We are proud to announce that we were recently awarded the Rights Respecting School level 1 award in July 2017, an award that puts children’s rights at the heart of schools in the UK.
Children at Diamond Hall Junior Academy know that all children have the same rights. No one right is more important than others. Rights are universal. They do not have to be earned.
We chose to strive to be a ‘Rights Respecting School’ because we want our pupils to be kind; respectful; knowledgeable; articulate; confident; tolerant and globally-aware citizens of the 21st century.
14 of our pupils were chosen by their peers to be part of our steering group, and they meet frequently to ‘drive’ the ethos of rights and respect through school, suggesting and leading activities and providing a platform for pupils to have a voice.
Recent Rights Respecting School activities in 2016-17 include:
- Participation in Project Gambia and Shoe Share
- Fundraising and awareness raising for Cystic Fibrosis
- Stranger Danger assembly
- Fire safety, water safety and E-safety
- NSPCC Talk Pants
- Litter pick
- Garden and greenhouse projects
- Switch Off Fortnight
- Show Racism the Red Card (Y4/5/6)
- Anne Frank project (Y6/5)
- Political manifesto – spot the right (Y6)
- Anti-bullying via Cinderella (Y3)
- Find the right treasure hunt (Y3)
- Animation and RRS games (Y3)
- Wants and Needs activity (Y4)
- Beamish bespoke activity written by the education department at Beamish to support local historical knowledge of Pallion and Millfield linked with the UNCRC (Y4)
- Name that right poster activity (Y4)
- Persuasive letters to support a rights respecting ethos (Y5)
- International Women’s day (Y5)
- Mentoring pupils from another school during RRS activities. (Steering group)
Well done to all concerned! We are now working towards Level 2 of the award, and hope to achieve this by the end of July 2018.