Rocio Cifuentes visits Alaw! The Children's Commissioner of Wales -January 2023

RIGHTS RESPECTING GOLD!

Congratulations to the pupils, staff, families and community at Alaw! We have been lucky enough to achieve our Gold re-acreditation! Llongyfarchiadau!

Our School Values

Our school values are at the core of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils as confident, happy citizens.

Our Termly Core Values are as follows

Core Values - Trust, Honesty, Self-Control and Patience (Autumn Term 1)

Core Values – Peace, Hope and Responsibility (Autumn Term 2)

Core Values – Love, Compassion and Kindness (Spring Term 1)

Core Values – Pride, Positivity, Confidence and Self-Belief (Spring Term 2)

Core Values – Courage and Determination (Summer Term 1)

Core Values – Respect, Tolerance, Consideration and Equality (Summer Term 2)

LEVEL 2 ACHIEVED

We are now one of just over 300 schools in the UK to have reached the highest level awarded by the RRSA.

The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is an initiative run by UNICEF UK, which encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of its ethos and curriculum.

Here at Alaw, we are continuing to build an environment which nurtures our children’s talents, keeps them safe, helps them thrive and enriches their learning.

Alaw is now in its seventh year of being a Rights Respecting School and recognised as a Level 2 School. The children have learnt a lot about their 42 Children’s Rights and they have embedded it into their learning, attitudes and everyday discussions.

The Level 2 RRSA comes after the Recognition of Commitment and the Level 1 RRSA.

Alaw has  been granted this award by Unicef UK as children’s rights throughout our school in our policies, practice and ethos, is fully embedded.

Achieving Level 2 celebrates Alaw's RIGHTS RESPECTING journey. 

Alaw has explicitly adopted a child rights approach based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and has embedded it in school policy, practice and culture.

The Children, young people and adults in our school have a thorough understanding of child rights, and rights respecting attitudes and language is embedded across the school.

RRSA has had a positive impact on children and young people’s learning and wellbeing.

Students see themselves as rights respecting global citizens and are advocates for social justice, fairness and children’s rights at home and abroad

Children play an increasingly leading role in driving progress. Our steering group school council have three core missions which feed directly into the school's self evaluation process and priority plan. The children are committed and ensure that...

Teaching and Learning about rights is transferred across the curriculum for the whole school community through training, curriculum, assemblies, topics, focus days/weeks, displays.

Teaching and Learning through rights is modelled by the application of  rights respecting language and attitudes and the making of  strategic decisions involves children

They are  ambassadors for the rights of others: developing as rights respecting citizens.

Children understand that their rights are inherent, universal, unconditional, inalienable and indivisible. Here is a short summary of what these words mean:

• Inherent – Rights are inherent meaning they are yours because you are born a human.
• Indivisible – Rights are indivisible meaning no right is more important than another one. They are equal and linked.
• Inalienable – Rights are inalienable meaning you cannot give them away or sell them and no one can take them away from you.
• Universal – Rights are universal meaning they are for all children (under 18), everywhere, all the time.
• Unconditional – Rights are unconditional meaning they are not a reward and not dependent on a responsibility or performing an action to get them.

Impact on the pupils

UNICEF has shown that when children are taught about their rights under the CRC, they are more respectful of the rights of others.

• Improved self-esteem and feelings of being valued and listened to.
• Increased levels of respect for each other, leading to improved relationships with other pupils and with staff.
• A sense of security as rights-respecting language and behaviour is used consistently throughout the school.
• Improved attainment and attendance.
• An understanding and respect of religions, cultures, beliefs and abilities different to their own.
• A wider and deeper understanding of the world in which they live.

This has been the case for children at Alaw. Behaviour and attendance have improved and children are able to resolve peer on peer issues with the help of rights and the Restorative Approach.

What can adults do to help children realise their rights? 

It is our responsibility to make children aware of their rights and to act if their rights are not being met.

Thank you to all the teachers, parents/carers, governors, local community and most of all, to our children for a successful journey.

Children's Rights and Entitlements

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by creating an environment in our setting that encourages children to develop a positive self-image.

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by encouraging children to develop a sense of autonomy and independence.

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by enabling children to have the self-confidence and the vocabulary to resist inappropriate approaches.

We help children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers, and with other adults.