We are delighted to share that Buckstone Primary School has achieved the Gold Rights Respecting Schools Award from UNICEF UK. This award is the highest recognition a school can receive, and it reflects the passion, commitment, and teamwork of our whole school community, in particular, Our Pupil led Equalities Group who have driven our work towards the award.
At Buckstone, children’s rights are at the heart of everything we do. Our pupils don’t just learn about their rights — they live them every day through their learning, decision-making, and leadership. Some of the highlights on our journey to Gold include our neuro-inclusion project, which raised awareness and acceptance of our neuro-diverse learners, the creation of our anti-bullying guidance, shaped by feedback from every single class and our article of the week videos which share our learning to parents and carers via our website. We are especially proud of pupil-led events such as our Rights Protest raising awareness of Article 42- everyone should know about children’s rights and our Fun 31 afternoons, celebrating Article 31 – the right to play.
The UNICEF report praised the strength of our approach, noting that rights are “incorporated into daily planning and interactions that take place” and that SLT and the Rights Lead have a “strategic approach to embed a rights approach, putting it at the core of the school’s ethos”.
We are so proud of this achievement and excited to continue our journey as a Gold Rights Respecting School.
