Respecting Children’s Rights and Promoting Awareness

1. Craighead Primary School Respecting Children’s Rights and Promoting Awareness

2. It all started in 2007 when our head teacher Mrs Leishman and two pupil representatives attended a conference about RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOLS. Miriam and Calum, who were in P6 at the time, asked if CRAIGHEAD PRIMARY could work towards achieving this status. 2007

3. 2007 - 2008 So we contacted UNICEF and began to learn about how to promote the rights of children everywhere.

4. THE COMMITTEE Then we formed a Rights Respecting School Committee. Each class had two pupil representatives (P3-7) We invited parent and community representatives to join us.

5. Article 28. All children have a right to education.

6. Article 31. All children have a right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of activities. Golden Time Sport Playtimes

7. In December 2008 Craighead achieved the status of Rights Respecting School. We were awarded Level 1 by the WORLDWIDE children’s charity UNICEF. December 2008

8. RRS Award In January we received our award from presented by Gordon Currie.

9. Children at Craigheadhave always been…. Treated fairly and valued Listened to Challenged and encouraged

10. Article 29. Schools should help children develop their skills and personality fully. At Craigheadevery child is encouraged to set personal targets.

11. A Pupil Council An Eco Committee A Fairtrade committee A RRS Committee Article12. You have the right to speak and have your opinions listened to. You can speak through your class reps and you can use the suggestion boxes in classes. Any adult in school will find time to listen to you. We have...

12. Suggestion boxes Water fountains Healthy lunches A Clean, safe environment Article 24.You have the right to clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment, so that you will stay healthy. ...and...

13. We Care! Article 36.You should be protected from any activities that could harm your development. Our Safety Policy ensures that school activities are risk assessed. Article 39.If you have been hurt or badly treated you have the right to special support to help you recover. First Aiders will help you and will ask for outside help if needed.

14. Every Year …. We raise funds for charity including CHILDREN IN NEED to help children whose rights are being ignored.

15. FUNDRAISING at Craighead Children regularly raise money for children’s charities by baking and selling cakes.

16. We’re linked with a school in Malawi and we are helping the children there in their rights to FREE EDUCATION FRESH WATER FOOD HEALTH Articles 24, 28 and 29. You have the right to education. Children should be encouraged and helped to reach their full potential. MALAWI

17. FAIRTRADE Craighead Primary is also a Fairtrade school. We promote the fairtrade ethos by having a Fairtrade Tuckshop and encouraging everyone to buy fairtrade if they can.

18. ECO School We are also an ECO SCHOOL and work hard to look after our environment. ARTICLE 24. You have the right to a clean environment so that you will stay healthy

19. What else have we been doing? We produced our own leaflet showing how we promote the Rights of the Child We designed posters and put them up all over the community We are taking our displays out into the local community to let everyone know We are also taking them out into the wider community

20. Wherehavewe been? We represented East Dunbartonshire at THE SCOTTISH LEARNING FESTIVAL at the SECC, showing our displays and handing out our leaflets. We took our display to THE ETHCO CONFERENCE at Strathclyde University and our committee members for P5 &P6 talked to the delegates about our work.

21. AND…… Some of the committee members went to KIRKINTILLOCH POLICE STATION and also EDC EDUCATION COMMITTEE where they talked to large groups about Children’s Rights and what our school is doing to promote them.

22. What else are we doing? We think about children’s rights in our everyday work at school. We want to let even more people who work in the community and people who work with children know about children’s rights. We are working with Chikololere SchoolinMALAWI to help them teach children’s rights.

23. Good News!!!!! Craighead Primary was awarded the Advanced level of the Rights Respecting School award in November 2009. Tam Baillie, the Children’s Commissioner in Scotland came to school on the 3rd of December to present our award.

24. Moving forward in 2010/11 We set up even more pupil committees to ensure our children have a voice. Our committees such as Glow, Website and Playground, along with our established committees, meet and feed back to classes monthly.

25. Also… We sent plans for lessons on children’s rights to the teachers in Chikololere School to help them move towards becoming a Rights Respecting School We participated in a Glow Meet with Tam Baillie, Commissioner for Children in Scotland

26. Malawi Update Two teachers from Chikololere School did visit us in December 2010 and took part in our lessons on Children’s Rights. Then Mrs Leishman and Mrs Winter visited Chikololere in March 2011 and worked with the staff and children there. They saw lots of good work being done to promote the rights of the child.

27. RRS AWARD ASSESSORS In October 2010 the committee members were trained by Bruce Wilkinson of UNICEF as assessors for the Rights Respecting Schools Awards. We are now able to assess other schools in their bid to gain the RRS Awards.

28. January 2011 Two of our pupil representatives (Robbie P7 and Hazel P4) went with Mrs Leishman, Mrs Dargan and Bruce Wilkinson to a primary school in Blantyre. We were assessing them for Level One of the RRSA, so we spoke to children and staff and we looked at all the work they had been doing. We recommended a PASS and gave them advice on how to gain a Level Two Award.