UNICEF

Orchardside Achieves UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award – Bronze

We are proud to announce that Orchardside School has been awarded the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) Bronze: Rights Committed status.

The Rights Respecting Schools Award, developed by UNICEF UK, supports schools to place children’s rights at the heart of school life. It is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and helps schools create a culture where children’s rights are understood, respected and promoted.

Being a Rights Respecting School means that pupils, staff and the wider community work together to build an environment where every child feels safe, respected, valued and able to participate fully in school life.

What Bronze Rights Committed Means:

Achieving Bronze status recognises that our school has made a clear commitment to developing a rights-respecting ethos.

At this stage we have:

• Begun introducing pupils to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Started embedding the language of rights, respect and responsibility across the school

• Begun developing a shared understanding among staff and pupils about how children’s rights link to wellbeing, safety and inclusion

• Established plans to further develop pupil voice and participation in school life

Bronze is the first stage of the Rights Respecting Schools Award journey and shows that we are committed to placing children’s rights, dignity and respect at the centre of everything we do.

Our Next Steps

Our next step is to work towards the Silver: Rights Aware Award. Over the coming months we will continue to:

• Embed children’s rights within the curriculum and everyday school practice

• Strengthen pupil voice and participation

• Support pupils to understand their rights and responsibilities

• Ensure our school community reflects the values of respect, equality, inclusion and fairness

Ultimately, our goal is to work towards Gold: Rights Respecting, where children’s rights are fully embedded across all aspects of school life.

Why This Matters at Orchardside

As a specialist setting, we believe that a rights-respecting approach strengthens safeguarding, wellbeing and inclusion. It helps our pupils develop confidence, understand their rights, respect others and feel empowered to contribute positively to their community.

We are excited to continue this journey together with our pupils, staff and families.