Gold: Rights Respecting

Gold: Rights Respecting is the third stage of the Rights Respecting Schools Award. 

It is granted by UNICEF UK to schools that have embedded children’s rights through every aspect of school life; practice and ethos, as outlined in the RRSA Strands and Outcomes (see Gold Forms and Guides). We know that this journey enables leaders and teachers to strengthen pupil sense of belonging and voice, and to create an environment for great learning.    

To achieve Gold: Rights Respecting, schools will be assessed by one of our RRSA assessors who will look at the whole school’s rights respecting work and the impact that has been made through embedding children’s rights into school life. 

Your Gold: Rights Respecting accreditation is valid for three years, after which time you can choose to be re-accredited at Gold to sustain your award (see Sustaining Gold). 

Achieving Gold: Rights Respecting means there is evidence that: 

• Your school has explicitly adopted a child rights approach based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and has embedded it in school practice, ethos and culture. 
• Children, young people and adults have an awareness and understanding of child rights, with rights respecting attitudes and language embedded across the school. 
• RRSA has had a positive impact on children and young people’s learning and wellbeing. 
• Inclusion and diversity are actively promoted and celebrated. 
• Children see themselves as rights respecting global citizens and are advocates for social justice, fairness and children’s rights at home and abroad. 
• Leaders use the CRC as a driver for school improvement. 

Children and young people also play an increasingly leading role in driving progress. At Gold: Rights Respecting, you are aiming to intensify and broaden: 

1. Teaching and Learning about rights: for the whole school community through training, curriculum, assemblies, topics, focus days/weeks, displays. 
2. Teaching and Learning through rights: by modelling rights respecting language and attitudes and making strategic decisions that involve students. 
3. Being ambassadors for the rights of others: developing as rights respecting citizens. 

Take a look at Achieving the RRSA Outcomes  for more detail on this. 

Our Achieving Gold Training Course and e-learning provide opportunities to gather practical ideas on implementing children’s rights in school. You can also discuss achieving Gold with others through our Gold Accreditation workshop that runs every term. See the Training section for more information.