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At St Clare's, we are committed to ensuring children’s well-being is at the heart of everything we do. We aim to help our pupils to grow into confident, caring and responsible young people, both in school and within the wider community. As part of this commitment, we are working with UNICEF to become a Rights Respecting school.
The Rights Respecting Schools Award puts children’s rights at the heart of school life in the UK.
It is based on principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation.
What is the UNCRC?
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an important, legally binding agreement signed by 196 countries (as of 12 July 2022) which outlines the fundamental rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.
What is in the UNCRC?
The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The convention is universal—these rights apply to every child and the convention entitles every child to claim them. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.
Every child has rights, without discrimination of any kind against the child, parent, or legal guardian (Article 2).
We should think of the Convention as a whole: each of the rights enshrined within it is interlinked, and no right is more important than another. The following rights are of equal importance to every child. Every child has the right to:
- Relax and play (Article 31)
- Freedom of expression (Article 13)
- Be safe from violence (Article 19)
- An education (Article 28)
- Protection of identity (Article 8)
- Sufficient standard of living (Article 27)
- Know their rights (Article 42)
- Health and health services (Article 24)
Please see the document below for a list of the Rights of a Child (child friendly version).
United Convention on the Rights of a Child (child friendly version)