60 Seconds with...
Sarah Thorpe, Deputy Head and RRSA Coordinator at Foreland Fields School in Kent.
Tell us a bit about Forelands Fields School?
We work with children and young people from 3 – 19 with profound, severe and complex needs. The school achieved RRSA Gold: Rights Respecting in 2019 and was reaccredited in 2025.
How has a focus on rights made an impact on pupils and staff?
The understanding that adults are ‘duty bearers’ and that our role is to ensure that all children enjoy their rights has shaped our school vision, values, ethos and curriculum. This has involved the whole school community, and our school is now a very different school. It is a school that ‘starts with the child’ and decision making is always based on the ‘best interests of the child’.
Have you encountered any challenges when putting the CRC at the heart of your practice and how did you overcome this?
Sometimes acting in the ‘best interests of the child’ or listening to pupils’ views can challenge the way that we traditionally worked. The way we address this is to hold firm to our commitment to children’s rights and make changes based on the children’s views and their best interests. For example, we had a child who clearly expressed that they did not wish to attend one of our satellite classes and although it was challenging to respond to this, we were able to adapt our provision on the main site to meet their needs.
What tips do you have for special schools wishing to adopt an approach based on children’s rights?
Use the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a tool to support self-evaluation and school improvement, including access to health, access to the community, and access to the best support for families.