Article 31 of the UNCRC states that all children and young people under the age of 18 have the right to play and rest. Recently at a whole school assembly, we discussed how we ensure that we are respecting one another’s rights whilst enjoying our own. For this ‘Right of the Fortnight’ it would be great if you could have a go at creating your own poster display of how we can make sure we are respecting one another’s right to play and rest whilst enjoying the right ourselves.

https://www.bond.org.uk/about-us/members/right-to-play-uk

We all have class charters which help us understand how we can access our right to an education whilst respecting everyone else’s right to learn. Therefore it would be great if we had a playground charter too. Hopefully we can use the ideas from any posters about Article 31 to create a playground charter that we can all agree on.

First of all I would like to say a huge “Thank you!” to the pupils who handed in or prepared a presentation about Article 8. These children will have the opportunity to present to the school at our next ‘Rights Respecting Schools’ assembly on Friday 4th October.

In the meantime our next Right of the Fortnight will be Article 12, the right to be listened to and taken seriously.

One of the things the UNCRC does is to make it clear that human rights apply to children and young people, just as they do to adults. This is as true in Scotland as it is anywhere else in the world.

For example, Article 12 of the UNCRC says that children and young people have the human right to have opinions and for these opinions to matter. It says that the opinions of children and young people should be considered when people make decisions about things that involve them, and they shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand on the grounds of age. It also says children and young people should be given the information they need to make good decisions. (https://www.cypcs.org.uk/rights/uncrcarticles/article-12 , 16.9.19)

For this article a great starting point would be to sit and have a discussion with an adult about examples of times where you feel that your decision really mattered. Last year at school the Pupil Council introduced us to the 7 Golden Rules for Participation. Can you think of any ways so far that you have felt that your opinion has been more respected at school, at home and in  your wider community. In addition to this, can you think of any ways that we could improve on ensuring that all children and young people feel that they are being listened to and taken seriously. This is only a starting point for any posters or presentations that you would like to create. More information can be found at https://www.cypcs.org.uk/rights/uncrcarticles/article-12

If you decide to research this Right of the Fortnight and have anything you would like to present don’t forget to bring it to your class by Tuesday 1st October. The assembly where we will present and discuss this right will be Friday 4th October.