For the past two years, Hampshire LEA has been undertaking a unique programme for school improvement. The Hampshire programme is called Rights Respect and Responsibility (RRR). See below for programme reports. Development of this programme neatly dovetailed with UNICEF’s plans to introduce an award scheme for schools that takes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to the heart of the school.
Find out more about how four of the schools in Hampshire achieved Level 1 of UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting School Award, which is currently being piloted across the UK.
UNICEF are working with Hampshire Intercultural Inspector, Ian Massey, to trial and pilot the impact of this approach. The four Level 1 schools all said that the RRR Programme/Rights Respecting School Award provides a framework for the holistic approach the schools have been working towards. They recognised that the UNCRC provides a unifying values framework.
All said that having the shared language of rights and responsibilities was a major factor for improving behaviour. It provides the vocabulary for dialogue about events and behaviour that all recognise and respond to.
Enhanced language performance would seem to be another almost automatic benefit of introducing the rights and respect approach and two schools believe it has helped achieve improved SATS this year.
Download a summary report of the Rights Respect and Responsibility programme (48KB)
Download the full report of the Rights Respect and Responsibility programme (138KB)
Following a study visit to the Children’s Rights Centre at Cape Breton University, Canada, the LEA secured DfES funding to roll out in-service training about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to the headteacher and another teacher from each primary school.
The two key researchers from Cape Breton, Katherine Covell (PhD) and Brian Howe (PhD) visited Hampshire schools in the summer term and have produced a glowing overview of the change taking place in Hampshire schools.
