Our Class Charters help us think about how we can create rights-respecting classrooms where everyone feels included, respected and able to learn.

 More Than a Display

Our Class Charters are not simply something we create in September and place on the wall.

Throughout the year, we will return to them regularly during learning, discussions and reflection. They will help us talk about rights, recognise when rights are being respected and consider how our own actions can respect the rights of others.

As pupils’ understanding of the UNCRC continues to grow, our charters will remain a visible reminder that at St Francis’, children’s rights are something we learn about, talk about and experience every day.

This is just the beginning. Our Class Charters will grow with us as we continue our journey towards Gold. ⭐

 

Designing Our Rights Respecting Mascot

There was lots of excitement at our recent whole-school assembly when we launched our Rights Respecting Mascot Design Competition!

Pupils were introduced to the challenge of creating a mascot that will represent children’s rights and our journey towards Gold at St Francis’.

The children were full of enthusiasm and already had lots of creative ideas about what our mascot could look like and what it could represent.

We can’t wait to see their ideas come to life!

🗣️ Pupil Voice in Action

This is much more than a design competition. It is another opportunity for our pupils to have a voice in our Rights Respecting journey.

Our mascot will be designed by our pupils and will reflect their ideas about rights, respect, fairness and inclusion.

📖 Rights Link: Article 12

Article 12 of the UNCRC tells us that children have the right to express their views on matters that affect them and for those views to be taken seriously.

From creating the designs to helping choose our new mascot, pupil voice will be at the heart of the process.

🎨 Also Linking to Article 13: Freedom of Expression

Article 13 recognises children’s right to express their thoughts and ideas in different ways.

Through drawing, designing and explaining their mascot ideas, our pupils are using creativity to express what children’s rights, fairness and respect mean to them.

⭐ What Happens Next?

The competition is now underway and our pupils are busy getting creative!

Once all the entries are in, pupils will help choose the mascot that will represent our Rights Respecting journey across St Francis’.

We can’t wait to meet our new mascot! 🌟

Creating Our Rights Prayer

As we continue our journey towards Gold, we want children’s rights to become part of everyday life at St Francis’.

During discussions with our Rights Ambassadors, we talked about different ways we could make rights more visible and meaningful across our school. Together, we felt that having our own Rights Prayer would give us a special opportunity to reflect on children’s rights through our Catholic faith and pray together as a school community.

💬 From Pupil Ideas to Our School Prayer

Primary 6 took on the challenge of helping to create our Rights Prayer.

The pupils discussed what they felt was most important to include and shared their own thoughts about respect, listening to others, equality, feeling loved and making sure the rights of every child are recognised.

Their ideas helped shape a prayer that belongs to our school and reflects what being Rights Respecting means to us at St Francis’.

🌟 Growing Our Understanding of Rights

Creating our prayer also gave pupils an opportunity to explore some important ideas about the UNCRC.

We are learning that rights are:

Universal
They belong to every child.

Unconditional
Children do not have to earn their rights.

Inalienable
Rights cannot simply be taken away.

Indivisible
All rights are important and work together.

We are also learning about duty bearers, the adults who have a responsibility to respect, protect and uphold children’s rights.

📖 Our Rights Link: Article 12

Article 12 tells us that children have the right to express their views on matters that affect them and for those views to be taken seriously.

From the initial conversations with our Rights Ambassadors to the ideas contributed by Primary 6, pupil voice played an important part in creating a prayer that can now be shared across St Francis’.

🙏 Our Rights Prayer

Our finished Rights Prayer will now be shared across the school, giving pupils and staff an opportunity to reflect together on our shared commitment to respecting the rights of every child.

💙 Making Rights Part of Who We Are

Our Rights Prayer is another step in making sure that children’s rights are not simply something we learn about. They are becoming part of the language, values and everyday life of St Francis’.

Every child. Every right. Every day. 🌟

Checking Our Understanding of Rights

Where are we now and where do we want to go?

As we begin our journey towards Gold, our Rights Ambassadors wanted to find out how well children across St Francis’ understand their rights.

Classes took part in a short Rights Check-In, exploring what pupils already know about the UNCRC and some of the important ideas that sit behind children’s rights.

We explored whether pupils could identify their rights, explain who has rights and begin to understand that rights are universal, unconditional, inalienable and indivisible. We also introduced the important role of adults as duty bearers.

🗣️ What Will We Do With What We Find Out?

Our Rights Ambassadors will use what we learn to help identify areas where we are already confident and areas where we need to develop our understanding.

Later in our journey, we will revisit the same questions to see how our knowledge and understanding have grown.

Learning, Growing and Moving Towards Gold

Our journey towards Gold is not about knowing everything at the beginning. It is about learning, reflecting and being able to show the difference our Rights Respecting work is making.

We are excited to see just how much our understanding will grow!

 

 

 

 

Meet Our Rights Respecting Mascot!

What an incredible response we had to our Rights Respecting Mascot Design Competition!

Primary 6 have been learning about wildfires and exploring their causes, their impact and how they can affect people, communities and the environment.

Working in groups, pupils researched different aspects of wildfires and used their findings to create presentations. They then shared their presentations with others, developing their confidence while raising awareness of an important global issue.

🌍 Making Global Connections

As our learning developed, we began to explore how wildfires connect to issues affecting our wider world.

Pupils made connections to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

🌍 Global Goal 13: Climate Action

Taking action to tackle climate change and its impacts.

🌳 Global Goal 15: Life on Land

Protecting forests, ecosystems and biodiversity.

This helped pupils recognise that environmental issues can have an impact on people and communities across the world.

📖 Connecting Our Learning to Children’s Rights

Primary 6 also explored how wildfires can affect children and their rights.

We made connections to

Article 6: Life, Survival and Development

Wildfires can put lives, safety and children’s development at risk.

Article 24: Health

Smoke, extreme heat and unsafe conditions can affect children’s health and wellbeing.

Article 27: Adequate Standard of Living

Wildfires can affect homes, food, water and the places where children live.

Article 28: Education

Wildfires can damage schools, cause closures and disrupt children’s education.

Rather than simply identifying different articles, pupils were encouraged to think about how and why children’s rights might be affected.

🎤 Sharing Our Learning

After completing their research, Primary 6 presented their findings and shared what they had discovered about wildfires.

Through their presentations, pupils were able to explain the environmental impact of wildfires while also considering the effect they can have on children, their communities and their rights.

It was wonderful to see pupils confidently sharing their knowledge and helping others to learn more about this important global issue.

Primary 6 sharing their research and explaining how wildfires can affect people, communities and children’s rights.

💭 Thinking as Global Citizens

Our wildfire learning encouraged Primary 6 to look beyond our own school and consider the experiences of children and communities around the world.

By connecting their learning to the UNCRC and the Global Goals, pupils are developing their understanding that children’s rights are universal and that global issues can affect whether children are able to fully enjoy their rights.

💬 Pupil Voice

“Wildfires don’t just affect trees and animals. They can affect children’s homes, health and schools too.”

“We learned that children have the same rights wherever they live, but things like wildfires can make it harder for some children to enjoy those rights.”

“I didn’t realise climate change and children’s rights were connected before we did this topic.”

⭐ Know It. Live It. Act On It.

• Know It: We developed our knowledge of wildfires, the Global Goals and children’s rights.
• Live It: We considered why these rights matter to every child, everywhere.
• Act On It: We used our research and presentations to share our learning and raise awareness of an important global issue.

 

 

🎶St Francis’ Comes Alive with Music!

What a fantastic day of music at St Francis’!

Our whole school had the opportunity to take part in an exciting Create Music experience, filling our school with music, energy and creativity. Pupils had the chance to get involved, develop their musical skills, express themselves and, most importantly, enjoy making music together.

This was children’s rights in action! 🌟

🎵 Article 29 – Developing Talents and Abilities

Every child should have opportunities to develop their personality, talents and abilities. Our music sessions gave pupils across the school the chance to discover, develop and celebrate their musical talents.

🎭 Article 31 – Culture and the Arts

Every child has the right to take part in cultural and creative activities. From our youngest pupils to our oldest, everyone had the opportunity to experience the joy of music.

💬 Pupil Voice

“I liked getting to have a go and make music with everyone.”

 

🌍 Global Goal 4 – Quality Education

Quality education is about more than the classroom. Experiences like this give our pupils opportunities to be creative, build confidence, learn new skills and discover what they can do.

A brilliant whole-school experience and a wonderful example of rights and the Global Goals coming alive at St Francis’!

 

 

💻Connected by Code: P6 Goes Global!

Primary 6A and Primary 6B had a brilliant time taking part in the live micro: bit Big Birthday Code-Along.

We joined schools from across the world, including Australia, Spain and Hungary, all coding together at the same time. It was exciting to see just how many children from different countries were taking part in the same learning experience as us.

The challenge certainly put our coding skills to the test! Some parts were easier than others and there were definitely a few tricky moments, but pupils kept going, helped each other and enjoyed seeing their code come to life.

💬 What P6 Thought

“I loved it, but some bits were really hard!”

“I liked seeing all the other countries joining in.”

“It was really good when we finally got it to work!”

“The coding was tricky but fun!”

 

 

📖 Connecting Our Learning to Our Rights

We also discussed how our Code-Along linked to children’s rights.

We made a strong connection to Article 29: Goals of Education.

This tells us that education should help children develop their talents and abilities.

Through the Code-Along, we were developing our coding and digital skills, but we were also problem-solving, thinking creatively, persevering when things became difficult and helping one another.

Seeing children joining the same live event from so many different countries also helped us think about something we have been learning on our Journey to Gold: children’s rights are UNIVERSAL.

No matter where children live in the world, their rights belong to them.

🌍 Connecting to the Global Goals

We also discussed how our learning connected to the United Nations Global Goals.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Our Code-Along gave us an opportunity to learn new skills and develop our abilities. We talked about how children around the world should have opportunities to learn and experience a quality education.

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Coding and using our micro:bits also linked to technology and innovation. We developed skills that can help us create, design, solve problems and think about the technology of the future.

🌎 Learning Together

From St Francis’ to classrooms thousands of miles away, children around the world were learning together through code.

It was a fantastic way for P6A and P6B to develop their skills while also making connections between our learning, our rights and the wider world.

🗣️Our Voice Box!

A Pupil Idea Brought to Life at St Francis’

Something exciting is happening at St Francis’, and it all started with an idea from our pupils! 🌟

During one of our Rights Respecting assemblies, we were talking about pupil voice and how children can share their views and ideas in school.

Our pupils came up with a brilliant suggestion:

💡 “Could we have a Pupil Voice Box?”

We thought it was a fantastic idea!

Our Rights Ambassadors then got to work, thinking about how the idea could become a reality and how the box could be used by pupils across St Francis’.

And now we are delighted to introduce…

🗣️ OUR PUPIL VOICE BOX!

💬 Got Something to Say? We Want to Hear It!

The Pupil Voice Box gives everyone another way to have their say.

Have you got a great idea?

Is there something you think could make our school even better?

Is there something you would like to change?

Or is there something happening at St Francis’ that you think is brilliant?

The ambassadors presented this at assembly.

Article 12 in Action

Our Pupil Voice Box is a great example of Article 12: Respect for Children’s Views coming to life at St Francis’.

Article 12 tells us that children have the right to express their views about matters that affect them and for those views to be taken seriously.

What makes our new Pupil Voice Box even more special is that the idea itself came from our pupils.

They shared their idea.
We listened.
Our Rights Ambassadors helped take the idea forward.
And now it is becoming part of our school! ⭐

👀 What Happens Next?

Our Rights Ambassadors will regularly check the Pupil Voice Box and look at the ideas and suggestions pupils have shared.

They will discuss the ideas and help us think about what we can take forward.

We might not be able to make every suggestion happen, but every idea can be listened to and considered.

We also want pupils to know what happens after they share their ideas, so look out for our updates:

🌍 From Our Rights to the Global Goals

Our Pupil Voice Box also connects our Rights Respecting work to the United Nations Global Goals.

🌍 Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making, where people have opportunities to contribute and have their voices heard.

Our Pupil Voice Box is a great example of this in action at St Francis’.

The idea came directly from pupils during a Rights Respecting assembly. Their suggestion was listened to, our Rights Ambassadors helped turn their idea into action, and now pupils across the school will have another way to share their views and contribute to school life.

It is a fantastic example of how children’s rights and the Global Goals can work together to make a difference. 🌟

🌟 Now It’s Over to You!

Our pupils had the idea for the Pupil Voice Box.

Our Rights Ambassadors helped make it happen.

Now we need YOU to fill it with your ideas!

Keep an eye out for our new Pupil Voice Box in school and start thinking…

💭 What would you like to make even better at St Francis’?

 

 

 

🏃Their PE. Their Choice!

Pupil voice is part of everyday learning at St Francis’!

During an outdoor PE lesson, our P4/3 pupils were given the opportunity to choose which activity they wanted to take part in.

Rather than everyone being expected to do the same activity, pupils were able to share their preferences, make a choice and take part in the activity that interested them most.

It was a simple but meaningful example of pupils having a genuine say in their learning and seeing that their views are valued.

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Article 12 tells us that children have the right to express their views on matters that affect them and for those views to be taken seriously.

For P4/3, that meant having a real choice within their PE lesson.

🌍 Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making.

At St Francis’, pupil voice doesn’t only happen in meetings or through our Rights Ambassadors. It happens in our classrooms, our playground and our everyday learning too.

Giving pupils meaningful choices helps them understand that their opinions matter and that they can play an active role in their school experience.

 

 

 

🎤From an Idea to a Whole-School Talent Show!

Our school talent show was a fantastic example of pupil voice turning into action at St Francis’!

The idea came directly from our pupils, who told us that they would love the opportunity to have a school talent show. We listened to their views and helped them turn their idea into a brilliant whole-school event.

Pupils were at the heart of the talent show. They chose how they wanted to take part and had the opportunity to share their talents with the school. Two of our Primary 7 pupils also took on the important role of hosts, confidently leading the show, introducing the acts and keeping everyone entertained throughout.

It was great fun and a wonderful celebration of the confidence, creativity and talents of our pupils.

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Article 12 tells us that children have the right to express their views and for those views to be taken seriously.

Our talent show showed Article 12 in action. Our pupils asked for something they wanted to see happen in their school, adults listened, and their idea became a reality.

🌍 Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making, where people have opportunities to contribute and have their voices heard.

At St Francis’, pupil voice can lead to real change.

It was a fantastic example of pupils seeing that their voices matter and that their ideas can make a real difference to school life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

🌍Making Rights Accessible to Every Family

At St Francis’, we want all of our families to be part of our Rights Respecting journey.

Each month, we share our Article of the Month newsletter with families so that learning about children’s rights can continue beyond the classroom and into our homes.

During discussions with our Rights Ambassadors, we reflected on whether our newsletters were accessible to everyone. With many families in our school community speaking a language other than English at home, our Ambassadors recognised that language could be a barrier to some families fully accessing the information we were sharing.

Together, we decided that our Article of the Month newsletters should also be available in a home language. Arabic was chosen as it is widely spoken within our school community.

But pupil involvement did not stop there! One of our upper-school pupils used their own language skills to help edit and check the Arabic version before it was shared with families.

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our Rights Ambassadors were involved in identifying the problem and deciding how we could make our communication more inclusive.

Their voices helped bring about a real change in how we share information with our families.

🌍 Article 2: No Discrimination

Every child has rights, regardless of the language they or their family speak.

By making our rights information more accessible, we are helping more families understand and take part in our Rights Respecting journey.

Pupil Voice Leading to Change.

This is pupil voice making a meaningful difference to our whole school community.

 

 

 

 

 

🤝Our Languages, Our Strength: Pupils Supporting Pupils

A fantastic idea has come directly from some of our Primary 6 pupils!

Some of our P6 pupils who speak languages other than English recognised that younger pupils who are new to English can sometimes benefit from a little extra help with everyday school life.

They suggested using their own language skills to support younger pupils, helping them understand simple day-to-day things, offering reassurance and, where appropriate, helping to translate so that younger children feel welcomed, included and understood.

We are very fortunate to already have two excellent EAL teachers who provide specialist support for our pupils. This pupil-led idea is not about replacing that important role. Instead, it is about our older pupils recognising that they have skills of their own that can make a positive difference to someone else.

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

This idea came from the pupils themselves. They identified a way they could make school better for other children and shared their idea with us.

We listened, and now we are exploring how they can put their idea into action.

🌍 Article 2: No Discrimination

Every child should feel included and valued, whatever language they speak.

Our multilingual pupils are showing that speaking more than one language is not a barrier. It is a strength that can be used to help others.

Pupils Supporting Pupils

At St Francis’, pupil voice is not only about making changes for ourselves. It is also about recognising when we can use our own strengths to make a difference for others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

💛Creating Calm Spaces Together

Our Pupil Council, led by our Head Boy and Deputy Head Boy, wanted to make sure that the calm regulation spaces in our classrooms were meeting the needs of the pupils who use them.

Rather than adults deciding what each area needed, the Pupil Council carried out a survey across our classes to find out what pupils felt would help them feel calm, comfortable and ready to learn.

The responses were listened to and used to decide what was needed for each class.

Our Pupil Council then helped turn that feedback into action. Alongside our Deputy Head Boy, they delivered the requested resources to each class, helping to improve the calm spaces based on what pupils had actually said they needed.

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

This was more than asking pupils for their opinions. Their views directly influenced changes to their classroom environment.

Article 3: Best Interests of the Child

Our calm spaces support pupils’ wellbeing and help them feel settled and ready to learn. By listening to pupils themselves, we were able to make these spaces more responsive to their needs.

From Pupil Voice to Action.

Pupil voice helped shape spaces designed for pupils themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

🎃 Our Halloween!

Pupil voice was at the heart of our Halloween celebrations at St Francis’!

Our pupils helped to shape their Halloween parties by sharing their ideas for the music they wanted to hear, suggesting games and choosing songs and dances. Their ideas helped make sure the celebrations reflected what they wanted to enjoy.

Our Nursery children also had a fantastic Halloween celebration, with lots of games, music and fun throughout the day.

And the pupils weren’t the only ones joining in! Our teachers dressed up as bananas in honour of Señor Dunn and even performed a special dance for the pupils. It certainly gave everyone a good laugh!

Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Article 12 tells us that children have the right to express their views on matters that affect them and for those views to be taken seriously.

Our Halloween celebrations put this into practice. Pupils shared their ideas, adults listened and their choices helped shape the day.

🌍 Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making.

At St Francis’, pupil voice is part of everyday school life. Our Halloween celebrations were another fun example of pupils seeing that their ideas are valued and can influence what happens in their school.

A brilliant day of pupil voice, laughter and Halloween fun across St Francis’! 🎃👻

 

 

 

 

 

 

⚽ Football Fun with Glasgow Life!

Primary 4 had a fantastic time welcoming football coaches from Glasgow Life to St Francis’!

The pupils took part in a fun and active football session, developing their skills through a range of games and activities.

It was a brilliant opportunity to be active, learn from experienced coaches and enjoy playing together.

⚽ Article 31: The Right to Play

Article 31 tells us that every child has the right to rest, relax, play and take part in recreational activities.

Our P4 pupils put this right into action as they enjoyed being active, developing their football skills and having fun with their friends.

🌍 Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Being physically active is an important part of keeping our bodies and minds healthy.

A huge thank you to the Glasgow Life coaches for giving our Primary 4 pupils such an enjoyable experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

🍂 Autumn Creativity in the Great Outdoors! 

A beautiful, crisp October afternoon gave us the perfect opportunity to take our learning outdoors!

 

Our pupils took the lead, researching their own Halloween craft ideas and deciding what they wanted to create. They then headed outdoors to collect the natural materials and supplies they needed before setting up their own creative station.

From making Halloween broomsticks to painting autumn leaves, there was lots of imagination, creativity and independent learning on display.

The children made the most of the natural environment around them, turning leaves, sticks and other autumn finds into their own Halloween creations.

Article 31: The Right to Play and Take Part in Creative Activities

Article 31 tells us that children have the right to play, relax and take part in cultural and creative activities.

Our outdoor afternoon was a wonderful example of this right in action. Pupils had the freedom to explore their own ideas, be creative and enjoy learning outdoors together.

🌍 Goal 4: Quality Education

Learning can happen anywhere!

By taking our learning outdoors, pupils had opportunities to explore, make decisions, solve problems and bring their own creative ideas to life.

A perfect October afternoon of fresh air, autumn colours and creativity at St Francis’! 🍁

 

 

 

 

🍃We All Belong at St Francis’ 

At our Parents’ Night, we invited our parents and carers to help us celebrate the many families, languages, cultures and traditions that make up our St Francis’ community.

Families were invited to create a leaf for our We All Belong at St Francis’ display. They could share something about their country, culture, language, family or traditions through words, pictures or symbols.

Most importantly, families were encouraged to write in any language they wished. We wanted everyone to be able to contribute and to see their own identity represented within our school.

Each family’s leaf will become part of our growing display, showing that although our families have many different stories, languages and traditions, we all belong at St Francis’.

🌍 Article 2: No Discrimination

Article 2 tells us that every child has the same rights, regardless of their language, culture, background or where they come from.

💛 Article 8: Identity

Article 8 reminds us that every child has the right to their identity. Celebrating our languages, cultures, families and traditions helps our pupils feel recognised and valued.

Our Family Tree will continue to grow as more families contribute, creating a lasting reminder that we all belong at St Francis’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

💬Everyone’s Voice Matters at St Francis’!

Parents’ Night was not only an opportunity to talk about our pupils’ learning. It was also an opportunity for us to listen to our families.

Dave, our Family Support Worker, welcomed parents and carers and invited them to share their views about St Francis’.

We asked two simple but important questions:

💚 What do we do well at St Francis’?
💭 What could we do better?

Parents and carers were encouraged to give us open and honest feedback about their experience of our school.

Listening to our families helps us understand what is working well and where we can continue to improve. Most importantly, feedback should lead to action, so we will use what our families have told us to help inform our next steps.

🌍 Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making.

At St Francis’, we want our whole school community to have opportunities to contribute. This includes our pupils, staff, parents and carers.

A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to share their views with us.

 

 

 

 

 

🎆 Firework Safety at St Francis’! 🚒

Ahead of Bonfire Night, we were delighted to welcome the Fire and Rescue Service to St Francis’ to talk to our pupils about staying safe around fireworks and bonfires.

Our pupils learned about the dangers associated with fireworks, how to keep themselves and others safe, and why it is so important to follow safety advice.

The children had lots to say after the visit:

💬 “I learned that you should never go back to a firework once it has been lit.”

💬 “I didn’t know sparklers could get so hot. You need to be really careful with them.”

💬 “The firefighters help keep everyone in our community safe.”

 

🛡️ Article 19: The Right to Be Safe

Article 19 says that children have the right to be protected from harm.

The visit gave our pupils practical knowledge about staying safe and helped them understand the important role adults and emergency services have as duty bearers in protecting children.

💬 Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our pupils had opportunities to ask questions, share their ideas and talk about what they had learned. Their reflections help us understand what they have taken from the experience and what matters to them.

🌍 Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Learning how to prevent accidents and injuries helps children make safer choices and supports their health and well-being.

🏘️ Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keeping people safe is part of creating safe and responsible communities. Pupils considered not only their own safety, but also how their choices can help protect their families and others.

A huge thank you to the Fire and Rescue Service for visiting St Francis’ and helping our pupils prepare for a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night. 🚒🎆

Another great example of learning about our rights and putting them into practice as part of our Journey to Gold.

 

 

 

 

 

🌍 Rights in Every Language: Our Rights Ambassadors Take the Lead!

Following the success of sharing October’s Article of the Month in Arabic, our Rights Ambassadors wanted to make our rights information accessible to even more of our St Francis’ families.

But which languages did we need?

Our Rights Ambassadors took the lead. They went around our school to find out which languages were most commonly spoken by our pupils and families. From what they discovered, they identified five languages for our Article of the Month information:

English • العربية • Polski • Tiếng Việt • اردو

The Rights Ambassadors then helped us check the translated information, making sure it made sense before it was shared with our families.

But they didn’t stop there!

Our multilingual Rights Ambassadors visited classes and spoke to pupils in their own languages, explaining that Article 31 information was available for their families to read at home.

This was a wonderful example of pupils using their own languages, knowledge and experiences to help make rights more accessible to others.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our Rights Ambassadors’ views directly influenced what we did. They helped us identify the languages our school community needed and played an active part in making the information accessible.

🌍 Article 2: No Discrimination

Every child has the same rights, whatever language they speak. By providing information in the languages used by our families, we are working to remove barriers to understanding children’s rights.

💬 Article 30: Language and Culture

Children have the right to use their own language and enjoy their culture. Our multilingual pupils were able to use their language skills to support others across our school community.

🌎 Global Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Making information available in different languages helps reduce barriers and gives more families the opportunity to understand and talk about children’s rights.

🤝 Global Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Our Rights Ambassadors were involved in identifying a need, contributing their views and helping us decide how to respond.

We noticed a barrier → Pupils investigated → We listened → Pupils helped us make a change

A huge well done to our Rights Ambassadors for helping make sure that children’s rights can be understood and discussed by more of our St Francis’ families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

🎤 A Pupil-Led Article 12 Challenge!

One of our Rights Respecting Ambassadors came to us with a fantastic idea for helping Article 12 come alive across St Francis’.

She wanted to lead her very own Article 12 campaign and came up with a whole-school competition!

The challenge is simple:

🎵 Each class can create a song or poem about Article 12 and the right to be heard.

Classes can be as creative as they like, thinking about what Article 12 means, why children’s voices matter and what it feels like when adults listen to and take their views seriously.

Best of all, this campaign is being led by our pupil ambassador herself. She will promote the challenge across the school, encourage classes to take part and listen to the entries before choosing a winner. She will organise prize and even has a golden ticket for the lucky winner!

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our pupils are not simply learning about their rights. They are being given opportunities to use their voice, influence what happens in school and take the lead.

🎨 Article 31: Rest, Play, Culture and the Arts

Through poetry, music and creativity, pupils will also have the opportunity to express their understanding of rights in their own way.

🌍 Global Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 16 encourages inclusive and participatory decision-making. Our Rights Respecting Ambassadors are showing that pupil voice can lead to real action across St Francis’.

We can’t wait to hear what our classes create and to see which song or poem our Rights Respecting Ambassador chooses as the winner!

 

 

 

 

 

🐋 Working with Whales: Learning to Protect Our Oceans

Our pupils are diving into an exciting new learning journey all about whales, dolphins and the incredible marine environment they call home!

Across four lessons, pupils are learning more about whales and dolphins, their habitats, the challenges they face and why protecting our oceans is so important.

Our learning will lead up to a very special experience on Thursday 12th November, when pupils will take part in a live Working with Whales Q&A session with HWDT.

This will give pupils the opportunity to hear directly from people working with whales and dolphins and, importantly, to ask their own questions about the things they have been learning and want to find out more about.

💬 Pupil Voice

As we work through our lessons, pupils will be encouraged to think of questions they would like to ask during the live session.

What do they really want to know about whales and dolphins? What worries them about our oceans? What could we do to help?

We can’t wait to hear where their questions take us!

📚 Article 29: The Goals of Education

Article 29 tells us that education should help children develop their talents and abilities and learn to respect and protect the natural environment.

By learning about whales, dolphins and their habitats, our pupils are developing their understanding of the natural world and considering their own role in protecting it.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

During the live Q&A, pupils will have the opportunity to ask questions and share what matters to them about the future of our oceans and marine life.

🌊 Global Goal 14: Life Below Water

Goal 14 is about protecting our oceans and the animals and plants that live in them.

Our learning will help pupils explore the challenges facing marine life and consider what people can do to make a difference.

🌍 Global Goal 13: Climate Action

Healthy oceans and our changing climate are closely connected. Pupils will begin to think about how changes to our planet can affect marine environments and the animals that depend on them.

We are looking forward to four exciting lessons and then putting our questions directly to the experts during our live Working with Whales Q&A! 🐋🐬🌊

 

 

 

 

🪔 Sharing Our Culture: Pupils Take the Lead!

Two of our pupils have been busy putting together their very own presentation about Diwali to share with others at St Francis’.

They wanted to use their own knowledge and experiences to help other pupils learn more about Diwali, why it is celebrated and some of the traditions connected with the festival.

The pupils took the lead in deciding what they wanted to include and how they wanted to share their learning.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our pupils were given the opportunity to use their voices, share their knowledge and lead learning for others.

🌍 Article 30: Language and Culture

Article 30 tells us that children have the right to enjoy and practise their own culture. Giving pupils opportunities to celebrate and share their culture helps everyone learn from and appreciate one another.

🤝 Article 2: No Discrimination

Learning about and celebrating the different cultures, religions and traditions within our school community helps us build a school where everyone feels included and respected.

🌎 Global Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Celebrating the different cultures and experiences within our school helps make sure everyone feels that they belong.

A huge well done to our two pupils for taking the lead and helping us learn more about Diwali! 🪔✨

 

 

 

 

 

🌟 Pupils Taking the Lead: Our Article 31 Assembly!

This month, two of our pupils took the lead in helping other pupils learn more about our Article of the Month.

They created their own presentation for Article 31 and used it to explain why every child has the right to rest, play and enjoy culture and the arts.

But they didn’t stop there!

They also talked about our Pupil Voice Box and encouraged pupils to use it to share their views and ideas. They introduced the Global Goals, shared what is happening across St Francis’ and even created a quiz to see how much everyone had learned.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Two pupils were given the opportunity to use their voices and take the lead in learning about rights across our school.

Even better, they encouraged other pupils to use their voices too.

🎨 Article 31: Rest, Play, Culture and the Arts

By explaining Article 31 to other pupils, they are helping make sure children across St Francis’ know and understand their rights.

🌍 Article 42: Know Your Rights

Children have the right to know about the UNCRC. Pupil-led learning like this helps make rights part of everyday conversations across our school.

A huge well done girls  for taking the lead and helping us continue our Journey to Gold! 💛

 

 

 

⭐ How to Catch a Star! ⭐

As part of Talk for Writing, our P2 pupils took their learning outdoors in search of stars! 🌟

After reading How to Catch a Star, pupils began thinking about how they might catch a star of their very own. This sparked lots of imaginative ideas and led beautifully into their writing.

Pupils created their own set of instructions, thinking carefully about each step someone would need to follow to successfully catch a star.

And if you’re planning to catch one yourself, our P2 pupils have some advice…

“You will need some night vision goggles and a big net, and we can help instruct you!” ⭐

🎨 Article 31: Play, Culture and the Arts

Our pupils used play, imagination and creativity to bring their learning to life, both outdoors and in their writing.

📚 Article 29: The Goals of Education

Learning should help children develop their talents and abilities. P2 used their creativity, communication and writing skills to turn their imaginative ideas into their very own instructions.

What a brilliant way to combine outdoor learning, creativity and writing!

 

 

 

 

🎃 Perfect Pumpkin Instructions!

In P2, we have been developing our instructional writing skills and decided to put them to the test with a very seasonal challenge… how to carve a pumpkin! 🎃

Pupils thought carefully about each step involved, making sure their instructions were clear, detailed and in the correct order.

Then it was time to put our instructions to the test!

Following our steps carefully, we successfully carved our pumpkin and were very proud to see that our instructions worked. It was a huge success!

📚 Article 29: The Goals of Education

Article 29 tells us that education should help children develop their talents and abilities. Our P2 pupils developed their writing, communication and thinking skills through a practical, hands-on experience.

🎨 Article 31: Play, Culture and the Arts

Learning through creative and enjoyable experiences gives pupils opportunities to explore ideas and have fun while developing new skills.

Another fantastic example of learning coming to life at St Francis’!

 

 

 

🏅 Our Sports Captains: Leadership in Action

Our Sports Captains play an important role in the life of St Francis’, and we are very proud of the pupils who have chosen to take on this responsibility.

Our Sports Captains bring enthusiasm, commitment and energy to their role. They help to encourage other pupils to get involved in physical activity, support sporting events and activities, and help make sport at St Francis’ enjoyable and inclusive for everyone.

Most importantly, they are not simply taking part. They are leading, encouraging others and helping to make a difference across our school.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Being a Sports Captain gives pupils a meaningful opportunity to share their ideas and help shape sport and physical activity within our school.

🏃 Article 31: Rest, Play, Culture and the Arts

Article 31 reminds us that every child has the right to play and take part in recreational activities. Our Sports Captains help encourage other pupils to get involved, have fun and enjoy being active.

🤝 Article 2: No Discrimination

Our Sports Captains understand that sport should be for everyone. They encourage others to participate and help create opportunities where pupils feel welcomed and included.

We are very proud of our Sports Captains and the positive contribution they make to life at St Francis’. 🌟

 

 

 

 

 

🙏 Our Apostles: Faith, Leadership and Service

Our Apostles have long played an important role in the faith life of St Francis’, and we are incredibly proud of the pupils who have chosen to take on this special responsibility this year.

Our Apostles volunteered for the role and have shown real commitment to it. They help to lead prayers and reflections, support our school community during worship and take an active part in the spiritual life of our school.

They take their responsibilities seriously and make a real difference. Whether they are leading others in prayer, helping with important celebrations or supporting the faith life of St Francis’, they approach their role with enthusiasm and care.

🗣️ Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Being an Apostle gives pupils another meaningful opportunity to have a voice and take an active role in school life. Their ideas and contributions are valued and they are trusted to lead others.

✝️ Article 14: Freedom of Thought, Belief and Religion

Our Apostles help us celebrate and share our Catholic faith while recognising the importance of respecting the thoughts, beliefs and religions of others.

We are very proud of our Apostles and grateful for everything they contribute to our St Francis’ community. 💛