School Council

UNICEF’S Rights Respecting Schools

Dean Field aims to be a school where children’s rights are at the heart of our ethos and culture, to improve well-being and to develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential. As part of this plan we are working towards recognition as a ‘Rights Respecting School’, (RRSA) an award given to schools on behalf of Unicef UK.

Unicef is the world’s leading organisation working for children and young people and their rights. In 1989, governments across the world agreed that all children have the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). These rights are based on what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential.

The RRSA recognises achievement in putting the convention of the rights of the child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. By taking these steps, our school community helps improve well-being and develop every child’s talents and abilities to their full potential. A rights respecting school not only teaches about a child’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships between adults and pupils.

Here is a summary of the UNCRC

Silver Award

At Dean Field we have been awarded with the second stage of UNICEF’s rights respecting school award, silver: rights aware. We are always striving to create the best possible learning environment for our pupils and this achievement shows that we are committed to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults and children to respect the rights of others in the school.

Rights Respecting Council

We have a Rights Respecting School Council that meet regularly with Miss Hussain to discuss how we can embed rights and responsibilities into our everyday school life. They discuss the steps we need to take as a school to further embed the rights and they carry out focused work on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and how we respect these rights.

Meet our rights respecting School Council:

Year 1 – Daisy and Rosie
Year 2 – Edith and Lennon
Year 3 – Alexa and Rio
Year 4 – Josh and Penelope
Year 5 – Amelia and Kayson
Year 6 – Jacob and Sofie

 

Rights Respecting Mascot

The children decided they wanted a Rights Respecting Mascot to further promote rights in our school so they worked together to create ‘Rights Respecting Ralph.’ He is a symbol of the rights of each child within our school. Rights Respecting Ralph represents the unique voices of all of our pupils and champions the views and opinions of all children. Whenever you see a picture of Ralph on seesaw, on newsletters, on displays or around school, it means that a right of our pupils is being met. You can also look out for the UNCRC article next to Ralph’s picture which lets you know which right is being represented.

This is what all the stickers on Ralph represent:

  • The light bulb represents the right to share ideas
  • The football represents the right to play
  • The Dean Field jumper represents the right to clothes
  • The apple represents the right to nutritious food
  • The book represents the right to an education
  • The ear represents the right to be listened to
  • The house represents the right to shelter
  • The water droplets represent the right to clean water
  • The religious symbols represent the right to follow a religion
  • The microphone represents the right to be listened to
  • The money represents the right to extra money for the children in families in need
  • The 10 Downing Street door represents the government and their responsibility to do all they can to make sure every child can enjoy their rights

 

 

Our School Charter

As part of our commitment to being a Rights Respecting School, our councillors have worked together to create our whole school charter. After discussing the articles on the UNCRC, they picked out the ones that were the most important to children at Dean Field and thought about all the things they were committed to doing. They also thought about the most important commitments and responsibilities staff have in school to ensure that the rights of pupils are met. They designed the learning charter to support a positive learning environment in classrooms, in shared areas, in the school hall and in the playground. Both staff and children understand, and are committed to, their roles on the school charter.

RRSCharter