Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA), UK

Rights Respecting Schools (RRS) is a UNICEF-UK driven approach that integrates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as a whole school approach to child rights education. The overall aim of the approach is to create a participative, inclusive, and safe school culture, where respect for every member of the school community is guaranteed. The UNICEF Child Rights Education (CRE) Toolkit provides guidance on how to become a Rights Respecting School. Schools adapt the RRS approach to their context. The approach influences relationships between every actor in the school environment and is applicable in any school context. The framework outlined in the RRS toolkit is intended to provide a central organising principle for the entire school and, by extension, for the families and community in which the school is situated. There are three phases of development. The second and third phases (Levels 1 and 2) are similar. The aim is to execute the action plan that is developed during the Recognition of Commitment phase in order to reach the four standards of the RRSA: 1. Rights-respecting values underpin leadership and management 2. The entire school community learns about the CRC 3. The school has a rights-respecting ethos 4. Children are empowered to become active citizens and learners.