Children’s Rights

​The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989. The United Kingdom approved the UNCRC in 1991. Apart from the United States of America, all member countries of the United Nations have signed and ratified the UNCRC.

The UNCRC describes what every child needs to survive, grow and thrive in order to live with dignity and achieve their potential. There are 54 articles of the UNCRC, the first 42 of which describe what every child and young person from birth to 18 years old should experience.

The Convention is based on four general principles:

• Equality: the UNCRC applies to all children (Article 2)
• The best interests of the child must be a top priority (Article 3)
• Every child has the right to life, survival and opportunities to develop to their full potential (Article 6)
• Every child has a right to be heard and listened to in matters that affect them (Article 12).

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – UNICEF UK

A Rights Respecting School

The Unicef UK Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) supports schools across the UK to embed children’s human rights in their ethos and culture. There are 42 separate rights known as Articles. The award recognises achievement in putting the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (UNCRC) at the heart of a school’s practice to improve well-being and help all children realise their potential.

The award is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation. The initiative started in 2006 and schools involved in the Award have reported a positive impact on relationships and well-being, leading to better learning and behaviour, improved academic standards and less bullying.

We are delighted that we have successfully achieved out Bronze Award for our rights-respecting work.

Over the course of this academic year we will be working towards achieving our Silver Award status. This will mean we will be working to uphold the UNICEF values, based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Convention outlines, in the form of rights, what adults must do to enable children to grow and be healthy; to learn; to receive protection; to have their views listened to and to be treated fairly

We are very proud of the very positive and encouraging ethos of our school. The pupils, staff and parents feel that the school is a welcoming and supportive environment for all and we aim to continue to build on this through our work as a Rights Respecting School.

Scotland has passed a new law called The UNCRC Incorporation (Scotland) Act. This law protects every child’s rights. ​

Further Information can be found at:

Help and advice – The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (cypcs.org.uk