At New Valley Primary School, we are proud to have achieved the first stage of UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools Award. We are a Bronze (Rights Committed) school.
This means we have introduced the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Three Strands into our school community. We understand what is involved in the Award and we are committed to embarking on the UNICEF UK Rights Respecting journey. The foundations are in place for our school’s journey to the second stage of the award, Silver: Rights Aware.
Rights Respecting Language
Rights are:
- for all children and young people throughout the world (universal)
- there at birth (inherent)
- cannot be taken away (inalienable)
- do not come with any conditions attached to them (unconditional)
- all equally important (indivisible).
Children and young people do not necessarily have to know the words that define these features of rights, it is important that they understand the meaning of them (appropriate to their age and ability). Children learn about the definitions of the words at school. All adults at school who help children access their rights are duty bearers, and children are the rights holders.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
We should think of the Convention as a whole: the rights within it are interlinked, and no right is more important than another. Every child has rights, without discrimination of any kind (Article 2).
The following rights are of equal importance and every child has the right to:
- Relax and play (Article 31)
- Freedom of expression (Article 13)
- Be safe from violence (Article 19)
- An education (Article 28)
- Protection of identity (Article 8)
- A sufficient standard of living (Article 27)
- Know their rights (Article 42)
- Health and health services (Article 24)
What does it mean to be a Rights Respecting School?
There are four key areas of impact for children at a Rights Respecting School:
- wellbeing
- participation
- relationships
- self-esteem
The difference that a Rights Respecting School makes goes beyond the school gates, making a positive impact on the whole community
- children are happier and healthier
- children feel safer
- children have better relationships
- children become more active and involved in school life and the wider world
Together, young people and the school community learn about children's rights, putting them into practice every day. In Rights Respecting Schools, children's rights are promoted and realised; adults and children work towards this goal together. The award recognises a school's achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school community and beyond.
At New Valley Primary School, we are committed to promoting a Rights Respecting ethos throughout our school, where the children are at the heart of everything we do. We aim to ensure that the Convention on the Rights of the Child underpins our work and we are committed to creating a safe and inspiring place to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive. We work on children’s rights alongside our school values:
- Showing love and kindness
- Celebrating diversity
- Having high expectations
- Showing positivity
- Caring for ourselves and our planet
Our School Council, democratically elected by the children, play a vital role in leading the Rights Respecting Schools agenda at New Valley. Clink this link to have a look at their latest update:
School Council News - February 2026
Have a look at our video guides to rights at New Valley, written and created by some of our Year 6 children.