As a registered charity, The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) relies entirely on grants and donations to fund our work for children and their rights.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award does not make a profit – our charges simply seek to cover the costs of running the programme.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award is a membership based programme with an annual subscription. This gives schools access to all the benefits and support needed to succeed with the Award, putting you in control of how and when you access support.
The annual fee is linked to the number of pupils in your school at the date of your sign up. The annual fee will remain the same even if the number of pupils at your school changes later, unless you believe the change in numbers is significant.
To encourage you to progress to Gold, where the ethos of the Rights Respecting Schools Award is truly embedded and the greatest impact for children is seen, the fee reduces after Gold is achieved (RRSA Post-Gold membership). So, the more progress you make, the less you pay.
Type of membership | RRSA | RRSA Post-Gold |
Annual fee | £2 per pupil at the date of sign up |
£1.25 per pupil at the date of sign up |
Annual minimum fee | £100 | £100 |
Annual maximum fee | £1,500 | £1,000 |
Membership includes:
- For newly registered schools, starter pack containing a range of resources to support teaching about rights and a welcome virtual drop-in session with one of our team members
- Training courses and support workshops. Attending training and accessing support from our team helps schools to progress. Under the membership model, training courses for each Award stage and support workshops are included within your subscription. These can be attended by up to two members of school staff, for example, the RRSA Lead and one other.
- E-Learning available for all staff in your school. E-Learning includes modules on Starting RRSA, Strengthening RRSA and Global Citizenship and is useful Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all school staff.
- Tailored Support Call. We offer a tailored support video call with your regional Professional Adviser at a time convenient for you, each year. You can also use our central telephone and email support and additional support from your Professional Adviser when required.
- Online Teaching and Learning Resources. You will receive regular notifications of new online teaching and learning children’s rights resources, such as Article of the Week. During term time you will receive regular email newsletters and you will be able to join our closed Facebook community group to meet others taking part in the Award.
- Accreditation
When your school is ready for accreditation:- Bronze: Rights Committed
Feedback on your Action Plan, Bronze certificate and use of the Bronze RRSA logo. - Silver: Rights Aware
A virtual accreditation visit by an experienced member of our team that includes a feedback meeting with your senior leadership team to clarify recommendations, a short report with recommendations for next steps to Gold, a Silver certificate, a Silver school gate banner and use of the Silver RRSA logo. - Gold: Rights Respecting
A virtual or face-to-face accreditation visit by an experienced member of our team, a report with recommendations for maintaining Gold, a Gold certificate, a Gold banner and use of the Gold RRSA logo. - Reaccreditation at Gold: Rights Respecting
A virtual or face-to-face accreditation visit by a Professional Adviser, a report with recommendations for maintaining Gold, a Gold certificate, a Gold school gate banner and use of the Gold RRSA logo.
- Bronze: Rights Committed
Are you ready to start your Rights Respecting journey? We know what help and support schools need to make good progress, so when you click on the registration link below, please note what is required for Bronze: Rights Committed before committing to membership. We want schools to complete the Bronze stage within six months of registering. Find out more here.
To start your Rights Respecting journey, sign up to become a member.
If you’re a school already registered for the RRSA in Scotland or the Channel Islands, these changes don’t currently apply to you.
All schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are already registered for the Rights Respecting Schools Award should have received an email and letter informing them about the new membership model and what they need to do to continue their Rights Respecting journey. If you haven’t received any communications or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Professional Adviser or [email protected].
To continue receiving support for your Rights Respecting journey, you will need to pay an annual membership fee by the end of December 2022. Once your fee has been paid, you can then access all the membership benefits.
When you’re ready to set up your annual subscription, please use:
- this form if your schools is awarded Gold: Rights Respecting
- this form if you’re at any different stage of the Award (registration, Bronze and Silver).
It only takes a few minutes, and can be done by your headteacher or your RRSA lead.
If your school registered for the Award between August 2021 and January 2022, you will be exempt from membership costs until the anniversary of your registration.
If your school achieved Silver or Gold accreditation at any point throughout 2021, you will also be exempt from membership costs until the anniversary of your accreditation.
If you have booked an accreditation visit for 2022, your Professional Adviser will contact you.
However, in each of the three scenarios above, you need to acknowledge your commitment to membership by contacting your Professional Adviser or [email protected]. Full membership benefits will apply from the date of acknowledgement.
If your school is in Jersey, Guernsey, Manchester, Cardiff or Scotland, you don’t need to pay the annual fee thanks to support from your governments or local authority.
Contact us
We want all interested schools to be able to become Rights Respecting so please contact us at [email protected] if the fees cause any difficulties. Occasionally we receive funding from our corporate partners to help schools participate in the RRSA.
If you have any questions about the support we offer, you can get in touch with your regional Professional Adviser or contact our central team:
- Tel: 0207 375 6059
- Email: [email protected]