Weston Lullingfields is possibly the smallest school in England with just 22 pupils. They have a totally inclusive policy so it wasn’t difficult for them to meet the Level 1 criteria of the Rights Respecting School Award.

Headteacher Alan Parkhurst pointed to how their recent Ofsted report says,
‘The school recognises that its relatively remote and homogenous rural location demands that measures are taken to alert pupils to its more diverse wider community, both national and international. This is done extremely effectively in a good variety of ways, including participation in a UNICEF project about the global rights of children.’

In addition to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child permeating all the work of the school they also hold an annual Rights Week to look at social and political injustices. As a result of this work parents have reported how interested their children have become in the global stories on Newsround.

A parent said, “Every school should teach children not just ABC and 123 but self-confidence, self-awareness and how to stand up for themselves; their right to be heard and to be listened to, and that they should listen to other people – not just ‘hear’ but really listen.”