St Catherine's RC Primary SchoolRights Respecting School
In September 2018, we began our journey to become a ‘Rights Respecting School’, achieving BRONZE accreditation in 2019 and SILVER accreditation in February 2020. As of December 2021, we are now a GOLD Rights Respecting school.
What is a 'Rights Respecting School'?
‘A UNICEF UK Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted. Children and the school community learn about children’s rights by putting them into practice every day.’ (RRSA website)
In addition to this our children will develop a deeper understanding and respect for other people’s religions, cultures, beliefs and abilities and have a wider and deeper understanding of the world in which we live.
Who are UNICEF?
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights.
What is the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child?
In 1989, governments across the world promised that every child would have the same rights when they adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The convention tells everyone what they must do to make sure that every child can grow, learn, be safe, can be listened to and treated fairly.
There are 43 articles relating to children’s rights in the charter.
What is a global citizen?
Global citizenship is an important part of our children's education.
A global citizen in a Rights Respecting School is someone who knows their rights, believes everybody has rights and is committed to working towards a world where everyone can access their rights. At St Catherine’s we are striving to develop outward looking global citizens.
Children’s Rights at St Catherine’s
At St Catherine’s, both the staff and children are passionate about upholding the rights of the children.
School Council
As rights holders, the views of the children are very important to us and the UNCRC focuses our discussions during School Council Meetings. The School Council act as our Rights Respecting Steering Group and suggest ways to improve our school further. As a result, pupil voice is very strong throughout the school and this has a positive impact on learning, inclusion and wellbeing.
A recent School Council meeting where children looked at PSHE provision and discussed how it could be improved.
Six rights have been chosen from the UNCRC to display around the playground. The school staff and children are responsible for ensuring these rights are met.
Our School Council showing Mr Clarke where to display one of the Articles.
As duty bearers, the staff ensure that children's rights are referenced in policies as they are updated and we regularly introduce key initiatives to focus on upholding the children's rights.
In Key Stage 2 children get to vote for their Duty Bearer of the Week. Duty Bearer of the Week nominations are run by our School Council.
Duty Bearer of the Week nominations run by our School Council.
Our school Rights Respecting logo is displayed around school with key Articles from the UNCRC. This is a reminder to everyone in school.
*New school Rights Respecting logo being launched September 2025. Watch this space!*
Children’s Rights - local and global issues and sustainable development
Paper Recycling Bins
"Our school wasn’t recycling paper so we raised the profile of recycling paper by making every class organise their own bins and created a poster competition to for each class to show why it is important to reuse and recycle paper." - School Planeteers
Compost Bins
"We put a compost bin in the Peace Garden, added a poster and some plants!" - School Planeteers.
Global Project Work - Giving back through the Galicia Forest Project
During the 2024 Spanish exchange, our Year 5 children showed a heartfelt desire to make a difference and give something back to the community following the devastating wildfires there in 2022. In collaboration with local pupils from CEIP Palacios and CEIP Mallón, they took part in the Galicia Forest Project - a powerful initiative aimed at restoring biodiversity in areas affected by deforestation and environmental damage.
Our children helped plant eucalyptus trees and contributed to efforts to reintroduce a rich variety of plant life to the region. It was a hands-on experience that deepened their understanding of sustainability and how climage change affects ecosytems. They also used the opportunity to ask the environmentalist and local firefighters questions about children's health, safety, environment and development.
“I didn’t realise how much the forest fires could change children’s lives - some children lost places to play, learn, and feel safe." - Year 5 student.
"It made me think how important it is for councils and governments to protect our rights, especially when nature is hurt. Every child should have a safe and healthy place to grow up.” - Year 5 student.
Class Charters
In each of our classrooms, we have a Class Charter which is decided upon by the children each year. This highlights key rights chosen by the children that they will focus on throughout the year to help them know, support and uphold each others' access to their rights.
