Resource 2

ACT - Association for Citizenship Teaching
Community cohesion and the prevention of violent extremism
A resource for teachers to use in the classroom


Resource title
UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award
Source: http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/teacher_support/rrs_award.asp
Outline
This website contains all the details for schools to take part in an award scheme that leads them to becoming a 'Rights Respecting School'. The award means that the school not only teaches about children's rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships, whether between pupils, or between pupils, teachers and other people within the school and local community.

Such achievement involves schools, teachers, governors and parents managing diversity and fostering community cohesion as part of a coherent programme that is not just built around attaining the award. The whole programme encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of its ethos and curriculum, and involvement in the award fosters an improvement in achievement and participation. This has a positive effect on attitudes and global awareness and provides a forum for exploring aspects of community in the school setting on a daily basis. Furthermore, the CRC appeals because it provides a framework that is appropriate for pupils and communities regardless of their faith or ethnicity.

The award is supported by way of the curriculum through a series of core materials that are free to download and which details the standards each school should achieve, for both Primary and Secondary settings. Once schools have signed up, they have access to a collaborative virtual learning environment inclusive of case studies, PowerPoint presentation, audit tools and classroom resources on rights, and discussion about:
  • Why the Rights Respecting School Award?
  • What are Rights Respecting Schools?
  • How does the Rights Respecting Schools award work?
  • What does a Rights Respecting School look like?
  • Evidence base
  • Parents and the wider community
  • Rights respecting schools and Government policy
  • The Rights Respecting Schools Award as a framework
The award is open to all settings - nursery, primary, middle, secondary and special schools and can be part of a wider whole-school programme to build a positive school ethos. This resource enables individuals, schools, higher education institutions and local authorities to sign up and get involved, therefore the benefits aren't just contained inside the school gates per say, but are shared throughout the wider local community as well.
Links across other subjects within resource
This resource links across the whole school curriculum but in particular, Citizenship, PSHE education, Every Child Matters outcomes, SEAL and the National Healthy Schools Programme.
Additional support
Teachers can access the briefing paper at http://www.unicef.org.uk/campaigns/publications/pdf/RRSbriefing.pdf
A comprehensive background to rights education and its relationship with cohesive communities for early years and Primary schools can be found at http://www.citized.info/pdf/other/EarlyYears_HRE.pdf#search=%22rights%22
Secondary schools may find the resources at OSDE helpful in exploring rights and cohesion issues at http://www.osdemethodology.org.uk/secondaryschools.html
Participation Works http://www.participationworks.org.uk/home