Bognor Regis school wins gold for its commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights

The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school.

Gold is the highest accolade given by UNICEF UK and shows a deep and thorough commitment to children’s rights at all levels of school life.

The award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies and practice.

A Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.

To achieve re-accreditation, the Bognor Regis school had to demonstrate to a team of external assessors how it embeds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its policy, practice and culture.

Key initiatives include:

Developing a whole-school reading programme which uses books linked to rights activities;

Using tutor time to discuss how current affairs link to rights issues;

Disruption-free learning which means that students who are removed from lessons are given continued access to learning or that targeted support is given to pupils with additional needs such a dyslexia;

Ensuring the curriculum represents different ethnicities and different types of families;

The student-led wellbeing hub where students can come if they want to talk about any issue that is concerning them;

Assemblies on how to treat people respectfully;

Participation in local, national and global initiatives such as local food drives, the OutRight campaign and the Playground Challenge for Soccer Aid.

The assessors said: “It was evident that children’s rights are embedded across the school and underpin every facet of school life.”

The assessors were particularly impressed by the role ‘pupil voice plays in shaping key areas of school life and practice’ particularly around teaching and learning. Through the A team – which is attended by one student from each tutor group – the Senior Leadership Team is able to hear the views of the whole school in one meeting and then take them forward. Having spoken to groups of students, the assessors found that they ‘felt listened to, that their views matter and that they could make a positive difference’.

Assistant principal and rights respecting school accreditation co-ordinator, Caroline Saunders, said: “Upholding the rights of our students runs through The Regis School like a stick of rock.

“It is in everything we do – from designing and delivering the curriculum, to our enrichment clubs offer to our pastoral support.

“Our students display an excellent understanding of their rights but, importantly, understand how these rights relate to others.

“They all look out for one another and treat each other with respect.

“Likewise, they make a very real contribution to our local, national and global communities.

“Each student understands the role they can play and I am always so impressed by each individual’s contribution and the difference they make.

“We’re very pleased to have been re-accredited and look forward to building on the work we have started and continuing our participation in UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools programme.”

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