RRSA and Children with Additional Needs
The Rights Respecting Schools Award is designed to enable all children to benefit from learning about and experiencing their rights. Several hundred special needs settings in the UK are successfully working with the RRSA and many have achieved Gold.
The FAQs below have been developed with advice from RRSA Gold schools working with learners with additional needs either in specialist or ‘mainstream’ provision. We thank them all for their generous support to create this guidance – please look at the links and case studies shared.
THE RRSA APPROACH
Children with mild to moderate learning difficulties will generally be able to access all the learning resources provided by UNICEF UK such as Article of the Week, although sometimes it may be necessary to use resources designed for a younger age group. For learners with more complex/severe learning needs, we recognise that you know them best and will use your skills and professionalism to tailor and modify the RRSA framework and resources to best suit your learners. Where children’s disabilities are most profound, RRSA focuses primarily on the role of duty bearers knowing about and explicitly prioritising the realisation of children’s rights. RRSA coordinators can attend RRSA training and share their learning with staff and schools can use the Spotlight training resources and e-learning to further develop staff knowledge.
At Fairview School in Perth, the staff found that the children were better able to learn about their rights from their peers. They have used talking buttons and short films with QR codes to support this. Read their case study here.
Many Gold special schools talk about how the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a key driver underpinning their curriculum, with learning tailored to the individual child to ensure that all their rights are met. For example, at Foreland Fields School, the curriculum focusses on broad themes of communication, health, independence, learning through play and community engagement all of which are enabling the fulfilment of rights such as the Article 24 the right to the best possible health care, Article 6, the right to life survival and development, Article 31 the right to rest and play. They also focus on revisiting a few rights regularly to deepen the children’s understanding, so for example, they focus on Article 12 during term 1 when they hold School Council elections, and they focus on the right to practice your own religion during termly faith celebration days.
- Use existing communication methods such as Class Dojo or newsletters to share news on how the children have enjoyed their rights.
- Include links to rights in school policies, the school vision and other documentation so families can see how your practice is underpinned by rights. At Foreland Fields School, each family receives the Pocket Book of Rights in their admissions pack.
- Try to have rights visible around the school for parents and carers to see when they visit. Fairview school have gone several steps further and have included talking buttons and short films featuring their own pupils explaining rights. Find out more and view some of the films here.
This case study from Bridgelea primary school for children with Social Emotional and Mental health difficulties shows how they have engaged parents and carers in their pupil’s learning.
There are many examples of excellent practice in special schools in relation to safeguarding, inclusion and positive relationships. The difference in a RRSA school is that this practice is explicitly related to children’s rights. There are several ideas you might find helpful in this case study from Longstone Special School and in this case study on respectful relationships from Grange School. Longstone Special School also feature in this RRSA short film.
Help your colleagues to connect some key articles of the CRC to core aspects of school life by sharing this webpage Hear more from Sarah Thorp, Deputy Headteacher and RRSA Coordinator at Forelands Fields School on how they have embedded rights into their whole school ethos and practice here.
Start with thinking about everything you do to support your students to communicate their views and preferences, for example through eye gaze technology, switch buttons, symbols, signing, writing or talking. Consider how adults respond to pupil views and preferences and how this affects the decisions taken on behalf of children and young people. For example, using symbols and communication in print software can help a child to share their views to contribute to their annual review. The same techniques can be used to involve children in deciding what they would like to learn about, what equipment they would like in the playground or which charities they would like to support.
As every child communicates through their behaviour, it is important that adults can interpret this and respond appropriately and that, as duty bearers, they recognise that taking all such communication seriously is the child’s right When a child sees that the book they chose is in the library or the new school garden follows the design they preferred, they will know that they are listened to and feel valued. On a more individual level, if an adult as a duty bearer for the CRC, is responsive, understands how a child communicates and takes steps to change something if the child feels upset or uncomfortable then they are more likely to feel safe and included in school. You might find it helpful for your children to engage with different articles and express their views using these adapted symbols card.
Many schools start with issues that their pupils are more familiar with such as access to leisure activities outside school or lack of green space. Improving the local environment also impacts the global environment and supports children’s rights. Children and young people often enjoy taking part in practical activities such as planting trees or improving recycling. Some may be able to meet their local government representatives and/parliamentarians to raise issues that are of concern to them or raise awareness in the community about child rights issues through, for example, exhibiting their artwork on child rights themes. Fundraising challenges such as Soccer Aid for Unicef (sign up for updates on Soccer Aid 2026 here) can also be a fun way of involving pupils and raise their awareness of needs of others and how they can help. Resources such as Picture News and the World Largest Lesson can help broaden children’s understanding of the wider world and can inspire further action. Crownbridge School in Wales used ‘Go Pro’ cameras to raise awareness of the access issues their students face in the local community. Read their case study here.
Even if students can't explicitly name article numbers or use the correct terminology, the important thing is that they feel listened to, respected, and know they are receiving the education to which they are entitled.
THE ACCREDITATION VISIT
Assessors can adapt the accreditation to make it work for your pupils, for example, they can make the discussion sessions shorter, staff can help to facilitate, or the assessor can observe staff talking to learners about rights rather than asking the questions themselves. You could also send videos of pupils expressing their views on rights and/or share examples of children’s work as part of your evidence pack. If very few pupils can articulate their knowledge of rights verbally, the assessor will focus more on the adults’ knowledge of rights and how this informs their practice.
Please contact your Professional Adviser before the visit to discuss adaptations.
At James Brindey Academy students chose how to present evidence for their Gold Reaccreditation visit. Some students made posters which they shared with the assessor, and although it was an in-person visit, some were more comfortable joining in online. Kathryn Barnes, RRSA Coordinator, commented, “Students were so keen to tell the assessor everything that the school does. Asking them to help with collecting evidence gave them such a sense of ownership and boosted their confidence massively…” Kathryn also explained, “As Coordinator, I’m based at one site out of eight. Having a team who worked with pupils at each centre to collect their evidence and get their perspectives was invaluable – there’s no way I could have done it all on my own. The impacts that students highlighted were also echoed by the staff, parents and trustees who were part of the visit; it really demonstrated that we are a Rights Respecting School to our core’
When assessing children’s knowledge of rights, the assessor will take into account the child’s age and intellectual capacity and be strongly guided by you and your colleagues. RRSA accreditation is never a test of knowledge. We trust your judgement as to which rights you focus on with pupils in school. Staff, over time, should have a broad knowledge of the CRC.
All Silver accreditations are online. We have extensive experience of making these work successfully for all kinds of additional needs settings. You know your children and their context; we will be guided by you to ensure that it is a positive experience.
There is no definitive list of accreditation questions. Please reassure your children and young people that the accreditation is not a ‘test’. We try to make it conversational, and we welcome guidance and intervention from you and your colleagues to help your pupils make the best contribution they can. The conversation is always framed around the RRSA and will link to things you have told us in your Evidence PowerPoint and Evaluation Form.