We are delighted to be awarded Silver – Rights Aware
Global Goals In 2015, world leaders agreed to 17 goals for a better world by 2030. These goals have the power to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change. Guided by the goals, it is now up to all of us, governments, businesses, civil society and the general public to work together to build a better future for everyone.
At St Augustine’s we have begun our journey with Unicef to become a Rights and Respecting School. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis of all Unicef’s work and its principles lie at the heart of the Rights Respecting Schools Award.
The UNCRC sets out the human rights of every person under the age of 18 and is the most complete statement on children’s rights treaty in history. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 and is the most widely adopted international human rights treaty in history. The UK ratified the UNCRC in 1991.
What makes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child so special?
The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.
Every child has rights, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status.
The Convention must be understood as a whole: all rights are linked and no right is more important than another. The right to relax and play (article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (article 13) are as important as the right to be safe from violence (article 19) and the right to education (article 28)
Unicef is the only organisation working for children recognised in the text of the Convention.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award and the UNCRC
The award supports schools to embed the Convention in their practice to improve well-being and help all children and young people to realise their potential.
The award takes a whole-school approach to child rights and human rights education. Child Rights Education (CRE) can be defined as learning about rights, learning through rights and learning for rights within an overall context of education as a right.
It aims to build the capacity of children and young people as rights-holder to claim their rights, and the capacity of adults as duty bearers to fulfil their obligations. Child Rights Education helps adults, children and young people to work together, providing the space and encouragement for the meaningful participation and sustained civic engagement of children and young people.
