Rights Respecting School

Wicklea Academy is a Rights Respecting School, achieving the Silver award in June 2017. To achieve this award we have integrated the RRS philosophy into school life. For example, charters are an important part of RRS philosophy, which we believe should be written by the staff and children together to decide how we should behave in school. As such each class has created their own charter and a Whole School Charter is in place.

Please see the full Silver assessment report which details what we have done so far to embed the understanding of children's rights at Wicklea.

RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL

Unicef works with schools in the UK to create safe and inspiring places to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive.

At Wicklea Academy we aim to embed these values in daily school life and give children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens.

RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL COMMUNITY

To help us be successful as a Rights Respecting School the whole school community, staff and pupils, parents and governors need to be on board and supportive of the school’s ambitions.

At Wicklea Academy we want the children to see themselves as rights-respecting global citizens and advocates for fairness and children’s rights locally and globally.

RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL – WHAT IS THE IMPACT?

For the children at Wicklea Academy:

Improved self-esteem and feelings of being valued and listened to.
Increased levels of respect for each other, leading to improved relationships with other pupils and with staff.
A sense of security as rights-respecting language and behaviour is used consistently throughout the school.
Improved attainment and attendance, and a reduction in exclusions.
An understanding and respect of religions, cultures, beliefs and abilities different to their own.
A wider and deeper understanding of the world in which they live.

For the adults at Wicklea Academy:

Strengthened collaborative working.
Increased consultative approach with other adults and pupils.
A sense of ownership in developing an approach that meets the needs and aspirations of the school as a whole. A sense that the whole school is working towards a common goal, leading to feelings of empowerment for both staff and pupils.
A platform is developed for parental engagement and discussion.

RRS Afternoon

In our classes, we spent the afternoon exploring and discussing the rights of a child. We specifically thought about how many of our history and geography topics are explicitly linked to the UN Convention on the rights of the child, such as in the Y4 topic 'Schools around the world' and the Y6 topic 'Does slavery exist today?'. We then made posters to illustrate this. Check out our new display next to the library that shows off some of our posters!