Rights Respecting Schools
in London
On Tuesday 6 February 2024, the Mayor of London announced Violence Reduction Unit funding for UNICEF UK to offer the Rights Respecting Schools Award to all state funded education settings in all London boroughs.
Funding from London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) will allow schools to register for the Award and access all training, support, and accreditations for free until March 2028. This will remove financial barriers and give any state school or education setting interested in becoming Rights Respecting the opportunity to do so, creating a lasting impact for children in London. You can read more about the impact of the Award here.
This project is offered by London’s VRU as part of its development of London’s Inclusion Charter. The Charter seeks to tackle the causes of all forms of exclusion, including suspension, managed moves, and rising levels of absenteeism, through a set of agreed guiding principles around inclusion. It will tackle stark disproportionalities and work with schools to embed anti-racism across education. Children’s rights and the experience of teachers is at its heart.
RRSA will support this work by embedding children’s rights in education settings across the city. Evidence shows that the shared language of rights builds stronger, more inclusive school communities.
Briefing Sessions
We are running briefing sessions over the summer term for senior leaders of state funded schools in London to find out more about the Rights Respecting Schools Award and what this funding will cover. These sessions are suitable for those who are new to RRSA and also those who are already involved. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Session 1 – Wednesday 24 April 16:00 – 16:45
Session 2 – Tuesday 30 April 16:00 – 16:45 Focus on secondary schools
Session 3 – Wednesday 8 May 16:00 – 16:45
Session 4 – Tuesday 21 May 16:00 – 16:45 Focus on special schools and PRUs
Until March 2028, if you are a state funded nursery, primary or secondary school (including special schools, alternative provisions and PRUs) in Greater London, you can register for RRSA and access training, and support and accreditations for free. Newly registering schools will receive a starter pack of resources to support your implementation of the work.
If you’re ready to begin your Rights Respecting journey, use our general registration form. Just make sure to tick the option that your school is in London to avoid being asked for bank details or being invoiced.
From now on until March 2028, you can progress your Rights Respecting journey at no annual cost, with accreditations, e-learning, training courses and support workshops for free. You don’t have to register again or take any other action to access the support.
Teaching resources are not included for existing schools but you can order these here if you’d like.
For any questions, please contact your Professional Adviser or [email protected]
We will share updates here about our progress in supporting schools across London to take up RRSA as a result of investment and support from London’s Violence Reduction Unit.
Would you like to share the impact RRSA has had in your school? Contact [email protected]
You can read about the impact of RRSA here.
You can promote your school’s work to embed children’s rights using the VRU’s film by its Young People’s Action Group and share your school’s journey on social media through #LondonsInclusionCharter and #RRSA.
You can also access the RRSA closed community Facebook group where you can connect with teachers all over the UK taking part in the Award.
The Rights Respecting Schools team works with London’s VRU to provide support and a framework for London local authorities to manage RRSA within their local network. Facilitating schools within a borough to take part in the Award will help to grow the number of schools involved, through shared practice and will help to develop an approach that is sustainable beyond the lifetime of the funding.
Our downloadable pdf guide outlines a framework for managing RRSA within a local authority, with support from UNICEF UK. Every local authority will have their own approach, so included in this guide are case studies from authorities that are already developing their work with RRSA.
The long-term aim, both with the guide and approach to partnership, is to empower London Boroughs to see that establishing and sustaining child rights education is both achievable and sustainable locally and can contribute to ongoing school improvement and the building of inclusive communities.
Download the guide
