Rights Respecting School

Rights Respecting Team Priorities for 2022-23

Priorities for this year: 

• UNCRC - Know your rights and understand why they are important
• Outright Campaign (Unicef) - Children's right to the best possible health, all around the world. (Article 24)
• Why is it important to play and relax? All children have the right to play and relax and should be given regular opportunities to do so both at school and at home. (Article 31)

The Rights Respecting Schools Award puts children’s rights at the heart of schools in the UK.

Unicef works with schools in the UK to create safe and inspiring places to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive. The Unicef Rights Respecting Schools Award embeds these values in daily school life and gives children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens.

The Award recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond.

Avenue Primary Academy started its journey towards becoming a rights respecting school in October 2013. We achieved the Gold award in June 2015 and this award was reaccredited in February 2019.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is at the heart of everything we do at Avenue. Pupils start learning about the Academy rights in Reception and learn about the articles of the convention from Year 1. They learn how to use their rights and how to stand up for their own rights, as well as those of their peers and of children around the world. 

The Avenue Rights Respecting team is lead by pupil representatives form Years 3-6. They teach pupils in all year groups about their rights and how to understand them. They raise awareness of children's rights issues and campaigns with the school community and lead some fund raising events to support children's rights charities.

In April 2016 Paul Scully, MP for Sutton and Cheam, visited the rights respecting team at Avenue Primary Academy to find out about the work they had been doing to raise awareness of children who were affected by war in countries around the world. He was very impressed with the presentations they had prepared and the passion with which they delivered them.

Avenue pupils have supported other children's rights campaigns by raising awareness of their families and friends; signing petitions and encouraging others to sign petitions to put pressure on the UK government to change policies to support children's rights and writing to their local MP to ask for their support. Future campaigns will feature on this page.