Rights Respecting School

 Martin Primary School

is very proud to be a

GOLD LEVEL

Rights Respecting School.

Martin Primary School was re-accredited as a Gold Rights Respecting School in December 2023.  We believe that in order for children to be the best they can be, they need to grow up knowing and understanding their rights, as laid down by the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child.  We believe that having this awareness and knowledge ensures that children have respect for themselves, for others and for the world in which they live.  There are 42 rights to which children are entitled; those can be summarised as:

• the right to be safe
• the right to be heard
• the right to be treated fairly
• the right to be healthy.

Feedback from our assessment in December 2023 for the Gold Level Award:

• very articulate children who demonstrated good knowledge and understanding of rights.  The know a wide range of articles, could apply their knowledge to their school and the wider world and were confident in the concept of rights
• a curriculum with a clear focus on rights and inclusion
• Highly effective leadership of the rights related work at all levels, including from young people
• relationships based on mutual respect and trust.  Learning about rights in clearly affecting relationships in a positive way
• the school has a strong culture of inclusivity and respect which is understood and articulated by older children and adults alike
• a strong focus on health and wellbeing; notably the recent health and well=being focus weeks which are now a regular feature in the school calendar.

Caroline Freedman (Community Cohesion Leader) and Shona Glackin, two of our fantastic teachers, lead our Rights Respecting Steering Group which includes children, staff, governors and parents/carers.  The Group meets every term to think about different ways that children's rights can be embedded in the school.  The Group also leads assemblies and coffee mornings.

How we promote rights in Martin Primary School:

• rights are embedded across the curriculum and are linked to assembly themes
• children are nominated for Rights Respecting certificates each week
• children and adults are encouraged to use Rights Respecting language around the school
• every class has a charter created by the children at the start of the year – this charter displays expectations of both children and adults within the classroom
• fundraising for UNICEF and involvement in campaigns e.g. The Outright Campaign
• regular staff training takes place to embed children’s rights across the school

The children and staff have recently written a Rights Respecting Playground Charter which is on display in our playgrounds.  This outlines the rights of every child at the school when they are using the playgrounds and our expectations of behaviour for adults and children.  We are very grateful to the Martin Home School Association for funding the cost of the signs.

To find out more about Rights Respecting Schools please visit: 

www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/

For a summary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child, please click here

www.unicef.org/rightsite/files/uncrcchilldfriendlylanguage.pdf