Staff and pupils at a Wolverhampton school are celebrating after it was once again awarded Gold by UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting School programme.
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. Uplands Junior School is one of only around 600 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to have achieved the Gold standard.
Headteacher Suzanne Webster-Smith said: “We have been working with UNICEF for a number of years now, and we are delighted that we have sustained our Gold assessment, which reflects the emphasis on rights and respect that underpins everything we do at Uplands." 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.
UNICEF’s report praised Uplands children as 'very articulate children who… demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of rights and are confident in the concept of rights'. UNICEF added that 'children’s rights continue to be embedded across the school and underpin every facet of school life.’ Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: "Schools involved in the Rights Respecting Schools Award programme work towards the recognition that they have embedded children’s and young people’s rights in their school’s practice and ethos.
“They are required to implement three evidence-based strands that cover the leadership of the school, knowledge and understanding of children’s rights, ethos and relationships, and the empowerment of children and young people. Uplands Junior School has worked hard to retain this accreditation and, on behalf on the council, I’d like to congratulate all the pupils and staff on this wonderful achievement.”
